Miyajima is a small island, just over half an hour by train plus a ten minute ferry ride away from Hiroshima. It’s home to the famous “floating gate”, several shrines and temples (Daisho-in must be one of the most beautiful temples we’ve seen so far, the location on the foot of the mountain, and so many little gems to discover, it’s just adorable) and Mount Misen, which is great hiking terrain. Like Nara, a lot of tame deer run around freely…
After not being very lucky with Mount Fuji we were a bit worried about our plans to visit the Japan Alps. We based ourselves in Nagoya, which is a perfect gateway for that region, just a 90 minutes train ride and you’ve travelled from a top-notch 21st century modern metropolis to a marvellous mountain scenery where time seems to have stopped 200 years ago.
Mount Fuji is the epic landmark of Japan – a must see on every travel itinerary. Since it’s not hiking season (that’s only July and August) we decided against climbing to the top and instead we went to the “Fuji Five Lakes” Area, where you are supposed to have a nice view of the mountain. When it’s not hiding behind the clouds. When we arrived in Kawaguchiko, with the touristy but nice Fujikyu railway, it was raining cats and dogs. So…