Itsukushima Shrine and Japanese Attack Deer

Got up early to ride the shinkansen to Hiroshima, a 4 hour ride on the bullet train. Less exciting than all the hype but the banked turns are kinda fun. After a low-s@eed transfer to Miyajimaguchi and a ferry ride, I was on Miyajima Island! Home of the famous floating shrine and the infamous deer...

The first thing I noticed after stepping off the ferry were all of these adorable deer. They were everywhere, cute little brown ones with white spots. Its like seeing the Rabbit of Caerbannog up close, Awww so cute. Do not be fooled. They are not cute and they are not friendly. The little buggers spotted me as an obvious tourist, ran up, snagged my map, and ate the whole thing in two bites. And I was worried about pickpockets... The kids loved it. They would buy "deer cakes" and the deer would chase them around while they screamed in joy. I was not quite as amused at having lost my free map that had my only directions to the ryokan on it. I overheard some girl muttering about the 10,000 yen note that she was waiting for one of the deer to poop out...

There is a reason the place is so famous, it really is as scenic as it looks. It is kind of like the Eiffel tower in that regard, everyone and their grandma has a photo of it, so I tried to take photos from a different perspective than normal. What do you think?

The ryokan was just as different for me. Sleeping on the tatami mat floor in the traditional Japanese manner. My first experience with the shared Japanese bathroom. You sit on a stool and wash yourself with a bucket of water and then, once perfectly clean, you get into the shared bathtub (only filled once a day to conserve water) to soak.