In the words of Japan’s first prime minister, Hirobumi Ito, ” The true value of Miyajima as one of the three most scenic views of Japan rests with the view from the mountaintop.”

>Mt Misen – Scaling Miyajima’s Sacred Mountain

In other words, one of Japan’s most scenic spots, which is the beautiful view at Miyajima of Aki (Aki is an old name for Hiroshima prefecture) waits at the top of a mountain. And at about 535 meters above sea level, that mountain is Mt. Misen, the highest peak of Miyajima.

The mountaintop can be reached via cable car.

The view from the cable car is quite stunning, too!

After riding two cable cars, you reach Shishiiwa station, which is located a little bit lower than the mountaintop.

Shishiiwa Observatory is situated right next to the station. It’s still not the mountaintop, but there are some splendid views from here, too.

The actual mountaintop is about 30 minutes walk away.

There are various interesting sights to see on the way to the mountaintop Mt. Misen Observatory.

Around 20-minutes into the climb, you’ll reach Kiezu-no-hi Sanctuary, which is also called Lovers’ Sanctuary.

The reason it’s called Lovers’ Sanctuary is because a flame still burns there that is said to have been used by Kobo Daishi over 1200 years ago for training.

A little further on, you come to an enormous rock shaped like a boat (Funa-iwa) and…

…the “Kanman-iwa”, which has a mysterious hole with a water level that changes according to the tide.

A natural stone arch called Kuguri-iwa is located near the mountaintop.

You’ll be overwhelmed by its size!

And then finally you reach the mountaintop.

There are many strange rocks scattered around here unlike any you’ve ever seen before.

After climbing to the observatory, you can just plunge into the uninterrupted 360-degree panoramic view.