The main reason I wanted to come so far out of our way to return to Hiroshima was to return to Miyajima.

I wasn't disappointed.

This the first truly exhausting day of the trip, but it has been absolutely worth it.

Leaving the hotel before 9am, we planned our route to Miyajima, which consisted of a streetcar, a train and finally the ferry across to the island. We have JR rail passes, which allows free travel on JR trains, and the Miyajima ferry operated by JR. This would have made the journey very cheap...had I not left the rail passes in the hotel room. So the journey ended up costing me an extra $25 return for ferry and rail tickets which should have been free.

It was quite cold in the centre of Hiroshima, but there was definitely no signs of snow, but as we approached the Hiroshima port we noticed vehicles driving around covered in snow, and the snow on the ground got thicker and thicker as we approached the port. The hills surrounding Hiroshima were covered in a light dusting of snow, so I remained hopeful that we'd get some snow on Miyajima, especially since we were planning an ascent to the top of Mt Misen (the tallest mountain on Miyajima).

Once we arrived at the Miyajima port we got a selection of sandwiches and breads from the 7/11 for breakfast, queued (reluctantly) to purchase the ferry tickets, and then briefly queued again before boarding the ferry and we were underway.

Approaching Miyajima reminded me why I wanted to go back. Itsukushima tori and shrine in the foreground, with the large mountains providing a pretty amazing backdrop, with the colours a mixture of green, some yellows and oranges from the leftover autumn foliage, and white from the snow currently falling at the top of the mountains.

Exiting the ferry, we largely stayed out of the way of the majority of people who rushed through the ferry terminal and onto the island. As was the case last time we were here, there were a few deer situated just outside of the ferry terminal, and I wouldn't mind betting that those are the most photographed couple of deer on the planet.
Everyone who filed out of the terminal took photos of them, posted with them, tried to pat them, etc, probably not realising that around any of the corners in any direction there were 100 more dear waiting for a photograph, or food.

Along with snow on Mt Misen, my hope for the Miyajima trip was to see the tori gate and shrine at high tide. Again, we got lucky. We arrived at the island at 10:30am, and the tide was already up around the base of the shrine. We found out at the entrance to the shrine that high tide was at around 11:30am, so we went for a short walk to allow the tide to finish coming in before we entered.

With so many picturesque vantage points, soaking up time was simple, and we eventually made our way through the plagues of souvenir sellers and deer, to make the short climb to the 5 story pagoda. The pagoda itself is nothing special, but it does hold a vantage point that offers some pretty special views of the floating tori gate the Itsukushima shrine, especially at high tide.

Returning to Itsukushima just before the tide was high and the crowds began to queue as a result we worked our way through the wooden corridors above the water which provided ample opportunity for picturesque photos, if you were willing to jostle for position a little.

Once out of the shrine, we headed straight up the hill toward the cable car station.

Around halfway between sea level and the cable car base station, in the middle of a heavily wooded forest trail it began to rain. Very pretty, but it made for less than pleasant walking conditions as it turned the walking trail to mud. But we pressed on without getting too wet and cold, and were soon on our way in a private cable car up Mt Misen.

Around halfway up to the middle cable car station (where customers change cars from a small 4-6 person car to a large 20+ person car) it began to snow. Only very lightly, and to be honest it killed visibility, but it was a pretty special site nevertheless.

Switching cable cars, we got packed into the "large" car with many, many other people. Most of them American. But thankfully it was a short trip, and we soon got out to be greeted with a decent snowfall at the top cable car station.

Veronica planned to just stay around the top cable car station with Isabelle, while I took Charlotte and Angela to the Mt Misen summit. Angela took one look at the distance that she'd have to climb, through the snow, and quickly decided against it. As she returned inside Charlotte and I set off.

The climb from the top cable car station to the summit isn't that hard. It's a very well worn trail, and isn't overly steep, but so many stairs. Stairs and I are not best of friends. Needless to say it was much quicker and easier on the way down than it was on the way up.

Lightly snowing when we left, this gradually got heavier and heavier as we ascended, to the point where is was a fairly decent snowfall at around halfway between the cable car station and the summit. Considering the snowfall and the impact on visibility it would have, combined with my very recently renewed hatred for stairs, I considered turning back several times. But we didn't, and soon enough we made the first rest point.

When nearing the top of the mountain, climbers are greeted with a series of shrines, one of which being the eternal flame which was used to light the Hiroshima Peace Park flame, and a variety of other small shrines, mini temples and monuments. By the time we'd reached this point it was snowing quite heavily.

Climbing past that (again, more stairs) takes you to the summit of the mountain, and gives you 360 degree views over Hiroshima, and out to sea over a very pretty series of islands. As we reached the summit almost on queue the snow stopped, the sun came out, and gave us fantastic views in every direction.

I'm very amazed at the different weather we experienced at different altitudes on the way up the mountain. At sea level it was very cold, with an icy wind blowing off the water, but with no rain or snow. A little way up the mountain it was raining, but not as cold as sea level since there was no wind present. At the top cable car station it was lightly snowing, but again, not as cold as sea level. Halfway between the cablecar station it was snowing more heavily, with poor visibility, and at the summit there was no snow, sunshine and great visibility. We might have just got lucky with the shifts in weather, but it was bizarre.

With little else to do except take some photos and video, we began the much easier descent back to the cable car station, and took the first available cable car back to sea level. Downhill is much more of my friend than uphill. Downhill I can do just fine.

After 2 cable cars, and a short courtesy bus ride later we arrived back in the small Itsukushima township. We decided that enough was enough for the day, considering I was now having difficulty walking under my own power and motivation, we made our way through the shops towards the ferry terminal, stopping only to sample some fantastic custard filled cakes that practically every shop on the island specialised in making.

There are 2 foodstuffs that are available in abundance on Miyajima. Oysters, and these custard filled cakes. If a shop wasn't selling oysters prepared in some fashion (raw, boiled, fried, crumbed, on a stick, etc), chances are they'd be making custard filled cakes. And the oysters they were all selling were absolutely massive. At what appeared to be an average of a few hundred yen a piece though (a few dollars) they'd want to be good. The locals seemed to be enjoying them. They were certainly popular.

With Miyajima done, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. After catching the ferry back to the mainland we caught a train back to Hiroshima station. Attempting to find some dinner at a nearby 11 story upmarket Fukuya shopping mall failed miserably, since 8 or 9 of the 11 stories contained clothes from all of the expensive sounding labels, and had shop assistants working there who must have been trained to stare at tourists with a look that says "you can't afford to shop here". When we did find the "food court" it was too hot and crowded to bother staying, so we got a quick bite for Angela and Isabelle, while Charlotte had a small crepe, and we got out of there as soon as we could.

Back on the streetcar to the hotel, and trusty 7/11 sandwiches and bento boxes for dinner. I think we're all going to sleep well tonight, and I just hope I can walk in the morning.