Miyajima

Miyajima is a small sacred island in Hiroshima Bay, western Japan, formally named Itsukushima and long counted among the country's most beautiful places. Deer wander the ferry pier, and the mountains rise straight from the sea behind one great shrine that gives the island its reason for being.

Itsukushima Shrine stands on stilts over the tide, and at high water its great torii gate appears to float. Time your visit around the tides; low water lets you walk out to the gate's base. The ropeway and trails up Mount Misen spread the Seto Inland Sea below, and Daisho-in temple fills its hillside with statues.

Eat grilled oysters from the street stalls and warm momiji manju, the island's maple-leaf cakes. Ferries shuttle constantly from the Miyajimaguchi pier near Hiroshima, and an overnight in an island ryokan gives you the shrine lit after the crowds leave. Autumn maples justify the island's name.