Hey Steemits,

Carl here from FML with another episode of Xcape, where we continue our journey through Hiroshima, Japan. In today’s blog I’ll take you on a mountain adventure up Mt Misen and I’ll also show you around Itsukushima Shrine which are both conveniently located on Miyajima Island.

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine is one of the famous shrines on Miyajima Island and was constructed in approximately 1168. The temple was built for Taira no Kiyomori, who was once the most powerful man in Japan during the Heian Period.

The shrine which is coloured vermillion to keep evil spirits away has a number of decks which you can walk through. The most impressive part of the temple is the main open-air deck from which you can view the Great Torii Gate.

The shrine is pretty amazing given that it looks like it floats on water during high tide. I can only imagine the difficulty they must have encounter with building the temple above tidal flats.

Entry into the shrine cost approximately 300 yen. Please check out some of my photos below from my visit.

Itsukushima Shrine at low tide

On the main open deck at Itsukushima Shrine

On the main open deck, you’ll also be treated to some amazing views of Great Torii Gate which we explored in the last episode of Xcape.

Daisho-in Temple

After visiting Itsukushima Shrine, we made our way to Daisho-in, which is a buddhist temple (unlike Itsukushima which is a shinto shrine). The temple has many beautiful gardens which proceed up a steep hill. It is said that simply standing here and being exposed to the scenic atmosphere may enhance your peace of mind. Check out some of my photos below and let me know what you think.

Mt Misen

After spending some time at Daisho-in, we made our way to the Mt Misen walking trail which takes you up 430m above sea level to Mt Misen’s summit. I initially didn’t have plans to climb Mt Misen but I’m thankfully my friend who I was travelling with recommended it.

The mountain trail is a spectacular 1.5 - 2-hour mountain walk and there are a ton of Shinto shrines for you to explore along the way.

If you’re feeling lazy you can always take the ropeway up the mountain which will give you some spectacular views over Hiroshima bay. When we visited, the ropeway was under maintenance, however the walk up is very pleasant and peaceful. When starting up the mountain we did see a rather concerning sign warning of venomous snakes, but we figured it would be no different to taking a mountain walk in Australia.

Check out some of my other photos from along the walk

The mountain walk is definitely tiring but very pleasant if you take it at your own pace. Some of the stair can be very slippery as there can be moss on the stairs. I’d advise a high degree of caution as even I had a few close encounters with slipping.

I was beginning to wonder if all of the exercise was worth it but when I got to the top of the mountain all doubt disappeared. Check out some of my photos below.

The climb up Mt Misen was perhaps one of the highlights of the whole trip and is an amazing adventure if you do it with a bunch of good friends. I’d definitely recommend you check it out for yourself.

After our mountain climb we rewarded ourselves with some gelato from gelateria BACCANO, which is without a doubt one of the best gelato’s I’ve had. This includes beating out Gelato Messina for any Australian readers (Gelato Messina is amazing). I recommend you try the Black Sesame flavour which I was pleasantly surprised with.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this travel blog. If you want to hear more about my adventures, please upvote this post and resteem with friends. Additionally, please follow me to hear more about my latest adventures. ✌️

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About the Author

If you'd like to learn more about me or my blog series check out my introduction post

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FML news!!!

💬 A special thank you to my new and existing followers. Thanks for supporting my blog series. I'd definitely love to get to know more of you so feel free to get in contact if you enjoy my post.

💬 Soon I'll be passing the 100 followers milestone on steemit. As a thanks I'll be giving two (2) followers (one male and one female) $10 worth of steem dollars. If you'd like to be chosen simply follow my blog and actively comment on any one of my next 5 blogs. Please also resteem one of my blogs. At the end of Xcape #10 I'll draw the winners out and announce in Xcape #11.