First steps

For this new adventure i’m heading to the famous Miyajima island. Once you get there you’ll already notice many deers. A nice flashback of the Nara park.
How adorable.

They even have a local brewery on Miyajima. I let you guess what advertising they choosed.

Nice one !
The deers are attracted to the local food scene.

You never know until you try isn’t.

Talking about food , Miyajima is known for his «Momiji Manju». This is basically a leaf shapped sponge cake with a filling inside. You’ll come across many different type. Why not trying a fews.

They have fancy machines to make these sweets.

The end result.

I went for the «almond – chocolate» and «custard» version. This tasted good. I enjoy the melty heart inside.

You can even find a deep fried version !

Yummy yummy.

Miyajima is also famous for his oysters. Here also you’ll find different styles to eat them. You can find them raw or even fried in a bread. This must be nice but oyster isn’t my cup of tea so I had to pass.

Okay Miyajima isn’t just about food. This blog is taking an interesting curve ^^ I realise that I talk a lot about food but If you think about it «food» is a central subject anywhere you go. Food and the way it’s cooked defines a culture.

The main reason so many tourists go there is because of the famous giant Tori gate that lies on the water. You already might have come across some pictures. The Tori measure 16 meters high. You find theses «tori» gates in shinto religious sites but Miyajima tori isn’t like any others.

An impressive structure. The tori view will change according to the tides. It was late in the day and the tide was high. In low tide you can actually go underneeth it.

Right in front the Tori you’ll find one of the most amazing shinto shrine. The Itsukushima shrine. It has been build on the sand so during high tide it will give the impression that the it’s floating on the water.

The Itsukushima shrine during low tide. A special place.

You can also go and walk inside to enjoy this beautiful structure.

The tori is never far. Actually it’s located just in front the shrine.
This place is stunning. I have only been there since 2 hours and i’m falling in love with it. Miyajima have this special energy that it’s hard to put into words. The island is very wild and there is many high religious sites around. Expect to see massive crowd of tourists.

The best way to experience this magical place is to go early / late in the day (to beat the crowd). I thought It will be smart to book a nightstay there which I did. But I got it wrong. My hotel turn out to be on the other side , in Miyajimaguchi (where you take the ferry to the island).
Oh well it’s okay because the boat ride is only 10 min , cost 2 euro and there is boats every 15 min. Sleeping in Miyajimaguchi also turn out to be way cheaper.

Before taking the return ferry let’s try some more food.

Bun with Yuba inside. Yuba is a type of tofu. This tasted good but the best part was that I got to share it with two funny japaneses.

The best way to meet other people is to stop somewhere with your eyes open. Even though my Japanese is very limited it’s good enought to connect with the local people. They will love you if you try.

Tanoshi time with new Japaneses friend from Okayama.

Theses little moments always make my day. A conversation always start with a smile , an eye contact and a few easy words. What comes after is pure freestyle. People are often scared about diving into the unknown but i’m realising that if you go beyond yours fears you’ll get rewarded big time. It also make me realise that we are all the same despite our cultural differences. Food is a central element that brings human together. This moment was a perfect exemple.

Back on Miyajimaguchi for my night stay. There is only very few open restaurants at night. I went for an Okonomiyaki place , I wanted to give them another try.

In this restaurant you order with a tablet. You can even call the waitress from it. Welcome to Japan.

I went for a «lemon Okonomiyaki».

Inside : noodles , egg , lemon skin , rice balls , shiso leaf , green onions (you can choose the topping you want). On top of it I added a BBQ sauce and mayonnaise.
For this special version you add some freshly squeesd lemon juice on top of it. The taste was wondefull. All the tastebuds in your mouth are going nuts. So far this was my favorite Okonomiyaki.

Time to go to bed now. Tomorrow I’m planning to go early in Miyajima and explore further this special island. Today was just a teaser and it was a sweet one.

See you for the next episode people.