Day Trippin' at Miyajima

On Wednesday, Lydia and I visited Miyajima, a touristy island known for the floating torii gates. I, on the other hand, firmly believe that the island's coolest feature is something else: the deer.



Now, when I say that Miyajima is filled with deer, I don't mean that they live in the woods and if you're lucky, you'll see one peeking out from behind the brush. No, these deer are strolling about the street, lounging around in the shade and mingling with the townsfolk. As soon as we stepped off the ferry, I saw this man on a bench shooting the breeze with a few of them.



You do have to be careful though--not because they'll attack you but because if you have any paper in your hands (a ticket, for instance) they will rush towards you and eat it. We watched in hilarity as one Asian tourist walked up to one and it mercilessly devoured his guide map. But apparently, there was no ill will between the two of them be cause he got down on one knee beside the deer and snapped some one-handed Facebook-style pictures with his new friend.

Lydia and I were nervous to approach the deer at first, but soon we warmed up tot hem and by the time we left, we were all good buddies. Mom, Dad, when I get home, I am buying a pet deer.



We did other stuff, too. Like...

visit the Itsukushima Shrine...



look at the floating torii gates and and take some obligatory gate pictures...



and attempt to steal the world's largest rice scoop.



We also climbed halfway up a mountain to visit the Daishoin temple. Lydia and I are both relatively out of shape for 22-year-old women, so this was a big deal. It was worth it, though; the mountain was crazy beautiful.



There were also lots and lots and lots of Buddha statues everywhere that eerily resembled garden gnomes. This one was my favourite:



We ended our day at Miyajima by sampling the local specialty: momiji manjū, little maple leaf shaped cakes filled with various flavours. Ours were chocolate and custard. The maple leaves reminded me of home.