A visit to Miyajima Island should ideally be done alongside, before or after your stay in Hiroshima as it a very short distance away; for our trip, we decided to spend two nights at a ryokan on the island, which we thoroughly enjoyed – the hospitality of a family run inn, amenities such as traditional dinners and sleeping on a futon in a tatami-matted room was a heart-felt experience. The most rewarding feature of staying overnight for me was having the opportunity to admire the magnificence of the torii gate with all the tourists gone and the feeling of being enveloped by the ethereal atmosphere at night.

During the day, the ometesando (main street) of the town has crowds of tourists exploring the plethora of shops selling their wares and ushers advertising their seasonal dishes of oyster to passersby. When I read that deer free roam the streets online, I soon found this was an understatement; the deer are everywhere and will be in the most inconspicuous locations (such as inside the actual stores themselves).

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