This article is based on a visit made on Tuesday, 22 November 2016.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I took a walk through
Momijidani Park. On the opposite end of the park stands the base station of the Miyajima Ropeway (宮島ロープウエー,
Miyajima Rōpuwē), which leads up the island's mountains, including its highest peak of Mount Misen (弥山,
Mi-sen), at 535 metres (1,755 feet) above sea level.
A display in the ropeway's queue shows the multiple varieties of cables used by the system. I shall admit my fear of heights would act up slightly in the multiple gondolas I would ride, but these cables were suitably sturdy enough to hold me and everybody else up safely.
The Miyajima Ropeway is made up of two segments. In the first part, a "
gondola lift" system, the a series of gondolas runs in a continuous loop up and down the mountain. The cars here are smaller, carrying up to 8 people each. This leg takes up to 10 minutes to ride, but new cars arrive at both stations frequently.
After alighting at the mid-way Kayatani Station, we board the second leg of the ropeway. This second part is an "
aerial tramway" style lift, which uses only two gondolas that go back and forth opposite each other. The cars here are larger, and the ride itself only takes 4 minutes, but departures are less frequent. Expect them to come by every 15 minutes, although if there are a lot of people in queue, the waiting time between cars may be shortened to as little as 5 minutes.
The ropeway takes us up to the Shishi-iwa (獅子岩, lit. 'lion rock') Observatory, which is 430 metres (1,410 feet) above sea level. It's not the tallest place on the island, but the views it offers over the Seto Inland Sea are no less amazing.
The large island in the middle of this panorama is Etajima (江田島), and hosts one of Japan's naval academies. Somewhere behind that island is the city of Kure (呉). It was the site of one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's shipyards. The Kure Naval Arsenal produced some of the most famous warships of the Japanese fleet, such as the
Miyako (1898-1904),
Yamato (1940-1945), and
Nagato (1919-1945). Kure was bombed by the Allies near the end of World War II, after which the shipyard was picked up by a private company, Japan Marine United.
From the vantage point on Shishi-iwa, this island, Onasabi-shima (大奈左美島,
Ōnasabi-shima), appears to take a stylised human shape. But that is merely a trick of perspective; the actual island is shaped like a shallow crescent, and is longer than it appears.
This little dot of an island is called Kogurokamijima (小黒神島). Again, it is longer in the back than it appears here.
This panorama is one of my favourite pictures I took out of my entire trip. I love the way it glows blue on one side and gold on the other. Sure, it's not the best view of the scenery (the panorama I showed you earlier in this article is better in that regard), but it's a lovely effect that came out completely by accident. Sometimes the best things in life come from serendipity, and I guess that's what makes this one so special. Click
this link to view it in full resolution.
Once you're done with the Shishi-iwa Observatory, you may wish to continue hiking up Misen. There is a trail you can take that winds up to the summit, passing several temple buildings along the way. One of them, the Reikan-do, shelters an eternal flame which has been kept alight since the 9th century AD, so they say. It was even used to light the eternal flame in
Hiroshima's Peace Park. The round-trip hike takes about an hour to complete, but with the evening looming, I did not have enough time to attempt it.
Apart from the ropeway, there are three hiking trails you could take to get up to Misen. The shortest but steepest starts from Momijidani Park, and two others start from Daisho Temple and Omoto Shrine. They all take over an hour to climb uphill, and a bit less going downhill. As I waited for my return voyage on the ropeway, I feared I would miss the last trip and be forced to make that hike down (which they don't want you doing at night, anyway). But, I got on safe and sound.
As an added bonus, here are some pictures I took after I got back down to sea level. With the autumn sun having set so early, Itsukushima Shrine and its torii gate were lit up for the evening.
The shrine was closed for the night by that point, but its owners light it up every evening until 11:00 PM. Staying overnight in one of the ryokans on the island is one way to enjoy this better, especially in the summer months when the night falls later. But that was not in my plans; I already had a perfectly good hotel back in Hiroshima to return to.
And with this sign-off selfie, I must say good-bye to Miyajima, Hiroshima, and the Chugoku region. The next morning, I would spend most of the day riding across the country back to Tokyo, including an eagerly-awaited journey on the
Evangelion Shinkansen. When I finally got into Tokyo, there enough time left in the afternoon for me to explore some winter light displays across the city. See them for yourself, along with some budget alternatives to the Japan Rail Pass, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Miyajima Ropeway
Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from March to October; varies seasonally. The last downhill ride is 30 minutes after initial closing time. No regular closing days. Ropeway service may be suspended by inclement weather or regular maintenance (in February and July).
Costs: ¥1,000 one-way, ¥1,800 round-trip.
Address: Momiji-dani, Miyajima-chō, Hatsukaichi-shi, Hiroshima-ken 〒739-0552
Access: The base ropeway station is 25 minutes on foot from Miyajima Pier, or 15 minutes from the exit of Itsukushima Shrine.
Directions: Follow the directions to
Momijidani Park from my last article. The base ropeway station, also called Momiji-dani, is an additional 10-minute walk through the park.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
