Mt Misen hike

After a good night of sleep I’m ready to go back to Miyajima. If you are not bothered with comfort , «Simple stay» hotel in Miyajimaguchi is the place to go to. It’s located 2 min away from the ferry terminal , you get a basic private room and it’s so cheap (15 euro).

I grabbed a breakfast at the kombini store that I enjoyed later in front of the Tori.

Enjoying the quiet site with a light breakfast.

It was 8h10 and I was almost just by myself. One hour later the site became much more busy so my advice will be to go for 8 am and enjoy at least 30 min of peace.

Miyajima also have some beautiful temples and trees.

Just like this one. I loved the design of that tree.

Japan first religion is shintoism but buddhism has evolved side by side for a long time therefore Japaneses will often pray in both temple and shrine. It’s interesting to see two differents religious sites just next to each other. Somehow it’s possible to have a bit of both without conflicts.

Miyajima island is also famous for his Mont Misen scenic view point. There is two options to get there : either you take a cable car or you use your good old legs and hike to the top. The hiking option was much more appealing to me , also I needed to exercise for all the sweet foods I have eaten previously ^^

On the way to the hiking trail , beautiful morning sceneries were drawing in front of my eyes.

There is 3 paths to reach the top , I went for the longest one and what seemed to be the more «raw» trail.

I choosed to hike the «Ohmoto trail section». It’s about 3.6 km with an elevation gain of 500 meters. It should take about 2 hours to reach the top. This is the most remote trail to reach Mt Misen. I liked the idea of being immersed in that raw nature just by myself. Let’s start.

The path has been build right on the rocks.

I have to say the climb was pretty steep but very enjoyable. The nature around felts untounched and so quiet. I didn’t met anyone during the hike.

Getting there slowly but surely.

It was a bit harder than I expected but not an issue. It’s good to start the day with some exercise. Hiking feels like an inner journey to me. The climbing part is challenging you on many levels but once you get to the top you’ll get reward by a wonderful view and an inner state of spaciouness.

After 1 hour of steep climb I have reached a high pass. From there you’ll see a hidden path just on your right. I wanted to catch a great view and went to that small trail.

Getting higher. You’ll have to do some easy climbing. After 2 min of going up you’ll get your reward.

Flirting with the sky. This view was one of the best I had in Japan. You’ll assist a 360° panorama of untounched nature and the best part is that you can enjoy it just by yourself.

«Après l’effort ; le réconfort». This French saying means that after each workout lies a reward.

You get a nice view of Miyajima. Can you spot the floating Tori gate ?

You found it ? On the other side you can also see Miyajimaguchi.

From there I had to hike about an extra 45min to reach the observatory site of the Mont Misen. From that point you start meeting more and more people. Most of them will use the cable car but you’ll still have to climb 30 min anyways.

View from the Mont Misen.
They builded an observatory deck that gives you a good 360° view all around. The weather was slighty gray but still beautiful. I can only recommand this hike. For the nature and also for the few temples along the last part of the trail.

One of the temple roof design.

Funky monk ! I dont know why but all theses statues had sunglasses on.

I went down using another trail. After 45 min going down I ended up in the MOMOJI park which had stunning autumn colors. It was time for a nice lunch.

«Après l’effort , le reconfort» 😉

«Red rice rissotto with spinach , mushroom and a soymik cream».

A very yummy and warm treat that came at the right timing. I had it at the «Café Lente» , an italian / asian fusion coffee place. This was a very cosy café with a great view. In the background some atmospheric piano music was playing. I recognized some Debussy tracks.

And what’s on the menu for dessert ?

«Baked cheesake with a decaff coffe» and a view. I enjoyed that little break in this cosy bubble. I definitly recommand this place.

It was low tide so why not go under the Tori.

Miyajima Tori from the beach.
You really get to appreciate the size of it by changing your perspective. I believe the Tori will be close for renovation in about a month. They will do renovation work that might take 1-2 years. I got lucky to see it before the renovation.

See you for the second part of Miyajima adventure. This time I will discover a Shiba Dog café in the heart of Miyajima.

See you for the next one for some fluffy adventures !