Kobe to Miyajima

The hotel we stayed at last night was surprisingly cheap for the "luxury" that it offered. Mind you, we have been used to staying in youth hostels and cheap minshukus (think japanese motels, without the motor part). This was a full-on hotel, with amenities you usually find in ¥15000/night ($170) hotels. Ours was ¥7200, plus an extra ¥1000 each for a buffet breakfast. The "B" Kobe had everything, including a state-of-the-art Japanese toilet:

I failed to mention in the video that, along with the features I mentioned, the seat is heated and there is a sensor that, when you sit on the toilet, it starts a steady, light spray of air freshener while you are using the toilet.

Update: Checking online, the price of this Washlet, as they are known, is US$2114.86

So, after our Bathroom Adventures, we caught an early morning Shinkansen to Hiroshima, and then a local train to Miyajimaguchi to catch the ferry across to Miyajima Island. After stopping at our next hostel, which had the usual, non-exciting toilets, we explored Miyajima Town, which is know for it's famous torii (gate) that sits out in the ocean, during high tide, and is about 50 feet on land during low tide.

Miyajima Torii

 On Day One, we chose to wander around town, checking out some of the smaller shrines and areas we had not seen on our previous trip. The ever-present, wild but extremely passive Nihonjika (Japanese Deer) were abundant and cute as ever. They are small compared to the American White-Tailed Deer you are used to seeing jumping in front of cars on the highway (or eating out of our bird feeder). There had been reports of them starving after the local government put a ban on tourists feeding them (why they did that, I'm still not sure. They don't beg, they aren't aggressive, and selling "deer food" for ¥100 would be a great way to raise money for the island), but from the ones that I had seen, they were not looking underfed or sick. They were trying to get a seat at a local restaurant, however.

Table for two, please

When the tide receded, we went out to see the famous torii up close. It's pretty impressive.

Japanese tourists put small coins in the barnacles that grow on the gate and make a wish. Some of the coins even manage to stay there after the tide comes in.

Many 1 and 5 Yen coins. Those are some cheap wishes.

Of course, most do not.

Of the many restaurants on the island, most were overpriced tourist traps with mediocre food. Across the street from the station, however, we found a little coffee shop that had good prices and excellent sandwiches. Now, the Japanese will never, ever be known for their sandwiches, mostly because they feel that the more processed and fluffy the bread is, the better. I honestly don't think I have ever seen anything resembling even wheat bread, let alone whole wheat or rye even in a panya (bakery). While this was indeed the case here, they made up for it with flavorful fillings. Ham, egg salad, cheese and wasabi mayonaisse, which I highly recommend for anyone who has never tried it. The lunch came with a small salad, as well, and was under ¥500.

Wonder Bread, eat your heart out

After visiting the Itsukushima Shrine (we were not allowed to take pictures inside), we called it a day and headed back to the new Miyajima Backpackers Hostel to prepare for our climb of Mt. Musen tomorrow morning. Nice, clean, quiet and simple.