Itsukushima Shrine Torii at low tide

The Itsukushima Shrine's Otorii (Grand Gate) from the Miyajima Island is probably the most famous torii from Japan. It is so famous that there is a high probability that an image featuring this torii was among the very first Japanese pictures you ever saw...

The torii is 16 meters tall, its weight is estimated at 60 tons and it was made 135 years ago from two huge, 500 years old camphor trees. It looks magnificent from any angle and during any moment of the day: in the morning, at high tide, the torii seems to float on the water surface. Then, the water is deep enough to allow boats to pass, as I had the chance to do last summer.

At low tide, the scenery changes dramatically and the area around the torii becomes accessible by foot. Many people are going there to take a closer look, to take pictures, to harvest shellfish or just to touch the torii - it is said that you can make a wish by placing a small stone or coin in the wood cracks ...