Photos from Ninoshima

Photo Journal of My Trip to Ninoshima

By Greg Beck

This December I took a trip with some co-workers to Ninoshima, a small island between Miyajima and Etajima.

To get to Ninoshima, we took a 380 yen ferry from Ujina Port, in Hiroshima City. The ferry ride was comfortable and only took 25 minutes to get to the port. Once on Ninoshima, two vans picked us up and drove us to our ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn). We put our things down in our rooms upstairs, and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was incredible, and started out with boat-shaped trays of sashimi. There were so many different kinds, but my favorites were the lobster, stonefish, and sea urchin! Normally I don’t like sea urchin because it tastes like swallowing sea-water, but this was fresh, not salty, and even a little sweet! The food kept coming and everything was so good! Small islands like this are known for their fresh, delicious seafood with good reason. This is one of my favorite dishes of the evening, a fish called “Mebaru”.

After dinner we enjoyed their big baths and through an open window with a nighttime view of the mainland, I saw my first shooting star in years! Then everyone met back up in our large tatami room for talking, drinking, and games, but after a full day of work and a big meal, we couldn’t stay up too late. The next morning some of us decided to walk halfway around the island (only a 5km walk). At the time I agreed to go, I had no idea that would turn out to be the best part of Ninoshima!

 Waking up before the sun rises, or even before 10 a.m., has got to be one of my least favorite activities. But once I was dressed and outside walking, and taking in the scenery of Ninoshima, I felt lucky just to be awake. I also got the urge to take lots of photos, but I’ll just share these ones with you.