TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

When the name Miyajima is mentioned, more often than not, images of the Great Floating Torii Gate  (a.k.a. Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate) and the associated Itsukushima Shrine comes to mind. While the purpose of my first ever trip to Miyajima in July 2019 was to visit the Itsukushima Shrine and the Great Floating Torii Gate, with both being items on my personal travel bucket list, I also took time to explore the island. For that reason, I chose not to be a day tripper to Miyajima but stayed over on the island for 2 nights at the Hotel Miyajima Villa. My stay on the island allowed me to hike around on personal exploration trips. While trying to escape the summer heat and the crowd in the areas around the Itsukushima Shrine, I chanced upon the Imaise Shrine. Nestled at the top of a small hill, Imaise Shrine is accessible after climbing a relatively steep staircase. Here, there were no crowds. I had the whole area to myself, except for the company of a young fawn. For those...

At all Shinto shrines in Japan, there are water-filled basins where worshippers will use to wash their hands and mouth as an act of self purification before approaching the shrine to offer prayers. This practice is unique to Japan and is followed not just at Shinto shrines but also at Buddhists temples throughout the country. The rite itself is known in Japanese as temizu and the areas where the water basins are located are known as temizuya . Wooden ladles are available at the basins for the worshippers to use to scoop up the water for temizu . In my travels around Japan over many visits to the country, the sight of a  temizuya  has become so common to me that I hardly take any photographs when I see one. Another reason is I usually avoid taking photographs if there are worshippers in the  temizuya  area because I think it is extremely rude to take photos of someone preparing to pray or praying since I personally view the act as both a private and solemn momen...