Day 4 - Hiroshima/Miyajima Island:Red Shrines and Red-arsed Monkeys

Torii Gate and Wild Deer of Miyajima Island
Originally uploaded by Ginger DJ.

Took the tram to the ferry port which took nearly an hour (should have took the train). A 5 minute ferry ride later we were greeted by wild deer (as warned by the weird Jap) which were really friendly as much as you could stroke them. Walked towards the shrine which is a series of floating walkways overlooking the famous Torii gate. Behind the Onimusha style shrine was a 5 tier pagoda plus a huge open hall with medieval paintings. Other small shrines were around with deer hanging around for food. A handy mini-bus helped avoid a 20 minute hike upto the cable car station for the top of the island. Very scary for Kerry as we hung over the prim-evil forests. Once up the top of the mountain there were amazing panoramic views of the smaller islands around and the coast. Spotted a submarine sailing into harbour. The other reason to be up there was the red-arsed monkeys lounging, pruning themselves or engaging in monkey politics with hierarchy arguments going on. Kerry managed to pluck enough courage for the return journey saving us a 2 km walk down. Wandered around the small town and visited a museum with old Shinto/Samurai artefacts.