Miyajima, Hiroshima
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Miyajima-from-misen-san.jpg
Miyajima (宮島町; -cho) is a town located on Itsukushima Island (sometimes referred to as Miyajima Island) in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan.
As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 2,018 and a density of 66.40 persons per km². The total area is 30.39 km².
In the Shinto religion, Itsukushima Island is considered to be sacred, and there are no maternity wards or cemeteries, as no-one is permitted to give birth or die on the island. Felling trees is also forbidden, leaving the island covered in virgin forest, and providing a habitat for dozens of bird species and the tame deer which are allowed to roam freely.
ItsukushimaTorii.jpg
The town of Miyajima is connected to the mainland by regular ferries to Miyajima-guchi, and less frequent ferries to the city of Hiroshima. It is easy to get from Hiroshima-eki (central railway station) to Miyajima-guchi either by train or by street car, though the latter trip takes about 75 minutes.
There are several tourist attractions around the town of Miyajima, notably Itsukushima Shrine, Senjo-kaku (the Pavilion of 1,000 mats), Daigan-ji shrine, and Daisho-in shrine. There is also a cable car from near the town, which runs almost to the top of Mount Misen, the highest point of Itsukushima island. At Mount Misen station of the cable car, you can watch monkeys running around freely.
External links
- Town website (http://www.hiroshima-cdas.or.jp/miyajima/) in Japanese
- Wikitravel: Miyajima (http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Miyajima)