Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, Japan

Itsukushima Shrine [Japanese: Itsukushima-Jinjya, 厳島神社] ((UNESCO))
Location: Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi-city in Hiroshima prefecture in Japan 
　　　　　広島県廿日市市宮島町
Access: by Ferry from Miyajima-guchi/ 宮島口. 10 minutes ride. Every 15 min.
Fare: adult 180 yen, children 90 yen

 

 ferry from Miyajima-guchi/宮島口 to Miyajima-sambashi/宮島桟橋.

 

 

a monument showing that Itsukushima Shrine [Japanese: Itsukushima Jinjya, 厳島神社] is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 

 

Miyajima island [宮島] is one of the three most scenic sights of Japan;

"The Three Views of Japan (nihon-sankei, 日本三景)".
We found the monument of Nihon-sankei (日本三景碑) too.
 

 

Deer in Miyajima.

 

There was a pillar of the Three Views of Japan

around the entrance of waterfront toward the Itsukushima Jinjya. 
 

 

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We walked along the seashore to the Itsukushima shrine.

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We could see the Great Torii [Japanese: Otorii, 大鳥居] right away.
cf)Torii: a gate or the boundary between the spirit and the human worlds.

 
Some people were digging for clams during low tide.

 

The open stage located in front of the main shrine 

is called Hira-butai/ 平舞台.
It was a temporary stage but it became permanent.
Hira-butai is considered as a garden.

The part of Hira-butai looks like a pier is called Hitasaki/ 火焼先.

 

The vermilion corridors [Japanese: Kairou, 廻廊] in Itsukushima Shrine.
Anywhere on the corridor is a photo spot.
 

 

We could see the crabs coming out from the sand during the low tide 

below the corridors of the shrine.

 

an Arched Bridge [Japanese: Sori-bashi, 反橋].

It was used to enter directly to the Main Shrine for the festival in the past.
 

 

Episode of Itsukushima Shrine

Tomo & Chouchou went to Itsukushima Shrine [厳島神社, Itsukushima-Jinjya], which is floating in the sea, by group tour.  We went by bus until Miyajima-gushi/ 宮島口. Miyajima-guchi was in front of the train station. It took about 10 minutes to go to Miyajima-sanbashi (宮島桟橋) in Miyajima by ferry.
As soon as we arrived in Miyajima island, we could find a monument showing that Itsukushima Shrine is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 
Miyajima island is also one of the three most scenic sights of Japan; "The Three Views of Japan (日本三景, nihon-sankei)". We found the monument of Nihon-sankei too.
As soon as we started to walk ahead, the deer living in Miyajima island approached us. Deer in Miyajima were more aggressive than deer in Nara. They approached us to check if we had any foods. We had paper bags. Then they tred to get them. They tried to eat even paper bags. It was a bit scary.
Around the entrance of waterfront toward the Itsukushima Jinjya, there was a pillar of the Three Views of Japan. We needed to walk along the seashore to go to Itsukushima Shrine. We could see the Great Torii [Otorii, 大鳥居] right away.
cf)Torii: a gate or the boundary between the spirit and the human worlds.

The Itsukushima Shrine looks floating on the sea during high tide. During low tide, people come with scoops and buckets, and get shellfish. When we went there, it was during low tide. So people were digging for clams.
When we entered Itsukushima shrine, we could see the beautiful Shinden-zukuri/ 寝殿造り of the Main Shrine/ 本殿.
cf)Shinden-zukuri (寝殿造): the style of architecture built for aristocratic or palatial mansions in the Heian period (around 10th century)
We walked to the open stage called Hira-butai/平舞台. We could feel Hira-butai was like a garden as it was said. We walked to the pier called Hitasaki/ 火焼先.
From Hitasaki, we could see the Great Torii [Otorii, 大鳥居] and Seto Inland Sea [Setonaikai, 瀬戸内海] in front. Sea wind can enter from anywhere of the Itsukushima Shrine. So we could feel the wind in the shrine.
We could see the most whole parts of the shrine from anywhere in the shrine.
The vermilion corridors in Itsukushima Shrine were so brilliant. Anywhere on the corridor was a good photo spot.
We found the crabs coming out from the sand below the corridor of the shrine during the low tide. We really felt the shrine was beside the sea.
There was an Arched Bridge [Sori-bashi, 反橋]. We couldn't walk on the bridge. But it was enough beautiful to see.

The Itsukushima Shrine is located beside the sea, however it still remains. It's very rare and very spiritual.
Green Mount Misen (弥山) is located behind the Itsukushima Shrine, Blue Seto Inland Sea in front of the Itsukushima Shrine and vivid vermilion color of the shrine; all the combination of color was just great. It was a lovely landscpae of the Itsukushima Shrine unifying with the nature.
The Itsukushima shrine existing between the mountain and the sea made us feel the coexistence between the nature and the human, and it made us understand how Japanese people lived with the nature and how much Japanese people worshipped the god of the nature.

Tomo & Chouchou's advices for Miyajima

1)Deer even try to eat paper bags if we have, so please be careful.
More and more we feed deer, more and more deer try to eat human foods.
Nowadays, some deer eat a plastic bag with foods and they die.
So please don't feed any foods except specific foods for deer.
2)If you travel to Japan, never miss the Itsukushima Shrine. It is the symbol of Japanese beauty and Japanese spirits. 

 

Information

Itsukushima Shrine is also called floating shrine because it looks floating in the sea during high tide. Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine and it's disignated as a World Heritage Site.
Itsukushima Shrine is located on the island called "Miyajima/宮島 or Itsukushima/厳島" in Hatsukaichi/廿日市 in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.
To go to Miyajima island, we need to take a ferry from Miyajima-guchi (宮島口) where is just in front of the train station. It takes about 10 minutes to go to Miyajima-sanbashi (宮島桟橋) in Miyajima by ferry.

Tsuetate-onsen Koinobori festival, Kumamoto, Japan

Children's Day: May 5 is to celebrate the happiness of children with Koinobori.
So Koinobori Festival is held all over Japan in May.

Tsuetate onsen is the origin of Koinobori festival.

Around 3500 carp steamers/carp-shaped wind socks [=Koinobori]

 were flying above the river 

during Tuetate-onsen Koinobori festival.
 

footbath [Japanese: 足湯]

steamed egg [Japanese: Mushi-tamago, 蒸したまご].

Lots of carp-shaped Emas are hanging on Momiji bridge.
※Ema (=small wooden plaques written people's wish)

Episode of Tsuetate-onsen hot spring Koinobori festival

Tomo&Chouchou went to Tsuetate hot spring (=Tsuetate onsen) located in Oguni-machi, Aso-gun, Kumamoto, Japan. We went to Tsuetate-onsen in spring, so we could see lots of Koinobori [=carp steamers/carp-shaped wind socks] were swimming above the Tsuetate river in the sky. Around 3500 carp steamers/carp-shaped wind socks [=Koinobori] were flying above the river during Tuetate-onsen Koinobori festival. It was so beautiful. 

Around Koinobori area, we could have a footbath [Japanese: 足湯] for free. There was also a one day visit spa around. So we quickly enjoyed footbath then we entered visit spa for one hour. It was very refreshing!
We can also buy a steamed egg [Japanese: Mushi-tamago, 蒸したまご] around there.

Momiji-bashi [=Maple bridge] arches over the lower Tsuetate river. Lots of Emas shaped as a carp are hanging on Momiji bridge [Japanese: もみじ橋] because carp-shaped ema is reputed to make your love or wish come true. For that, we need to write our wish on carp-Ema and hang it on Maple bridge. It may be because both "carp [鯉]" and "love [恋]" are called "koi" in Japanese. When we realized two meaning of koi, it was more interesting. We could fully enjoy Tsuetate-onsen hot spring! 

Tomo&Chouchou's advices for Tsuetate-onsen Koinobori Festival

1)Tsuetate onsen is the origin of Koinobori festival. We highly recommend to go to Tsuetate-onsen in Spring. Tsuetate-onsen Koinobori Festival can be enjoye by kids, family, couple and friends. 

2)We can hang carp-shaped ema on Momiji bridge. We can also use carp-shaped Ema as a postcard. We need to paste a stamp on ema and put it into the post. If we go to the post office in Tsuetate, they will stamp postmark of Koinobori [=carp steamer] on it! Why not sending it to your friends, family or yourself?


information
Tsuetate-onsen hot spring "Koinobori festival" 杖立温泉 鯉のぼり祭り
from April 1 to May 6

Kokonoe "Dream" Big Suspension Bridge in Oita, Japan

Kokonoe Dream big suspension bridge "Kokonoe-Yume-Otsurihashi"
Location: in Kokonoe, Kusu-gun, Oita in Kyushu.
The height of suspension bridge is 173m.
The length of suspension bridge is 390m.
The width of suspension bridge is 1.5m.
This suspension bridge is made to sustain Adult (65kg) x 1800 people weight.
It's the highest and the longest suspension bridge only for the pedestrian in Japan.

Kokonoe Dream big suspension bridge 

[Japanese: 九重”夢”大吊橋]

Kyusuikei [Japanese: 九酔渓] from the suspension bridge.

 
  Medaki waterfall [雌滝]: left waterfall on the photo, 93m height. 

Odaki waterfall [雄滝]: right waterfall on the photo, 83m height.

Odaki waterfall is also called Shindo-no-Taki [Japanese: 震動の滝]. 

Shindo-no-Taki (=Odaki) is the one of the Japan's Top 100 waterfalls.

Episode of Kokonoe Dream big suspension bridge

Tomo&Chouchou went to see the big suspension bridge called "Kokonoe-Yume-Otsurihashi"which is located in Kokonoe, Kusu-gun, Oita in Kyushu.
As it is the highest and the longest suspension bridge only for the pedestrian in Japan, it was very long and a little bit scary to pass.
From the suspension bridge, we could see mountains, ravine, Medaki waterfall [雌滝] and Odaki waterfall [雄滝] . It was splendid.
Many people visited Kokonoe dream big suspension bridge. As many people were passing the suspension bridge, we felt the suspension bridge was shaking. When we looked down from the bridge, we got scared. We tried not to see below while walking. We sometimes worried about the suspension bridge was enough supportable or not. We also tried not to think about it while walking. The width of suspension bridge was not so wide. And it was divided for two-way. It means only one way to one direction. So it was difficult to stop and take photos as it was crowded. 

 

Tomo&Chouchou's advice for Kokonoe-Yume-Otsuribashi

If you want to take time to see the landscape, please try to go there on weekday.
Then it will be less people and easy to visit.


Information
Address: 1208 Tano, Kokonoe-machi, Kusu-gun, Oita
住所：大分県玖珠郡九重町大字田野１２０８番地

Opening hours: 8:30 - 17:00 (From Jul. to Oct.: until 18:00)
admission: 30 min. prior to the closing time

Open all year around

admission (round trip): adult 500yen, elementary school student 200yen

Sumiyoshi-taisha in Osaka, Japan

 

<Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine>

住吉大社

symbol of Sumiyoshi "Taiko bashi bridge [Japanese: 太鼓橋]".

It is also called Sorihashi bridge [Japanese: 反橋].

the view from the Sorihashi bridge.

We started to see the entrance of Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine.

 - four main halls -

First main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Sokotsutsu no Onomikoto
第一本宮：底筒男命 （そこつつのをのみこと）

Second main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Nakatsutsu no Onomikoto
第二本宮：中筒男命 （なかつつのをのみこと）

Third main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Uwatsutsu no Onomikoto
第三本宮：表筒男命 （うはつつのをのみこと）

Fourth main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines

 Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto = Empress Jungu.
第四本宮：息長足姫命 (おきながたらしひめのみこと)=神功皇后 (じんぐうこうごう)

1000 year-old camphor tree "Sennen-kusunoki"[Japanese: 千年楠]

 

couple tree "Fuufu-kusunoki" [Japanese: 夫婦楠]

This tree has one root but it is divided by two.

Episode of Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine

TOMO&CHOUCHOU visited Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine [Japanese: Sumiyoshi-taisha; 住吉大社] which was one of the three big sumiyoshi shrines in Japan.
Sumiyoshi Grand shrine is located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan. Official name of Sumiyoshi Shrine is "Sumiyoshi no Oogami no miya; 住吉大神宮".
Sumiyoshi shrine is called casually "Sumiyoshi-san" or "Sumiyossan" by local people.
Sumiyoshi shrine is very popular. Every new year's day, more than 2 millions people visit this shrine.
There is a big Trii at the entrance. [Trii; 鳥居=gateway at the entrance to a Shinto shrine)
After Trii, we could see the red bridge called Soribashi [反橋].
The bridge is liken to the rainbow which is the bridge between human's world and gods' world. This bridge is called "Taiko-bashi; 太鼓橋". Taiko bashi is a very famous symbol of Sumiyoshi. The reason to pass the bridge is to purify ourselves before approaching the gods. The bridge was very steep, so it was a bit scary to go up and down.
From the bridge, we could see the river and other bridges, so the view is nice.
After the bridge, there was an entrance of the sumiyoshi grand shrine.
Actually there were four halls [本宮].
First main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Sokotsutsu no Onomikoto
第一本宮：底筒男命 （そこつつのをのみこと）
Second main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Nakatsutsu no Onomikoto
第二本宮：中筒男命 （なかつつのをのみこと）
Third main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Uwatsutsu no Onomikoto
第三本宮：表筒男命 （うはつつのをのみこと）
Fourth main hall of Sumiyoshi Taisha enshrines Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto = Empress Jungu.
第四本宮：息長足姫命 （おきながたらしひめのみこと）=神功皇后 （じんぐうこうごう）
Sokotsutsu no Onomikoto, Nakatsutsu no Onomikoto & Uwatsutsu no Onomikoto are called "Sumiyoshi Sanjin; 住吉三神" (=three gods of Sumiyoshi).
The style of architecture of four main halls 御本殿 is known as Sumiyoshi-zukuri; 住吉造, the oldest style of shrine architecture.
Four main halls have been designated national tresures.
Not only the architecture but also trees are wonderful in Sumiyoshi Taisha.
There is a huge tree which is called "Sennen-kusunoki; 千年楠"(=1000year-old camphor tree).
There is also another special tree which is called "Fuufu-kusunoki; 夫婦楠"(= couple tree). This tree has one root but it is divided by two. Two trees are very close and they support each other, so it looks like a couple. Tomo&Chouchou could feel the energy and power of the trees.

We went to Sumiyoshi-taisha at the end of the year, so it was almost empty. Because Japanese people visit temples or shrine during New Year's. Therefore monks were cleaning of the halls and preparing for New Year's. We felt weired. But we could take good photos without crowds. We were satisfied with visiting a famous shrine in Kansai.


Address: 2-9-89, Sumiyoshi, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka
大阪府大阪市住吉区住吉2-9-89

For your information,
Around New Year's: Dec.31 - Jan.3, parking lots are closed.
If you go around new year's, please go by trains.