Miyajima Island: A Tale of Monkeys, Ramune, and Fireworks, part 2
Posted by 0rion on August 21st, 2007 - 12:40 am
Fireworks light up the sky over Miyajima
Continued from Part 1.
Having finally achieved the summit of Mt. Misen, Miyajima Island’s tallest peak, I decided to hurry back down to the beach so that I could secure a good spot from which to photograph the fireworks.
Major holiday events are serious business for the Japanese. Regardless of whether it’s for the nation’s largest fireworks show or just for hanami (flower viewing, especially during sakura season) at the local park, they come early, they come prepared, and they come in full force. Almost as soon as the sun comes up, every available spot with a good view becomes blanketed with blue tarps and picnic baskets. Groups of festival goers sit around drinking, chatting, and playing games while also keeping a close eye out to ensure that no one encroaches too closely on their carefully chosen viewing location. Arrive a mere two or three hours ahead of time, and you’ll be lucky if you can still find a place to sit!
Last year I went with some Japanese friends to see the big hanabi taikai (fireworks festival) at Showa Park in Tokyo. Through a series of unexpected delays, we ended up arriving a mere two hours prior to the event, and this is the sight that greeted us when we showed up…
That’s right. There was absolutely nowhere left to sit down. In the end, the only spot we could find was one way in the back where the view was partially obscured by trees.
Fortunately for me, the Miyajima festival location offers one major saving grace. The best place to watch the show from happens to be the beach area directly in front of the giant torii. Most of the time it’s underwater; only during low tide does the area become accessible. This provides a nice natural restriction on how early people can begin to stake out their spots.
The “floating” shrine, Itsukushimajinja. Not quite so magical at low tide.
Compare this shot to the identical one taken earlier in the day.
The tide was still receding, so I spent some time taking in the festival action and grabbing a few tasty treats from the various food stalls lining the narrow avenues.
I love these Japanese style, two-tier picnic tables. You can still take your shoes off and relax Japanese style even though you’re outdoors.
Delicious takoyaki (octopus puffs), fresh from the fryer
Kakegouri (shaved ice)
Mmm…grilled squid on a stick
It’s actually quite delicious. Tastes like chicken, except kinda rubbery. No seriously.
World’s most awesome squid chef.
This guy was a real pro. He filleted those squid incredibly fast and still was able to have a friendly chat with me. If there’s an Olympic event for squid preparation, then this man is surely the reigning gold medalist.
My favorite! Fresh yakisoba topped with a fried egg!
Ahhhhh, I love festival food. Man, now I’m making myself hungry. How I wish I was back in Japan for Obon again this year!
Once the tide had gone out, the festival goers wasted no time heading out to the beach to stake out some prime real estate.
I managed to grab a nice spot right at the front along with a small army of other photographers.
And just in time, too! The setting sun made for an amazing backdrop
As the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon, young couples strolled about and groups of yukata clad children rushed up to touch the torii gate or hunt for clams in the shallow water.
Simply gorgeous. I can’t recommend Miyajima enough as a tourist destination for anyone traveling through the Hiroshima area.
I had been told that the fireworks display would be amazing, but nothing could have prepared me for the breathtaking spectacle they unleashed over the bay.
Loudspeakers had been set up all around the island, and the hour long show began with a young woman telling the tale of the island’s folklore origins. For hundreds of years Miyajima was considered a sacred place. No one was allowed to be born or to die on the island. The few residents who did call Miyajima home always treated it with the utmost respect. Even today logging and commercial development on the island is strictly prohibited, and the many groups of day tourists still explore it with a touch of awe and reverence.
After the explanation ended, they kicked off the fireworks display with a real bang…and a bit of a surprise. Not only was the coordination of the fireworks show itself impressive, the whole thing was choreographed to music, which echoed hauntingly across the island. The event was broken up into six segments of 10 minutes each, each one set to a difference piece of music. Everything from traditional Japanese music to pumping techno set the mood as the fireworks exploded one after another. It was without a doubt the most amazing pageantry of light and sound I have ever witnessed, putting every other fireworks display to shame.
The grand finale
Absolutely beautiful.
~0rion
Very nice. A bit more detail than the normal report I was given that seems to generically apply to every part of japan. Your travel buddy failed to mention such “mundane” things…
Besides, I needed to keep up with the ‘cool’ people.
Yeah, the fireworks look better than what we get over here at Cali…
And the grilled squid looks awesome.
I came to check you out after seeing your comment on my blog. My goodness what a wonderful surprise! I LOVED the last two posts you did about traveling. I truly enjoyed your writing style and all of the wonderful pictures. I look forward to coming back and seeing more.
Curse you! I wanted to be there this year for the fireworks, but was a month late. I’ve always felt the fireworks on Miyajima are the best I’ve ever seen, mainly because it’s just you against the water, without anything in between.
The food booths make me all misty eyed, but I’ve always been told the Yakuza runs the show on them.
anyways, thanks for the memories.
@ kaato
Yeah, in some places the festival booths are run by the yakuza, but I think in most places it’s more just what they call “tekiya”, not real yakuza groups.
But yeah, the fireworks festival at Miyajima is by far the best fireworks show I have ever seen! Glad you enjoyed it.
We also want to see Miyajima’s fireworks in 2009. What time did you get down to the beach to secure your spot? We were thinking of exploring the island that morning before waiting for the fireworks.
Also, how soon did you need to get to the ferry? We will be staying in Hiroshima the night of the 14th (everything on the island is already booked), and we want to make sure we don’t miss the last train!
@ Teresa
People start staking out their spots along the beach as early as 8am in morning (those crazy Japanese festival goers!), so if you really have your heart set on a specific location, better grab it fast! That said, I didn’t head down until almost 4pm, but I was only interested in the front row standing room in the wall of other photographers. No one could really take those spots early because the tide was still going out.
If you really have your heart set on good front row seating, I’d stake out your spot in the early afternoon. If your Japanese is any good, you can probably find a friendly nearby group that doesn’t mind hanging out with some weird gaijin and pass the time that way as well.
As for the ferry…well, the entire island turns into a huge cattle rush for the boats as soon as the fireworks are over, so there’s not really any way to avoid the crush if you want to see the show. No need to worry, though. The trains will keep running late on the evening of the festival…after all, all those Japanese folks have to make it back home too! It ended up taking me nearly 2 hours to get off the island and catch a train back to my hotel in Hiroshima, but the fireworks end early enough that it isn’t a problem.
Good luck and don’t forget to have fun while you’re at Miyajima as well! It’s an awesome place for a day trip or five.
Thanks for the tips, Orion! I wouldn’t mind standing for photos (although, I might not like to stand for 4 hours).
My Japanese is so-so. I took classes 3 years ago, but I forgot a lot of it.
We found out there’s a cheap ryokan on the island with rooms on the 13th. We thought about staying the night before, cramming our stuff in coin lockers in the early morning, exploring, seeing the fireworks, and then heading to Hiroshima after it ends. Do you think it’s a bad idea to try to get luggage on such a crowded ferry? I’m wondering if we should just do two nights in Hiroshima instead. What do you think?
We went to Gion matsuri in 2007 and when we tried to walk in the streets, people were crammed up against us. It was really bad until they finally closed streets off to traffic later on. I’m wondering if Miyajima will be like that.
We’ve been to Miyajima once before, but we hardly saw anything, since it was raining a lot. We stayed overnight and saw the torii in the morning, that was about it. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the island! In a way I wish we could see it with less people like last time, but the fireworks look too amazing to pass up!
If you can get accommodations on the island, definitely go for it! Being able to stroll around and explore Miyajima in the evening or early morning when there are no crowds is like experiencing an entirely different island.
It might be a bit of a hassle having to extract your luggage and wheel it around through the crowds (you do have rolling luggage, right?), but the benefits of being able to spend a night on the island soaking in the more tranquil, crowd-free atmosphere is absolutely worth it, in my opinion.
Nice shots!