i'm enjoying this! i like the day-by-day installments -- nice change from all-at-once report formats. now i'm waiting to hear abt my ancestral homeland, hiroshima.

btw, if u can recall, do any food highlights stick out? particularly from the vegetarian feast at the temple.

keep at it -- i'm sure a lot of people have been enjoying a detailed, scenic vicarious trip thnx to u!

Just wanted to say thank you for the great trip report. I've come back several times to read the installments and I really appreciate your effort. This has inspired me to take the trip some day. You make it seem so "do-able"!

jaydreb5- you're killing me!!! this is one of the best trip reports ever, and I'm going crazy waiting for the next installment.

I'm back! Sorry for being so slow. Thanks for all kind words. My favorite culinary experiences, to answer one poster's questions, included (1) sushi for breakfast near Tsukiji, (2) a sukiyaki feast in Miyajima, and (3) eating soba alongside the woods at Kiyomizu Temple, and (4) the vegetarian feast at the Buddhist temple in Mt. Koya, to name just a few.

10/15: We planned to go to the morning services at the temple, which were scheduled for 6:30 AM. I set the alarm clock and everything and we were looking forward to it. We're awoken in the morning by the sounds of bells ringing. What happened?! It was 6:32. Turns out I hadn't changed my alarm clock from D.C. time to Japan time, and thus it was 13 hours off (more accurately it was 1 hour slow since it did not have AM/PM). We rushed to get dressed but by the time we were out it was 6:40 and the chanting had already begun. The doors were closed and we did not want to disturb the whole scene by walking in the middle. So we sat outside in the garden, where we could still hear the chanting (which was quite interesting). The service last about 20 minutes or so, and we were served breakfast at like 7:15 AM.

We began to make our way to Miyajima, a small island a short train ride from Hiroshima. As we were leaving the temple, we saw newspaper rolled up and stuffed into my girlfriend's sneakers. The monk explained that they were so wet (see 10/14 post) that he put the newspaper in to dry them. As she had no other shoes, she was forced to put these back on. We packed really light for this trip (at least light by our standards).

Took the cable car back down the mountain and then the train back to Osaka. This time it wasn't a limited express, just a regular express, so it took a little longer. At Osaka Namba station we picked up the bags we had left there, and took the subway back to Shin-Osaka, where we picked up the bullet train to Hiroshima. If I recall the ride was only about 2 hours or so. From Hiroshima, we caught a local train to Miyajimaguchi station (about a 26 min. ridge), and from there we took the JR Ferry to Miyajima (about 10 mins.).

It was a beautiful fall day, with plenty of sunshine. The ferry ride is nice, and as you approach Miyajima you get an excellent view of Itsukushima Shrine and its gateway torii rising out of the water. I think the boat goes out of its way to give a view of the shrine.

Miyiajima is a lovely little island, with a small town at the base of Mt. Misen. Like Nara Park, there are deer everywhere throughout the town. We were staying for 2 nights at the Iwaso, a first class ryokan in the heart of Momiji-dori park (about a 5 minute walk from the Itsukushima Shrine and about 15 minute walk from the ferry station).

Upon arrival, we were whisked to our room and given hot towels, Japanese tea, and little maple cakes filled with bean paste, a local specialty. (I think "momiji" means "maple&quot. As we had a few hours before dinner, we headed out for a walk around the momiji-dori park. A short 15 minute walk through the woods took us to the ropeway/cable car to the top of Mt. Misen. This was one of the highlights of our visit, as the ride is quite scenic with views of the sea, surrounding islands and mountains, and Hiroshima. At the top, there are monkey running around everywhere amongs the visitors, and they were a riot, especially at feeding time. We must have taken a full roll of pictures of these little guys (the baby monkeys were so cute clinging to their moms). The top of the mountain affords great views of the surrounding area.

We returned to the Iwaso and had a memorable Kaiseki feast. At least 5 courses of beautifully prepared and delicious food, prepared in countless ways (inlcuding several dishes that we cooked right there at our table). We also had a few bottles of cold sake, which we had come to really enjoy (perhaps too much!). Before bed we headed down to the wonderful Japanese style baths for a hot soak.

Next . . . Hiroshima, A-Bomb Dome, the invasion of the school groups.

Great reports! And I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip.

Literally "momiji" means "scarlet leaves" = Red/yellow leaves in autumn and of course maple is a great part of it.

You had momiji manju.

jaydreb5
Now that you posted about Miyajima, I have questions on Mt. Misen.

Are the monkeys around the cable car station at the top?

I have read two guidebooks mentioning 20-25 minutes walk to the summit from the cable car station. Is this a steep walk? Is this a dirt path or a paved path that can be travelled in rain?

Is there a view of the inland sea to the south toward Shikoku if you did not get to the summit?

Nickn-

The monkeys are right outside the cable car station. When we first got up there they were "out in the forest to eat," but about 20 minutes later they reappeared when the Monkey Lady (who appeared to be quite insane) began feeding them.

We did not do the hike to the top of Mt. Misen from the cable car station. We did part of it and, if I recall correctly, it was a dirt path.

Yes, there is a lovely view of the Inland Sea from the area around the cable car station. You can barely make out Shikoku in the distance, but numerous other islands are readily visible. We had a great time just in the immediate area of the cable car station.