That’s summer in Japan, there’s probably not a weekend (or maybe even weekday) evening that there’s not a firework show going on someplace in whatever region you are living in. Saturday night was one of the most notable ones in this area, taking place on Miyajima Island. While you may not have heard of the place, you most certainly have seen pictures of it. The famous red tori, or shrine gate, that sits out in the water off the shore of Miyajima Island is one of the icons of Japan and widely regarded as one of the three most scenic spots in the country.

I didn’t get a chance to see much of that view, arriving fairly late in the afternoon after a train ride from Mukaihara to Hiroshima, then an hour plus streetcar ride all the out to Miyajima-guchi, where the ferry to the island docks. When I got there, something like an hour and a half before the show started, the crowds were pretty heavy and probably most of the prime spots were taken. I made some calls to get in touch with some of the JETs I’d figured on meeting, and waited for them to catch the ferry and come over.

While waiting, I sampled bit of the food that always is at these kinds of festivals. Ended up getting some chicken skewers, roast corn on the cob, french fries and ice cream. They also had stuff like octopus balls and squid, but wasn’t feeling quite that adventurous that evening.

When the pair I was waiting for arrived (who I played phone tag with since I’d accidently put my new phone in “manner mode” and didn’t know it), we set off trying to find some of the others, playing more phone tag and “I’m by the big stone arch, where are you?” games. Didn’t manage to get everyone together until after the event was over, the sheer numbers of people there were incredible. I kept wondering if the island was going to sink (maybe that’s what happened to Atlantis…).

The show itself was quite impressive, with a fairly high rate and lots of variety. The central seating area (which we passed by) must have had a really blinding and ear shattering closeup of the show. We were a bit further around, about where the crowd finally started thinning out again. This area really isn’t bad, especially if you get there earlier than we did and stake out a spot right on the shore. From here you can see many of the fireworks being launched from behind the red tori, making for the perfect picture spot. If I’m there next year, will have to do that and bring a tripod (its incredibly difficult to keep a camera steady enough to take fireworks pics with just our hands, or at least it is for me). Here’s one of the better ones:

After the show was over, everone finally meet up and browsed the giftshops some (I got another fridge magnet to add to my collection). I was lucky that I did meet up with the group, because with the throngs of people there was no way I was going to get off the island in time to be able to catch my last train home from Hiroshima (which I’d guessed would be the case, meaning I’d stay at a hotel in Hiroshima). Instead, I was able to go along with a bunch of others who were crashing at the home of one of the JETs living in neighboring Haitsukaichi (if you remember, that was my first placement choice).

By time we got there, ate at the all night diner, showered, talked, and finally got to bed I think it was around 4am. Needless to say, we weren’t even starting to move until around noon. Thanks to a kind Quebecois who was driving home, me and a couple others got a lift into the city. Spent the remainder of the afternoon looking through that huge book/cd/dvd store by the station, then headed home.

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