Miyajima

After Hiroshima, and before heading to Kyoto, the professors took us to the island of Miyajima. The island is just off the coast of Hiroshima and is known as "One of the 5 most beautiful places in Japan." To be honest, I thought that it was just another tourist trap, albeit a pretty one.
The most interesting, yet depressing, sight on the island is right when I stepped off the ferry. The island imported deer to the island, and lets them roam free around the tourists. So, there are countless deer just walking around the island, begging for food from the tourists; you can even pet them if you want. However, I mentioned that it's depressing because the deer are all mangy looking (probably from eating human food) and the ugly ones that no one wanted to feed were eating scraps of paper off the ground. Also, if you didn't feed them, they would chase you around the island and sometimes even bite:





There were some pretty shrines and temples on the island. The most famous attraction of the island is a giant, red doorway in the middle of the bay (it's not actually called a "doorway," and does have some religious significance). My favorite part of the island was the Buddhist temple in the hills. It was huge! One part of the temple had miniature statues of almost every form of Buddha. I had a few extra minutes, so I was able to meditate in the temple, on tatami mats and in front of a shrine. I have always wanted to do that.