Still, I can’t help but stop by Itsukushima Shrine

itsukushima shrine1

I wrote that Hiroshima is not only about the World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine, but, still, I can’t help but stop by Itsukushima Shrine.

Just the other day, the G7 leaders visited Itsukushima Shrine.   A shrine floating on the surface of the sea is beautiful, but a shrine at ebb tide isn’t bad either.    Oh, don’t be disappointed if the time doesn’t match, feel like you’ve come to dig clams and touch the red big torii that you usually can’t get close to.

itsukushima shrine5
itsukushima shrine5

Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara had many wild deer, messengers of the gods, and there are also many wild deer here.    However, since they are not treated as messengers of the gods, feeding them is prohibited.    Even with the same deer, the difference in treatment is considerable.   But there was a person who gave them momiji manju with the shape of maple.   Momiji manju is certainly delicious for humans to eat, but I definitely recommend eating the plump conger eel before crossing over to Itsukushima.    No high-end restaurant can match the taste.

Morning walk in Hiroshima and …

Western Japan has many feudal lord’s gardens right in town.    At that time, feudal lords competed to have a garden with large ponds built.    Shukkeien in Hiroshima is one of famous gardens.  There are trees that survived the atomic bomb.  Okonomiyaki when you are hungry.    People in Hiroshima seem to eat okonomiyaki from lunch, but I’m impressed that they can eat it without beer.

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Cruising to Tomonoura, a historic town

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There are no unsophisticated people who come to the Seto Inland Sea and travel by land from Onomichi to Tomonoura.    On the way of sea, you can see a large suspension bridge, a shipyard, and Kannon who prays for maritime safety.   However, please note that this cruise ship makes two round trips a day only on weekends and holidays.

Crusing from Onomichi to Tomonoura

Well, Tomonoura is located right in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea and was a port of waiting for the tide in the age of ships that depended on the wind and currents.   The high tide coming from the east and west channels of the Seto Inland Sea collides offshore, and the force is used to enter the port.    When leaving the port to advance offshore, it uses the power of the ebb tide that pulls it to the east and west .

The place where the Korean envoys stopped by still remains, and it is also the place where Japan’s first maritime casualty negotiations occurred between steamships on the late Edo period.    Here is the site of a true story in which the Kishu Domain (almost  Wakayama prefecture), which was under the control of the shogunate, was defeated by the Kaientai led by Ryoma Sakamoto, according to the World Public Law.

It’s fun to take a leisurely stroll through the nostalgic port town.    This is the stage of “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” produced by Studio Ghibli. Furthermore, ‘Hohmeishu’, sweet sake with Japanese herbs, is famous, but you should also try original sweet sake ‘mirin’ which enhances the flavor of the dish.

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The cat road full of slopes is photogenic. Onomichi is a mecca for movies and anime.

onomichi13 skyview center
onomichi17 down slope
onomichi17 down slope

Anyway, Onomichi has a lot of slopes, cats and temples.   If you get lost in the narrow roads  friendly to cats, you are sure to come across a photogenic scenery.

Since Onomichi has a quiet channel between it and Mukaishima island on the opposite shore, it has been used since the Middle Ages as a shipping port for rice as annual tribute from inland manors and a shipping port for

onomichi road indication to Izumo
onomichi road indication to Izumo

 

 

silver from Izumo’s Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, which has become a World Heritage Site.

 

 

Takauji Ashikaga, who established the Muromachi Shogunate, also used this place as a foothold to advance to Kyoto.

onomichi3 joudo temple
onomichi3 joudo temple

A town packed with various elements.   That’s why it may be used in movies and anime scenes.   Walking route is as below.

The ropeway in the town is quite crowded, but from the top you can see the beauty of islands in the Seto Inland Sea.  The time of sunset is the target.  During the cherry blossom season, the whole mountain is dyed in cherry blossom color.

View from the top

onomichi cherry blossom season
onomichi cherry blossom season
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That island occupied by rabbits

rabbit island0 welcome
rabbit island6 welcome
rabbit island6 welcome

After landing that island you are immediately surrounded by huge number of rabbits.   There are lots of stories as to why rabbits were brought in Ohkuno island and bred.   Looking at the rabbits lying on their bellies and too relaxing even when people approach, it seems like a peaceful island.   However, ruins where the former army conducted poison gas experiments remain everywhere.  My delusion (story) is that after World War II, the GHQ (occupying American army) released the rabbits to confirm the safety of the poison gas removal process.

rabbit island11 too relaxed
rabbit island11 too relaxed

Don’t forget to procure rabbit food before crossing the island.   Rabbits don’t care about people who don’t have food.

Rent a bicycle when you get to the island.   You can go around in about 30 minutes.   However, if you want to see the beauty of the many islands, you need to leave your bicycle and climb a little.

Detour

Did you know that Chukai, Takehara City has a headquarters and a factory that holds more than 50% of Japan’s jam market share?   It is  Aohata, which is the first company in the world to canned mandarin oranges grown in the Seto Inland Sea.    It is said that the president of Aohata, who watched a regatta race between the UK’s most famous universities, was impressed by the cheering of the blue flag.   English replacement of Aohata is a blue flag.      Visitable factories and photogenic shops are near Chukai JR station.

Jam factory
Jam factory

 

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Takehara was once connected to Kyoto

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It is said that Takehara began when Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto developed the land based on the law of the Nara period that allowed the land that was cultivated by oneself to be owned by oneself.    This law was the beginning of the manor system, and wealth was concentrated in those who had the financial power to cultivate the land by themselves, and it triggered the collapse of the world centered on the emperor.

Anyway, Takehara has a connection with Kyoto and still retains a townscape called Little Kyoto.    Incidentally, the Kamo River, which has the same name as Kyoto, runs through the center of the city. Also, like Kyoto, sake brewing is thriving, and one of its descendants founded Nikka Whiskey in Japan.

takehara13
takehara13

A feature that is completely different from Kyoto is salt making in salt fields.    At that time, 80% of the salt produced in Japan was produced in Hiroshima Prefecture.

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