Aso-san 2009 (page 1)
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Day 1
Since I still had some daylight when I reached the station, I decided to visit Miyajimaguchi 宮島口 before checking into Hiroshima Youth Hostel. From the Miyajimaguchi Station 宮島口駅, i bought two way tickets for the JR ferry. There are two companies that ferries passengers to and fro the Island: JR and Matsudai
View of the port
Matsudai ferries
Curiously, i asked if my 18 kippu ticket was valid and surprisingly, the JR guys at the ferry accepted it. They were kind enough to refund me the tickets that i mistakenly bought. I am not sure if this is an exception cause i initially thought that the ticket is only valid for JR trains.
On the island, there were many deers roaming around. While i was eating my bento, a rather large male deer tried to eat my bento. Soon after, i changed location. And another deer, tried sneaking behind me to get some food.
A word of caution: keep the tickets safe and away from deers ;)
Next, the famous Itsukushima Shrine 厳島神社.
Next, i walked around and stumble upon the 5-story Pagoda (top photos) and the Daisho-in Temple (bottom photos).
Main entrance to the Daisho-in temple
I started heading back to the shrine to get a picture during sunset. Due to the current time of the year, the location of the sun was not directly behind the shrine's gate and the tide was high. Still I think it is beautiful.
Oh yeah, and my favourite, oysters!! Heard from a Japanese lady that i met on the train that this place is famous for its oysters. Man, they were good!
I went back to Hiroshima Station and went to the Youth Hostel. It felt a bit nostalgic with the students and teachers around but it was a real suprirse when i heard there is a "curfew". The doors are locked at 11pm. It was already 8.30pm and i had little time to see the "Hiroshima Dreamination" light festival. Didnt like the curfew at all.