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Wow Place #258: Miyajima, Hiroshima, Japan
I’m sure it happens to all regular travelers; at some point, you become jaded.
You’re standing in front of Chartres Cathedral, thinking, “Oh look, another church. Next!” You’re walking through the Louvre in Paris, thinking, “Another Raphael. Yawn.” You’re sitting in a boat on the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, sleepily noticing the Grand Palace, thinking, “Hmm, pretty temple. Pass me my water bottle, will you?”
Although it’s a normal reaction to becoming a “world traveler,” it’s also a little sad, isn’t it? Remember the first time you got on a plane and flew to another country? Everything was so new and different! You took pictures of even the most mundane objects – light posts, door handles, bathrooms – because they were so cool and unusual. If only we could bottle up that childlike wonder and keep it in our pockets!
About all we can do now, I think, is try to remember what a privilege it is to travel abroad, not to mention what a technological miracle it is that we can leave our homes one day and be transported across the world only a few hours later, abruptly knee deep in an exotic, foreign culture.
Thankfully, there are some places in the world that defy that jaded reaction. One such place is Miyajima, Japan. Also known as Itsukushima (shima = island), Miyajima is located in Hiroshima Bay in western Japan, a short ferry ride from Hiroshima City. It’s known for its forests and ancient temples. You can take a ropeway (or hike) up Mount Misen, enjoying stunning views and encountering wild monkeys all along the way. The island has a great shopping street with a few nice country inns to stay in. But the signature sight – the “pinch-me moment” — is standing in Itsukushima Shrine and goggling at the giant, orange Great Torii Gate.
One of Japan’s most popular tourist attractions, Itsukushima Shrine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – of course it is! A Shinto holy place, this seaside complex consists of two main buildings and 17 other elegant structures, all built on piers — several of which contain national treasures. Interestingly, the shrine was originally a place “where no births or deaths were allowed to cause pollution.” Throughout much of its history, a commoner couldn’t even set food on the shrine, for fear of tainting its purity. To this day, pregnant women are supposed to retreat to the mainland before the day of their delivery, along with any terminally ill or elderly people whose passing has become imminent. Burials are completely forbidden on the island.
As for the stunning orange gate, the first torii on the site is said to have been erected in 593. Although a torii of one kind or another has been here for over a thousand years, the current, elegant structure dates back to only 1875. It’s a wildly impressive site, whether planted in the sand during low tide or “floating” in the bay when the tide is in.
While standing on the deck of the shrine, look at the monumental torii gate, I can’t help getting shivers up and down my spine. “I’m actually here. I’m in Japan. So far from home, and so lucky to be seeing this beautiful, iconic sight with my own eyes!” If I can’t appreciate this place, I don’t have a pulse.
It’s truly a “to die for” moment, but of course that’s not allowed on Miyajima.
(It’s one thing to appreciate tourist sites in foreign lands, but how do you bring that sense of wonder back home? It definitely takes some practice. Take a walk around your neighborhood this weekend and really notice your surroundings. Be a tourist! That white flower in your neighbor’s garden with red and blue spots on its petals – amazing! That gathering of garden gnomes over there on a lawn – astonishing! That giant bear statue carved into a wood stump – world class! When you bring a sense of awe to the mundane, every day is an around-the-world journey, a “pinchable moment.” Give it a try!)