To Fukuyama
Up before 6 and out of Osaka. Namba at dawn is a different place: the arcades that were packed the night before were completely empty, just us, our luggage and the odd delivery guy. Breakfast was onigiri and coffee on the go.
Then the Shinkansen to Fukuyama, about an hour, and Minmin napped for most of it. At Fukuyama we picked up our rental car for the next six days, and from here on it was a road trip.
Kosanji
From Fukuyama it’s a short drive to Onomichi and onto the Shimanami Kaido, the island-hopping road to Shikoku. A few islands in is Ikuchijima, a small island known for its lemons, and our first stop: Kosanji. From the outside it looks like any other temple. Tickets were ¥2,800 for two.
Inside, it’s something else. It was built by a businessman for his late mother, starting in 1936, and it’s full of copies of famous temple buildings from around Japan, all squeezed into one hillside and painted in very bright colours. Basically a greatest hits album of Japanese temples. Some of the buildings are actual registered cultural properties, which tells you how seriously he took it.
There’s a cave under the temple too, the Senbutsudo, a dark winding tunnel lined with Buddhist statues and scenes of hell. It’s a bit creepy, and it goes on longer than you expect. Coming out of it into the sunshine was a relief.
The Hill of Hope
And then up the hill to Miraishin no Oka, the Hill of Hope: a whole hillside of white Italian marble, about 5,000 m² of it, with sculptures and a view over the sea. It looks like a snowfield in the sun, and on a clear day it’s almost too bright to look at. Bring sunglasses.
This was the highlight of the stop, and the reason most people come. Every corner is a photo spot, so we took a lot of photos.
Then back in the car and on along the islands, to the Tatara Bridge.
Postcard from Setoda, Ikuchijima, Hiroshima
A temple built by a businessman for his mother from 1936, full of copies of famous Japanese temple buildings, a cave of Buddhist statues, and the Hill of Hope: a white marble garden on the hill behind. On Ikuchijima, one of the islands of the Shimanami Kaido.