After the excitement generated by the semi finals I decided to head somewhere more tranquil. Catching the westward bound Shinkansen I headed for Itsukushima, home of the floating shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It offered a stark contrast to the previous night as there were more deer than
people wandering around the dimly lit streets. But in the bay the floating shrine was lit up. I understand that mere mortals used to have to enter the island by boat through this shrine. These days it would seem to be a matter of studying the tides as the two times I have been here the shrine appears to be standing on a mud flat.
Choosing something to eat isn’t as difficult as you would imagine here in Japan. Mainly due to the fact that outside the majority of establishments they have either a photograph or a plastic imitation of the dishes available.
The main problem I have is when they describe the dish in English, seeing the likes of eel, squid and octopus immediately puts me off, whereas written in Japanese the food might still look appealing. This night I chose a local speciality okonomiyaki, a noodle dish with pancakes and
fried eggs as well as shaved fish, called hanakatsuo. When this is added as a topping to a hot dish, the heat has the effect of making the flakes move as if dancing; because of this, it is also known as dancing fish …