The journey up to the top of Mt. Misen started at the bottom. It was going to be quite a climb.
Japan has a lot of carp. Just as Hiroshima has the carp as their symbol, Miyajima has its share of them, too.
There were a number of beautiful bridges and waterfalls.
Ashley Wilkes' Daddy kneels so that the beauty of the brook can be captured in the background.
.
After a fair amount of climbing, Ashley Wilkes' parents decided to ride the ropeway to the top of the lesser mountain, so the group split up, with the youth group taking the more vigorous route.
Out in the Seto Inland Sea, a naval destroyer prowls. We couldn't tell which Navy it belonged to.
From the lesser peak, Shishi-iwa, a good view of Hiroshima can be had. This looks back toward the center of Hiroshima and back to the castle where these mountain islands can be seen in the distance.
The seaweed culturing platforms can be seen in the Inland Sea.
Ashley Wilkes' Momma observes from the Shishi-iwa observatory.
The Seto Inland Sea is dotted with thousands of beautiful beaches. This particular island has a pretty & tiny little beach, and if you click on the picture, you may be able to see some tunnels carved into the cliffs. I wonder if the tunnels were military structures.
While the youth group was climbing the vigorous path, we took foot to trail from the lesser peak to the Mt. Misen peak, which was about 100 m higher and roughly a kilometer away.
This picture doesn't give the full impression of the steepness of the climb.
At the top, we saw some greedy and just a little bit rude deer.
The group enjoys some snacks and drinks while I look down from the little observation platform at the top.
No peak is complete without an antenna, and no antenna is complete without a bird.
The Shishi-iwa observatory on the lesser peak from the greater peak.
If you click on this picture, you can see what the destroyer was playing games with, perhaps Marco Polo? Look in the sea where the vegetation meets the bottom of the rock face.
Ryan holds up the gate so we can all leave.
As the youth group takes the vigorous route back down the mountain, the older crew winds through the lesser taken path through some beautiful settings.
Yes, more of that Tori. As the tide recedes and the sun goes down, the locals grab their grocery bags and snatch up some shellfish and the tourists walk out to the now exposed Tori.
Well, we couldn't leave Miyajima without yet one more Tori shot, and with both peaks of Mt. Misen in the background.
At the end of the day, this Samurai had more energy than I did. Miyajima was well worth the effort, and a very beautiful site.
