After a short walk along Omotesando Shopping Street, consisting of me constantly darting in and out of shops for warmth, I finally reached the famed floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine.

When travelling solo, you just have to pose with some tourists to pretend you have friends LOL

Waiting for tourists to get out of my photo be like...

After this photo, I fell down immediately

The floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, spotted only during high tides, was underwhelming for me, to be honest. Maybe my expectations killed the experience because I approached the shrine expecting to be blown away by Itsukushima Shrine's majestic appearance, as raved by many other travel bloggers I read.

The winter winds were strong and brutal — exactly the reason winter is my favourite season.

Itsukushima Shrine

Address
Japan, 〒739-0588 Hiroshima Prefecture, Hatsukaichi, 宮島町1−１
 
Opening hours
6:30am to 6:00pm
(May change depending on the season)

Entrance fee
¥300 (SGD $3.75)
¥500 (SGD $6.25) for combined entry with Treasure Hall



Unfortunately, I made the decision to not visit Itsukushima Shrine or Treasure Hill because I was running very low on Japanese yen so I spent most of my time taking photos around Miyajima instead.
















The sun started setting at around 3:30pm since it was winter. I hurriedly prepared to leave Miyajima as the Singaporean in me started panicking. I stupidly assumed it was already 6pm since that's the time sun sets in Singapore. It was best for me to leave early anyway, since my overnight bus from Hiroshima to Tokyo departs at 7:35pm.

Goodbye Miyajima, you've been awesome.

If I were to travel to Miyajima again, I'd definitely opt to stay in a hotel there so I can shoot a time lapse of Japan's marvelous sunset against the torii gates of Itsukushima Shrine.

Miyajimaguchi Station at sunset

The journey back from Miyajimaguchi Station to Hiroshima Station took about an hour. I was thoroughly amused (and my body, frequently confused) by how the skies were completely dark by 5pm.



When I got back to Hiroshima, I immediately proceeded to Bic Camera, one of Japan's biggest electronic stores, to get my travel adapter and cables so I could charge my devices on the overnight bus. Bic Camera is gigantic so to secure the cheapest deals, you'll have to walk around a bit to check out what are the best promotions around. Because I was in a rush, I briskly picked out the first things I saw and subsequently realised I paid more than 5x the amount. Sigh.



Dropped by the supermarket near Hiroshima JR Station to get some cheap bread that would sustain me the 13 hour journey from Hiroshima to Tokyo on the Willer Express overnight bus.

Goodbye, Hiroshima! I'll definitely be back in the future :)

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Japan Solo Travel (January 2017)

Tokyo Summary and Getting Around Tokyo | Tokyo Imano Hostel Review | Tokyo Pokemon Centre & Shibuya Crossing | Tokyo Lockers and Shinjuku Gyoen Garden | Tokyo Harajuku (Shopping, Food, Daiso) | Tokyo bills Omotesando (Tokyu Plaza)

Hakone One Day Itinerary | Hakone Tozan Railway and Cable Car | Seeing Mt Fuji at Owakudani | Hakone Ropeway and Sightseeing Cruise | Trekking to see Hakone Shrine and Mt Fuji

9 Hours Narita Capsule Hotel Review | Tokyo Narita Airport