We left the Japanese Alps to spend a few days on the Oki Islands and a few days in Hiroshima.
Oki Islands
The Oki Islands were a last minute add on the trip as we adjusted our time in the mountains to do this part. We figured it would be cool to see the coast and get off the main island for a bit. There are four major islands in Oki: Dogo, Nakanoshima, Nishinoshima and Chiburijima Islands (the latter three are also called the Dozen Islands). They are known to have beautiful and rugged coastlines formed by volcanoes. We stayed a total of 4 nights - one night on Dogo and three nights on Nakanoshima. There are limited hotels and restaurants on the islands so advance reservation is highly recommended.
Accommodations
Sakaiminato Yunagi no Yu Onyado Nono - We stayed at this hotel one night on the mainland close to where we had to get the ferry the next morning. The hotel was large but our room was not - the smallest room we had on the trip. Just a double bed with a bathroom and a small desk. It was cheap though! We had dinner and breakfast in the room from the supermarket nearby.
Oki Plaza Hotel - We stayed here one night on Dogo Island. The lobby was quite updated but our floor and room was not. That said, our room was clean, large and cheap. The room we booked had a toilet and sink and we had to shower in the public onsen in the hotel.
Ento Hotel - We stayed here three nights on Nakanoshima Island. The hotel is very modern with a stark lobby. We booked a room with breakfast included - the room was very large with a wonderful bed and views. The bathroom was also large - only downside was that the shower pressure was not the best.
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| Our room at Ento |
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| View from our room at Ento |
Activities
We drove for eight hours from Takayama to Sakaiminato where we stayed one night before we got the ferry to the islands. On the way, we stopped to visit the Himeji Castle which is Japan's largest castle and one of the few that was not destroyed in the war or with fires/earthquakes. It is one of the three prettiest castles in Japan (one other is in Matsumoto which we had seen). The castle is quite interesting and we were able to go inside and climb up to the top floor (it has six stories above ground). In Japan, the castles were not used for residences but rather for defense.
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| Himeji Castle |
We left our car in the ferry parking lot as we could not get a reservation to take the car with us and we boarded the ferry to Dogo Island - the ride took 2.5 hours. We bought 2nd class tickets (the cheap tickets) to find out that this included sitting on a large carpeted platform. We saw that others were taking the provided headrests and lying down so we did the same. The ride was a bit rocky!
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| Ferry to the islands |
Drive around Dogo Island - We rented a car and drove around the island the afternoon we arrived, stopping along the way at various views points. At some of the viewpoints there were 2-3 KM walks we could do. While the viewpoint at Jodogaura Coast was nice, the cool trail that follows the rockling was closed. We did the walks on Shirashima-zaki Cape which was nice as well as Nagu-saki Cape which was beautiful and is where we watched the sunset. The island was a lot prettier than we were expecting.
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| Views around Dogo Island |
Walk to Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine - We had a bit of time to kill the next morning before heading to the Dozen Islands so we walked to this shrine which enshrines the deities of the Oki region and also has a one thousand year old cedar which they are desperately propping up with long wooden poles. The shrine was simple but nice.
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| Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine |
We took the ferry from Dogo to Nakanoshima - also in second class. This ferry ride was only 1 hour and 15 minutes but it was still a bit rocky. One there, we checked into our next hotel and walked around Hishiura town a bit.
Bike around Nakanoshima - We rented e-bikes from the tourist office in town and rode them for 3.5 hours, covering about 2/3 of the island. We wanted to drive to the southern cape but we worried that we would run out of battery so we had to cut off that part. The roads were quite hilly and thankfully with very few cars which made Shawna happy! In addition to stopping to see the coastal views, we also stopped to see the Oki Shrine and Tengawa-no-mizu Spring which is one of Japan's 100 best water sources. The views were stunning and it was really cool to pass through the small villages and see the farmland in addition to the coast.
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| Biking around Nakanoshima |
Day on Nishinoshima - We took the ferry over to Nishinoshima which is the island right next to where we stayed - it is the largest of the Dozen Islands. We then took the local bus to the next large town and did the Kuniga Coast Boat Tour which was amazing - so cool to see the rugged coastline from the water. The tour was 1.5 hours and it was all in Japanese! From the dock, we got a taxi to drop us off on Matengai Cliff so we could do the 2.5km hike down the Kuniga Coast. The path was downhill the whole way and filled with cow and horse manure but thankfully we could side step that as the views were stunning. The cab driver picked us up on the other end and then took us back to the ferry terminal so that we could return to Nakanoshima.
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| View from the water on the Kuniga Coast Boat Tour |
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| View from land on the Kuniga Coast trail |
Restaurants
Ento Hotel - We had all of our breakfasts here which was included in the rate. Breakfast was traditional Japanese with miso soup, rice, veggies and fish - it was pretty good but not our favorite. We had dinner here one night which was an eight course meal with Italian influence - the food was really good. We also had a few glasses of wine which were OK - they had a limited wine selection.
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| Breakfast at Ento Hotel |
Sushi Riku - We had dinner here which has counter seating for six people and offers a pre-set omakase (multi-course) sushi meal. It is a new restaurant in town that was recommended by our hotel. The owner/chef is very young but did an amazing job - we could watch him make everything right in front of us! It was one of our best meals of the trip. We had sashimi, sushi, egg custard, miso, rice dish and mochi - all very fresh and tasty (except we were not the biggest fans of the mochi).
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| Sushi Riku |
Okigyu - We had dinner at this steak restaurant near our hotel where you cook your own meal and it was another top meal for us. They serve local Oki beef and also have a store where they sell the meat. We got filet and few other cuts of beef along with pork and veggies and a bottle of wine - so yummy!
Sentoraru-tei - This restaurant is located on the second floor of the ferry building - we had lunch here the day we departed. Not the best food but since we had a long drive, it helped to keep us full. We got the fried chicken and a curry/cheese/rice dish.
Hiroshima
We stayed four nights in Hiroshima which is a beautiful modern city with nice rivers.
Accommodations
The Knot Hiroshima - We stayed here for four nights for very cheap. The hotel is quite large and located across from the Peace Park. Our room was small (but standard for Japan) with two twins, a sofa, mini-fridge and decent sized bathroom. There is a rooftop bar at the hotel and a restaurant on the first floor.
Activities
Hiroshima Peace Park, Museum and Dome - This area and museum is about the history of the WWII bombing of Hiroshima. We walked around the park, which is beautiful, seeing the monuments and Peace Dome which shows the destruction of one of the buildings. The museum was incredibly well done and moving with very detailed displays of the impact the bombings had on the people in the area. We got the audio guide but not really needed since each display was also in English. We also went inside the Memorial Hall that is dedicated to the lives that were lost.
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| Hiroshima Museum and Dome |
Orizuyu Tower - A bit pricey but worth it - you have amazing views of the city and the Dome below from the top floor of this building. As you walk down, there are art exhibits on the wall.
Shukkeien Garden - This was probably our favorite garden that we had been to in Japan. Very well laid out with small paths that wind around a pond and beautiful trees.
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| Shukkeien Garden |
We took the ferry from Peace Park to and from the island - the ride is about 45 minutes and is indoors with not the best views. Once on the island, we took the obligatory photos of the famous Torii gate - we did not see it at low tide so could not walk out to it but was cool to see it in the water. There are deer wondering all over - but these deer seemed much less aggressive than the ones in Nara.
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| Famous Miyajima Torii Gate |
We then walked around the Itshukushima Shrine which is quite large and right on the water - not our favorite shrine but was still cool to see. We went inside the Treasure Hall which has art, pottery and sword artifacts.
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| Itsukushima Shrine |
We also walked around Daishoin Temple which is amazing with tons of really cute stone statues - Shawna puts this place in her top temple list. At the temple, we also walked inside Henjo Cave which was lit up with lights and had buddha statues throughout.
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| Dashoin Temple |
We hiked up Mount Misen on the Daisho-in Course which is about 2.5km to the top and is the most scenic of the three courses to the top. The walk was constant uphill on stone steps with smaller shrines along the way. At the saddle, we hiked another 1km to Okunoin Shrine which is small and not the most impressive but we got some more steps in. We then hiked to the summit and saw the amazing views from the Mt Misen Observatory and also saw the flame that is supposed to have been burning for the last 1200 years. We took the ropeway down which was nice to see the views down below. Once at the bottom, we walked along the famous shopping street - it was packed solid with tourists!
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| View from top of Mt Misen |
Restaurants
Namaste - Craving some spicy food again, we had lunch here. Did our usual of samosas, pappad, mutton curry and rice. Very tasty!
More Than - This restaurant is located in the lobby of our hotel and is constantly full with people. Their menu definitely caters to an international crowd. One evening, we each got a salad for dinner which were pretty good. And one lunch we got a pasta and pizza which was also tasty.
Akushu Restaurant - Located on Miyajimi, we had a late lunch here. The place is on the fancier side but since this was our only meal of the day, we treated ourselves. We got a salad (which was so good we ended up getting another one) and a bolognese pasta made with local beef. Both were very yummy!
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