Hi Steemians. A torii (鳥居) is a Japanese gate which you see almost everywhere in Japan. They form the gate-way to a sacred place. So whenever you encounter a Japanese (Shinto) shrine there will always be a torii. The greatest of the torii is located just of the coast of the island Miyajima, which is close to Hiroshima. Here is a photo:

The picture was taken during low tide. But during high tide the bottom of the torii will be submerged in water. Then it will look like this:

The shrine to which this torii is the gate-way is the Itsukushima Shrine. Unfortunately, I never took photos of this shrine or maybe I accidentily deleted them :o( . The shrine is built on wooden pillars on the beach of Miyajima. So during high-tide this whole shrine appears like it is a big boat floating on the water.

If you are visiting the great torii island there are plenty of souvenirs to buy. But there is a very nice free one. Go to the main hall of the train station which connects to the ferry service. There is small desk with a large stamp and some paper. If you use the stamp you get this cool souvenir:

How to get there

If you are spending the night somwhere in Hiroshima then you can take the tram to a ferry service which takes you to the island. From Hiroshima main station there is also a train going to the ferry service. Hiroshima is easy reachable by train if you are visting Kyoto-Osaka-Nara. However, it is not suitable to visit the Great torii island as a day trip from Kyoto-Osaka-Nara.

Travel advice

It is possible to spend the night on the island. But that can be a bit expensive. And there is not really enough to do on the island for a two day visit. It is better book a place arround the ferry service on the mainland. These are cheaper. If you book a place on the mainland be warned that the ferry service does not run the whole night. Last time I almost got stranded because I didn't pay attention to the ferry time table. So don't be like me and check the ferry time table.