Continued from Part
I and
II.
Here's the entrance to Mt. Misen Ropeway Station. Mt. Misen is the highest peak in Miyajima at 535m above sea level. It takes around 1.5-2hrs to reach the summit by foot, and along the hiking trails there are many beautiful and interesting natural rock structures.
We chose the easy way by taking the Miyajima Ropeway, which operates on 2 types of aerial rope systems. From Momijidani Station (starting point), a Circulating type of ropeway is used; the ride takes about 10 mins. Then at the transfer Kayatani Station, a Funicular type is used. The ride takes about 4 minutes to reach the Shishiiwa Station (ending point).
This is the Circulating type of ropeway. The gondolas are quite small, written on the notice that each can take up to 8 passengers but I think nowadays people getting bigger size so 6 passengers are already quite a squeeze :p (or maybe they mean 8 children, haha).
Nice scenic ride which took us 10 mins.
Then at Kayatani station, we had to change to the Funicular type of ropeway. This is a much bigger carriage taking up to 30 standing passengers. The ride was just a short 5 mins.
Here we were, the ending point Shishiiwa Station. It will take probably another 30 mins uphill hike to reach the summit.
Anyway, we just hanged around at the Shishiiwa Observatory area to enjoy the cool weather and lovely scenery. A pity that the weather was quite cloudy and misty, otherwise the view would even be more breathtaking. There's a little island in the distant which hubby and I named jokingly as the "Hershey's Island" as it looks like Hershey's Kisses chocolate. Don't you think so?
The cloudy and misty weather added a shroud of mystery to the islands and mountain.
Many oyster farms around the bay area.
There are several peep holes to help pinpoint and identify each island around the area.
It was time to check into our Ryokan, so we made our way back via the Ropeway once again and reached Momiji-so Ryokan which is located inside Momijidani Park. Momiji-So is very small family-run Ryokan with only 6 rooms. The ryokan also operates an eatery with alfresco dining. Imagine having a bowl of udon under the maple trees and enjoying the calm and serene surroundings of Momijidani Park? Cool!
We booked our room through Takamakura Online hotel reservation page which provides information about hotels in Miyajima, Iwakuni and Kurashiki in west Japan.
We were ushered to our room, which is very clean and well-kept. Very well maintained for a property that has been established since 1917!
There's a small balcony for guests to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Very clean and modern washroom with deep bathtub.
After resting for a while, we decided to venture out again to the Omotesando Shopping Street for shopping and hang around till low tide and sunset at around 6.30pm.
So once again, we strolled through Momijidani Park, enjoying the serenity.
Close to 6pm, the sun started to set and the tide had already came in.
We loitered around the area admiring the sight as the sun set.
Decided to go into Itukushima Shrine (entrance fee required) 厳島神社
Itsukushima-jinja.
The shrine was designed and built on pier-like structures over the bay so that it would appear to be floating on the water, separate from the sacred island.
The O-torii Gate appears to be floating at high tide, and is in fact standing under its own weight and not embedded into the sea bed.
We stayed till almost dark before making our way back to the Ryokan, where dinner was awaiting for us!! To be continued...
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What a beautiful place. Fantastic photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it's beautiful. If you like nature, I'm sure you would love this little island.