Live from Japan!

This Shinto shrine, more specifically the gate to this shrine, is reported to be one of the most photographed sights in all of Japan. So, when we decided to head down to Hiroshima for the weekend, I knew that a visit to Miyajima, a small island off the coast, was high on the list of priorities.

The gate (torii) and shrine appear differently according to the tides. When the tide is low, the shrine and the gate are surrounded by a sandy mud that allows visitors to actually walk out to the gate and admire it closely. When the tide is in, on the other hand, the gate and shrine appear to be floating on the water, which gives it quite the magical appearance.

Since we stayed the night on the island we were able to see the gate and shrine in both of its incarnations – high and low tide. Both were spectacular, but in different ways. I think that this shrine has definitely earned its good reputation.

On our second visit to the shrine I was just enchanted by all the orange. It was so bright and vivid. The way the light reflected from the ocean onto the shrine really captivated my imagination, and as a result, i took a bunch of pictures.

And this last picture is one of my absolute favorites. I watched the heron as he approached the gate and I was trying to walk a bit closer to change my angle and snap a picture. Unfortunately, the heron wasn’t altogether pleased with my presence. Just as I knelt down to take the photo he started to fly away. Fortunately my finger was poised and ready and I quickly snapped a picture. I thought for sure I missed him, in fact I think I may have cursed. But then, I looked at the back of my digital and found that I had actually caught him, and it turned out to be a really cool picture. I guess it was my lucky day!