Miyajima hiking

Whenever I think of hiking, I think of rough natural paths winding up a hill or small mountain. But in Japan it’s different. In Japan, hiking means climbing big endless stairs. Every single time I followed a hiking trail in Japan, I’ve encountered them. Stairs after stairs after stairs. And I’m not sure, but isn’t climbing stairs even more tiresome than hiking? Or am I totally wrong about hiking and does it equal climbing stairs in the rest of the world as well?

Anyway, after visiting the shrine I followed one of the signs that led to another hiking trail. I’m not sure what it was called, but when facing the shrine it was to the left. I made my way through the flocks of high schoolers and was free at last. I read the sign at the start of the path, which told me to wear appropriate clothing and footwear, and I thought “Flip flops are appropriate footwear to hike, right?” I’d hiked and walked quite long distances on these flip flops already, so I assured myself it would be fine.

Off I went, encountering the first set out of several endless staircases.

About half an hour later, I found this sign, warning me for snakes on the mountain. Venomous snakes! For a second I was considering going back because I had no means of calling an ambulance, but immediately assured myself it would all be fine. From that point, I was a lot more cautious of course, looking at my feet every step I took, making sure no snake was in sight. Oh and apparently I was hiking Mt. Misen, now we now. 😀

I can already tell you, I’m still alive so I didn’t come across any of the venomous creatures. 😉 On to more stairs now!

Now, you might be wondering “Yooya, did you seriously just take pictures of the stairs of Mt. Misen?!” Don’t worry, I just wanted to show you the never ending staircases. My next post will show you the great views I could admire from Mt. Misen! 😉