Adventures Beyond the Big Cities

Japan does a lot of things well. I've come to realization that it's because the prefectures or regions have a specialty, whether through natural resources, circumstantially created, or just pure genius. Kobe has their Kobe beef, Fukuoka has Hataka Ramen. Kanazawa leads in the gold leafing industry, while small town Hida leads in manufacturing fake food models.

 In KURASHIKI, famous for their denim industry, you can get everything denim or denim themed such as a bao, soft serve, or dumplings - all blue color. There are a few acclaimed museums and in it's core old center, a willow lined canal with pontoon boats cruising along makes it one of the most picturesque idyllic scenes. 

YUFUIN is the young sibling of Beppu situated in a volcanic region known for their onsens (geo-thermal baths). The charming town draws hordes of tourists (I counted 11 tour buses at a given time, and more buses come and go throughout the day); it can get suffocatingly crowded. Yufuin is so small, you can get through it in a half day, but that would be a wasted memory. Staying the night or even two allows you to get the place all to yourself in the earlier mornings and evenings. And then soak away in the onsen until your skin glows or gets wrinkly.

MIYAJIMA (official name, Itsukushima) is a mountainous island covered in trees and is home to a large population of deer which you'll see around town. While they appear domesticated, they are wild. Gentle in nature, they'll leave you alone but will approach you if you have food, hoping you'll share. Please don't, and resist temptation to pet them - keep wild animals wild! But having them around is such a joy because they seem to pop out of nowhere when you least expect to see them. 

Miyajima is in the Hiroshima prefecture and you know what culinary delight they're known for?Oysters!  I like oysters, but I've never been a huge fan of them. That is, until I got here. Like all seafoods in Japan, none of it tastes fishy - not even oysters which by nature, can taste anywhere from ocean-y to the likes of licking a pier. Because oysters inherently have a much higher risk of making you sick (or even kill you), Japan has very strict protocols for harvesting and farming oysters and most are eaten cooked. For raw consumption, and only safely during certain times of the year, the protocols become even more stringent. 

Besides INE, nowhere else in Japan will you find funayas, which are boat houses sitting on the bay with boat ports underneath the house. Other fishing villages will have traditional boat ports which are separate from the house, but Ine's steep terrain makes this particular style work.

A short drive will take you to AMANOHASHIDATE, where your imagination is put to the test. At the top of mountain is one of Japan's top three vistas. Visitors at the top bend over and look upside down between their legs to view the sandbar stretching across between the two lands making up Amanohashidate. What should you expect to see? Supposedly a dragon flying into the heavens.

Let's explore!

Idyllic boat cruises along the canal in Kurashiki.

Autumn leaves changing colors

Road leading to Kurashiki's historic center

Denim kimonos in Kurashiki.

A two minute stroll to our ryokan in Yufuin

Strolling around Yufuin reminds me of the English countryside of the Cotswolds but instead of thatched roofs, it's glazed tile roofs.

Early morning mist on Yufuin's Kinrin Lake. Unlike fog, where warm air meets cool water, the mist on Kinrin Lake is cool air meeting warm water.

Yufuin

This stall is called The Shitake Monster. I waited over 30 minutes for this giant grilled shitake mushroom with cheese. It was worth the wait.

Breakfast spread at our ryokan in Yufuin.

Miyajima island is mountainous so we welcomed the opportunity to tour around in a rickshaw.

Rickshaw pullers work hard! But they make good money and know they only have a limited time window to do this type of work.

The tori gate at high tide appears to float, earning the moniker The Floating Tori Gate.

At low tide, you can walk out to the tori gate. Might be a cool thing to do, but you'll have everyone in your photos.

Dashoin temple, Miyajima. You can make these prayer wheels spin as you walk up or down the stairs to the temple.

Hundreds of rakan statues, all different, resides at Dashoin temple. It's common practice to leave a coin on them.

Miyajima island deserves at least one overnight stay, preferably two.

This tree wants to be center of attention.

There are 3 hiking hiking trails up to the top of Mt Misen. That's why at least an overnight stay or two allows you to savor all the island has to offer.

It's near sunset in Hiroshima now - view from top floor of our hotel

The A-bomb dome. Not far from the epicenter of the atomic blast. Couldn't bring myself to go to the Peace Memorial Museum; it was too disturbing just pouring over the museum's website.

Peace Park, Hiroshima

Japan has 12 professional baseball teams, The Toyo Carp play here in Hiroshima. Too bad it's off season and we couldn't catch a game.

Ine, a tiny fishing village with funayas, a type of boathouse unique only to Ine. The living quarters sits on top of the boat port. You can stay the night in some of them. Some have also been converted to coffee shops and restaurants.

A boat cruise around Ine bay. Seagulls follow the boats as people buy food to feed them. The take them right out of your hand without missing a beat.

Funaya converted into a cafe

Amanohashidate's sand bar links the two land masses. Visitors at the top of the mountain bend over upside down to look between their legs to see what appears to be a dragon flying into the sky.

It took me a day or two see what everyone else claims to see. Good luck!