Miyajima

Where were all the tourists who should have been visiting Matsushima, classified officially as one of Japan’s best three views? Most of them, it seems, were visiting one of the other “best views”, the famous “floating” torii at Miyajima, which is one the most photographed images in Japan. It serves them right. What they got to see was a massive piece of scaffolding sitting in mud flats, surrounded by people holding umbrellas.

Just as the Taj Mahal has to be seen by moonlight, so the floating torii have to be seen at high tide, otherwise they don’t appear to float. They aren’t so impressive when sitting in mud. It’s so ironic that the place people think is surrounded by mud, Matsushima, is looking perfect, with no-one there to enjoy it.