Miyajima is a 40 minute trip by tram and ferry from downtown Hiroshima. Most people know Miyajima for its famous giant torii gate, which seems to float on top of the water. The island has been deemed a sacred place since ancient times and is now classified as a “Special Place of Scenic Beauty” in Japan.
The first thing you notice on arrival are the welcoming committee of deer. Several hundred deer roam freely on the 30sq km island, attaching themselves to tourists, who supply them with food.
The must see sights on Miyajima include:
Itsukushima Shrine – A Shinto Shrine built partly over the sea and Miyajima’s most visited attraction. It was first built in the 6th century with its present form dating from around 1168. It is ranked as one of Japan’s three best views.
Senjo-kaku – The Pavilion of 1000 Mats was built in 1587 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It looks out on a colourful five storey pagoda dating from 1407.
Mt Misen – At 530m it is Miyajima’s highest point and is reachable by cable car or a path through the forest to the top. There is a 9th century Buddhist temple near the summit.
Daoshoim Temple – A beautiful temple at the foot of Mt Misen, where 500 Buddhist statues are displayed.
Miyajima is a great day trip from Hiroshima, but there are quite a few places to spend the night including about 20 ryokan (Japanese style inns) and modern style B&Bs.
Miyajima is still a relatively undiscovered wonder for the foreign tourist to Japan, so be sure to put it at the top of your list for your next visit to Japan.
This year’s cherry blossom forecast is later than previous years with most places in Japan expecting a late March blooming date. This is most likely due to the colder weather experienced this year in Japan.
The best time for viewing the cherry blossoms varies between a few days to a few weeks from the first bloom, so don’t leave it too late to see the beautiful blossoms.
I have created a table below for the major places in Japan with the estimate start date and peak bloom of the cherry blossoms.
Today March 20th is Spring Equinox Day or Shunbun no hi (春分の日) in Japan. This national holiday was first established in 1948 as a day to admire nature and the love of living things. The holiday occurs on the date of the vernal equinox in Japan Standard Time and usually falls on March 20 or 21.
The three days immediately before and after Shunbun no hi is a seven day period called the spring equinoctial week or higan in Japanese. It is a boundary marking the end of winter coldness.
This is the time of year when spring break starts in Japan.
This week's Japanese Song of the Week is Makeoshimi Congratulations (負け惜しみコングラチュレーション) by SDN48, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese J-Pop Oricon charts.
SDN48 which is short for Saturday Night 48 is a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2010.
1. See preparation of rice outlined earlier How to Prepare Japanese Rice 2. Place rice in saucepan. 3. Add dashi, sake, soy sauce and mushrooms. 4. Bring to the boil with the lid on and then simmer for 14 minutes. 5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to rest with lid on for 5-10 minutes. 6. Before serving, gently turn the rice over with a moistened rice paddle to allow excess moisture to escape as steam.
March 14th is White Day in Japan. What is White Day you ask? White Day is exactly one month after Valentines’s Day, and is where boys have to return the favour of gifts received from girls on Valentine’s Day.
On Valentine’s Day in Japan girls present the boys with gifts usually chocolate. White Day is where the boys have to return the favour. Why call it White Day? It is pretty simple really. White is the colour of sugar the main ingredient in candy which is traditionally given on White Day.
Popular White Day gifts are traditionally white chocolate, cookies, jewellery, white lingerie, and marshmallows, but these days anything goes.
There is a word in Japanese “三倍返し” (sanbai gaeshi) which means triple the return, where the rule is a returned gift should be 2 to 3 times the cost of the Valentine’s gift. The boys have it tough on White Day in Japan.
White Day was first celebrated in Japan in 1978. It is also celebrated in South Korea and Taiwan.
Today, March 11th marks the first anniversary of the horrific earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coastline of north-eastern Japan. The Japanese government will hold a memorial service at the National Theatre, which faces the Imperial Palace grounds in Tokyo to mourn the disaster. At 2.46pm trains will stop, shoppers will stand still and people throughout Japan will fall silent to mark the exact moment when the 9.0 magnitude quake set off a catastrophic chain of events.
In Fukushima, tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in anti-nuclear protests, calling for the end of atomic power in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown.
The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also today praised the Japanese people for their courage in rebuilding their lives after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of one year ago. "This is a day of painful memories for the Japanese people and on behalf of all Australians, I express my heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy," Ms Gillard said in a statement today. Ms Gillard was the first foreign leader to visit the disaster zone.
In the past year since the disaster a lot has changed. Mountains of rubble and rubbish have been cleared, Nuclear power has been debated seriously and its future in Japan is in doubt, and many questions have been raised of the current Japanese government. Unfortunately, even a year after the tragedy, parts of Japan are still trying to recover, and more than 3,000 people are still missing or unaccounted for. Damages from the earthquake and tsunami are still being assessed with estimates well into the tens of billions of dollars.
People’s habits have also changed with more people wearing flat shoes to work, and carrying water and biscuits in case of another emergency. The past year has been a spike in the purchase of bicycles and a boom in engagements and weddings. The earthquake and tsunami has been a sharp reminder that life is short and can be taken at any time.
Big cities like Tokyo and Osaka have returned almost back to normal and it is business as usual in these places, but electricity saving measures all over Japan are still in place. Things are slowing getting back to what they were with the neon lights blazing again and tourists making their way back to Japan, but not as fast as expected. Hopefully the upcoming cherry blossom season will have tourists flooding back to enjoy one of the best seasons in Japan for travel.
The McDonald’s Japan Big America Burgers have returned for 2012. You can read about the previous editions of the burger here Big America Burger Series.
The latest and final release in the current series is the Beverly Hills Burger, which features a beef patty, cooked egg, lettuce, onions, avocado sauce and Caesar salad sauce.
Kyoto (京都) is one of the must see places in Japan on any trip. With more than 2000 shrines and temples, Japan’s former capital is considered the home of culture and history in Japan. The absolute minimum amount of time you should spend in Kyoto is two days but more is highly recommended to fully experience what the place has to offer.
The must see places in Kyoto include:
Daikaku-ji Temple – Built in the 9th century as a palace for the emperor and later converted into a large temple.
Fushimi Inari Shrine – Dedicated to the gods of rice and sake, today it is one of Japan’s most popular shrines. A pathway wanders 4km up the mountain and is lined with hundreds of red tori gates.
Ginkaku-ji – The Temple of the Silver Pavilion was constructed in 1482 as a retreat villa for the Shogun and then converted to a temple after his death.
Heian-jingu – Heian shrine was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto.
Kinkaku-ji – The Temple of the Golden Pavilion is one of Japan’s best known sights. The original building was constructed in 1397 and the temple building is covered in gold.
Kiyomizu-dera – One of the most famous landmarks in Kyoto and first built in 798. The step approach to the temple is lined with shops selling local handicrafts and souvenirs, and the view over Kyoto from the famous wooden terrace is truly breathtaking.
Nijo Castle – Built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa shogun, it is a place of inner beauty and architecture with some of the best gardens in Japan.
To-ji – Established in 794 by imperial decree to protect the city of Kyoto. The 5 storey pagoda is the highest pagoda in Japan.
Gion – The famous entertainment and geisha district of Kyoto. Take a walk along Hanami-koji street lined with traditional restaurants and teahouses. It is a great place to visit in the late afternoon or early evening to spot a geisha or maiko.
Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
These are some great resources to help you explore Kyoto
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