Hiroshima Trip Day 3: Miyajima Island

Up at 6:30 Sunday! It was a day for mountains! Specifically Mt. Misen, the very same mountain that the Kobodaishi climbed over 1200 years ago. The Kobodaishi was the man who brought Buddhism to Japan, and so this mountain is considered very holy. In fact, Miyajima is one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. It's the place with the red tori in the water. That is actually part of Itsukushima Shrine, founded in the year 1168 by Taira no Kiyomori after his initial victory over the Minamoto clan, as related in The Tale of the Heike. We were extra lucky because that day there was a wedding! It's good luck to have a wedding there, and it's good luck to witness a wedding there. Also, a baptism! Extra lucky! So we wandered around there for a bit, got a group photo, I purchased a couple of good luck charms, it was quite nice.

Finally, time for my mountain. I had told Dr. Thompson that I wanted to climb the mountain instead of taking the ropeway with everyone else. Why? Well, I'm crazy like that. So, after the shrine we all walked over to the start of the trail up the mountain with a brief stop at a souvenier shop. I bought one of the peaked straw hats that are traditionally worn by pilgrims in Japan. More on the hat later, though. So, hat purchased, and put on, I was ready to start. There were photos of me getting ready to start up the mountain, wishes of luck, etc., and then I was on my own.

The hike started out not too difficult, wide stairs, spaced decently far apart, gentle slope. It got worse. Boy, did it get worse. Those stairs got smaller, closer together, higher, more uneven. My legs started burning about 20 minutes into the hike. They would not stop burning for the rest of the day. I met other people climbing up and clambering down the mountain. I lost count of the number of times I said, "Konnichi wa" that day. Many, many times, I'm sure.

As I was climbing the ungodly number of stairs up this mountain, an idea began to blossom in my mind. I should write something on this hat. After all, I'm going to wear it all the way up. Surely that is good luck. So during my climb, I thought about what I would write on it, with nothing definite coming to mind. So I climbed, and climbed, and climbed. Those who have gone hiking know how mind-numbingly boring recounting the hike can be, so I'll just throw some pictures up here to let you see what I saw.


And so, after an hour and a half of arduous climbing, I reached the top. Sweaty, panting, and disgusting, I mounted the last few stairs up to the tip-top of the observation tower. The view was spectacular, and worth all the stairs, and panting, and sweating.
I called Dr. Thompson. "Dr. Thompson? It's Ike, I made it to the top!"

"Wow! Already? Did you get anything to eat?"

"No, not yet. When will you guys get up here?"

"----------"

I lost the call. That's fine, though. They know I made it to the top, and am unharmed. However, I don't know what I'm supposed to do next. So I start to head down a different path. It took me to a temple. Again, more on that later, after I meet the group. I end up trekking another kilometer to the ropeway station. My legs were still burning from all the stairs, and there was no end in sight.

So I met the group, and we trekked back over to the temple. This is the temple where the 1,200 year old flame is. I drank some of the water, which is supposed to be holy, just like everything else on this mountain, and purchased some more good luck charms, this time as gifts. I'm not saying for whom, though. I told Dr. Thompson about my idea for my hat. He thought it was a great idea. He asked one of the attendents if he was a priest. The attendent said no, but went to go get a priest. The priest took my hat, and went away for a bit. When he came back down, there was a saying and the temple name, and the year on my hat. This was more than I wanted, but really cool! The saying was one of the Kobodaishi's sayings (remember him?). It translates to "One way, two people." Apparently while I was climbing, the spirit of the Kobodaishi was climbing with me! Pretty cool stuff.

So, I took a group of people back up to the top. My second time up there. (I haven't had a real break, yet, remember?) This time though, I finally got to eat. I had a beer and a bowl of udon. It was delicious.

Obligatory pictures all around, etc., etc. and back down to the ropeway. From the ropeway to the town was about a five minute walk. We did some shopping, bought some food, and killed just enough time to be right on time for the 4:30 ferry off the island. From there it was train to train to train to train to taxi back to the dorm. I almost collapsed into bed.