Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine does what almost no shrine does: it stands in the water. Its corridors and stages are built on piles over the Seto Inland Sea, so the buildings rise and fall with the tide beneath Mount Misen, the holy mountain behind them, and its great vermilion torii gates the bay itself. The island of Itsukushima, commonly called Miyajima, has been a holy place of Shinto since ancient times, and the shrine complex carries multiple National Treasure designations; UNESCO inscribed it in 1996. The tide is the point: at high water the torii and shrine appear to float, and at low water visitors walk out across the flats to the gate's base.

The island's sacred status shaped everything around it, including old rules against births, deaths, and burials on the island that kept it clear of cemeteries, and the shrine's calendar of rituals continues, including the Kangetsu-sai and other night ceremonies when the grounds reopen after dark. Pilgrimage to Mount Misen and its temples (Daisho-in among them) continues alongside the shrine visits, and the deer that wander the island's streets are part of the everyday scene. The honest note for visitors is practical as well as reverent: the corridor floorboards have gaps cut to let the sea through at high tide, and the shrine itself asks you to wear sensible shoes.

Visiting

The shrine's official site lists hours and admission: 300 yen adult / 200 yen high school / 100 yen elementary and junior high; Treasure Hall same rates, combined ticket 500 yen; hours vary by season with 6:30 am opening year-round and closing between 5 and 6:30 pm. Reach the island by ferry from Miyajimaguchi Station in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima. Mind the floorboard gaps in the corridors.

Photo: Jakub Halun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20100723_Miyajima_Itsukushima_4804.jpg))