Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine, on the sacred island of Miyajima in Hiroshima Bay, is one of Japan's most instantly recognisable sights: a sweeping complex of vermilion halls and open-air corridors built out over a tidal cove, with a monumental torii gate standing offshore that seems to float on the water when the tide is in. Registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, it is widely counted among the three most scenic views in Japan.

The shrine's origins reach back to 593, but the layout seen today owes its grandeur to Taira no Kiyomori, the powerful warlord who lavished patronage on it in 1168. Because the whole island of Miyajima was itself considered a god, commoners were long forbidden from setting foot on its soil; building the shrine on piers over the water allowed worshippers to approach the sacred ground without defiling it. The same reverence is why, even now, no births or deaths are permitted on the island's shrine precinct.

Architecturally the site is a marvel of shinden-zukuri palace style. Roughly 280 metres of planked corridors link the main hall (Honsha), the Marodo subordinate shrine, a noh stage that is one of the oldest in the country, and a graceful arched bridge, all raised on stilts and painted a brilliant orange-red against the green backdrop of Mount Misen. Several buildings and treasures are designated National Treasures. The famous 'floating' Otorii gate, at around 16 metres tall, is not sunk into the seabed at all but held in place purely by its own enormous weight, its six-legged design distributing the load across the shifting sand.

The visiting experience changes completely with the tide. Arrive at high water and you glide along corridors seemingly suspended above the sea, the torii mirrored in the shallows. Come at low tide and the water retreats to reveal broad mud flats, letting you walk right out to the gate and press a coin into the cracks of its barnacled pillars for luck. Both are worth seeing, so many travellers time a visit to span the turn of the tide. The precinct is largely step-free and easy to navigate, though the outer flats are uneven underfoot.

Spring brings cherry blossom along the approach and autumn sets the maples of nearby Momijidani ablaze, but the shrine is atmospheric year round, especially at dusk when the lanterns and the gate are lit and the day-trippers have gone. Combine it with the ropeway up Mount Misen, the five-storey pagoda of Senjokaku on the hill above, and the freely roaming deer that wander the foreshore.

Getting there is simple and fully Rail-Pass friendly: take the JR Sanyo Main Line from Hiroshima to Miyajimaguchi, then the JR-operated ferry to the island, and walk twelve flat minutes along the shore. Allow at least ninety minutes for the shrine itself, and far longer if you plan to climb Misen or linger for sunset.