A temple on an isolated island—Itsukushima Shinto Shrine

When it comes to a temple, most people have an image that it is supposed 100% artificial, but Itsukushima Shinto Shrine(嚴島神社) in Japan will definitely break this concept!

Itsukushima Shrine was registered as a cultural heritage in 1996 for its location and the famous "floating" torii gate(鳥居). Firstly, the shrine was built on an isolated island, so you need to go there by ferry.

Secondly, because the ancient Japanese believed that the whole island is a shrine itself "naturally", they located the torii gate far from the island, and maybe due to global warming, the torii gate starts to slightly sink in the sea sometimes, so the authorities concerned "nicely" forecast a “tide table” for tourists to plan ahead for their visits.

For better experience the effect of the ebb tide(退潮) and flow tide(漲潮) in the same day, we visited the shrine on 19^th of November for convenience, ie arriving around 8:00 (Taiwan time) and leaving after 15:00. The effects of low tide and high tide are so obvious that no one will get confused whether or not to touch the torii gate, which make the two different scenes more unique.

While waiting for the high tide, let's make use of time to look around the island and communicate with "locals".  And certainly don't forget to wash hands before entering the pretty shrine.

So if you want to witness the two different scenarios in a single day, be sure to check the “tide table” in this website, and for those who eager to learn more, I prepare a video below and hope you enjoy it.