10:09. Taken from the boat on the way over to Miyajima.

10:13. Miyajima from the sea again - you can just about see the famous Otori (gate) right in the middle of the picture.

10:29. One of Miyajima's other famous building, the five storey pagoda.

10:29. Chie with the five storey pagoda. I rather like this one.

10:34. Just liked the look of this street.

10:39. I was trying to be artistic here I think.

10:40. Me standing at a gate, near the bottom of the steps that lead to the top of Mt. Misen.

10:40. I'll have the camera, thankyou very much.

10:44. We seem to have a lot of these - both of us taking a picture of eachother at the same time...

10:47. There were plenty of great views to be had. Through a gap in the trees you can see part of Miyajima town, and beyond there, across the sea, lies the mainland.

10:55. The sea again.

10:55. A little resting place part way up. It was quite a warm day, and the steps were pretty steep, so this was quite hard work...!

10:58. Errrmmm, the light obviously wasn't working with me here.

11:09. The forest looked almost jungle like to me.

11:13. There were lots of these little shrines as we went up, this was one of my favourites, tucked underneath a giant boulder.

11:19. A mountain stream cutting down through the rocks.

11:21. Chie and her Dad take a breather on the steps.

11:21. The same, a bit closer.

11:22. Water running down a rockface.

11:23. I couldn't help but think about all the hard work that must have gone into carrying all of these stone steps up the mountain.

11:25. Another lovely view through a gap in the trees.

11:29. Hmmm not really sure what I was taking a picture of here!

11:31. That way to Mt. Misen!

11:41. Me, shortly after having dunked my head in a mountain stream.

11:41. Looks like we're having another rest then! I'm sure we didn't have that many...

11:44. Messy boy.

11:44. Thankfully, Chie had brought along a small towel for me.

11:49. More splendid landscape.

11:51. I think we were nearing the top now. A small otori reminded us which country we were in.

11:52. I assume this wall was man-made...?

11:52. Another shrine on the mountain path.

12:00. At the top now! Yatta!

12:02. Me and Chie on a bench at the top.

12:03. Of course, being Japan, there's a cafe at the top.

12:04. Marvellous.

12:04. There were more deer on the top. This may have stemmed from the observation that most people eat their lunch there.

12:05. Sorry, but we're not going to feed you!

12:07. Certainly no shortage of wonderful views...

12:07. ...I only wish I'd considered the task of commenting on all of them when I was so snap happy.

12:29. The trees are really in the way here.

12:31. It's a shame about the yellow tape on the fences here!

12:31. The clouds were threatening rain by this point.

12:31. Hmmm, the lighting's not really working out again, is it?

12:32. Maybe a little bit better.

12:32. Still, the view was wonderful either way.

12:32. Now this wasn't necessary.

12:33. Chie with the Coke we bought at the top, which did slightly detract from the harmonious spiritual side of things.

12:34. Well I laughed anyway.

12:37. I'm actually very proud of this one, I thought maybe it would make a nice postcard or something.

12:39. On the way back down again now (well sort of). There's a couple of shrines and things dotted about here. This was very smokey!

12:40. Nice building.

12:40. I rather like this picture too.

12:54. Entering monkey territory here. The topmost sign here reads "You had better deposit your baggage into the charge free lockers or it will be ours. But we are not interested in your camera.". The one below, which I particularly enjoyed, reads "We do not hope to be such a monkey. Please refrain from feeding us."

13:00. Another observation point. The views were even better here.

13:01. Chie standing in front of a telescope.

13:01. There were lots of little pipes you could look through, with labels beneath telling you what you were looking at. Seemed like a great idea. Here we can see Konosamijima and Ninoshima.

13:02. Me standing where Chie was previously.

13:04. Chie and her Dad both with cameras to hand.

13:04. I'm reminded ever so slightly of the Hebrides, only it's much warmer.

13:05. A view through the trees.

13:06. Chie on the steps, looking very sweet.

13:06. Kawaii!

13:06. Myself and Chie's Dad.

13:07. Me at a funny angle.

13:07. I quite like this one of me, oddly.

13:07. Chie took this herself, I think.

13:13. Chie said the little island in the middle looked like a chesnut.

13:15. This was my idea, and I think it came out quite well.

13:33. On the way back down now. One of the more wild looking deer (i.e. it wasn't just hanging around where all the tourists were congregating).

13:34. The same deer closer up...

13:34. ...and closer still. It can't have been that wild, or it would have ran off by now.

13:34. Side on view.

13:35. It decided to follow us for a while.

13:37. It looks failry llama like in this one.

13:42. Chie looking a bit blurry.

13:44. I was standing on a small dam taking this picture.

13:44. Here's Chie walking along the dam.

13:45. Me on the dam.

13:45. Given how small I was, not sure why this needed to be in portrait...?!

13:45. Hmmm that might be enough now...

13:45. ...OK yes definitely enough.

13:45. All a bit blurry.

13:46. Would be a good place for a fashion shoot.

13:46. I wanted to wander off into the bushes at this point to try and get a bit closer to a waterfall I could hear.

13:56. Here it is. Not incredibly dramatic, but nice anyway.

13:56. Me looking stupid, as for some reason it seemed important to prove I'd been there.

13:59. Chie on a very slippy rock.

14:01. Chie coming back grom the undergrowth.

14:25. The river had been landscaped at this point to prevent erosion. Although it was therefore a lot more artificial, I thought it had been really tastefully done.

14:25. A board explaining the anti-erosion work.

14:39. Along the road that led to Chie's uncle's house. I liked this sign - "Stay away from deer with ANTLERS!!".

14:52. A pretty blue flower growing by the side of the road.

15:49. In Chie's uncle's house. Here's me trying out a foot massager.

16:01. Kuchan, Chie's other uncle's dog.

17:04. Moriwaki family photo, including Chie, both of her sisters, her parents, her uncles (father's brothers), uncle's wives, and her grandmother.

17:04. Same again without the flash.

17:05. Kana took this one, so I got to stand in it instead.

17:09. Getting ready to leave now. Kuchan must be moving very quickly here!

17:09. The Moriwaki women dicussing something or other.

17:23. On the ferry as it leaves Miyajima. I took this mainly for the heron, standing on the piece of chain that links the two pier sections. Howeverm it came out rather small, as these sorts of pictures always seem to.

17:24. Miyajima pier again, a little further off. It was raining by this point.

17:24. Chie oddly advertising her phone.

17:24. The rain was really coming down now!

17:25. It was a bit cold too...

17:28. A view back to the mainland. I particularly like the mist over the houses here.

17:30. Ermmm, on the ferry, but too dark to really make anything out!

17:30. Another ferry that goes over to Miyajima (we were on the JR one).

18:59. Back at Chie's local station. Here's a poster talking (I think) about customer service within JR.

18:59. Superbly, though, there's a collection of pictures of station masters on the poster, and...

18:59. ...one of them is Chie's uncle!

19:34. Back at Chie's family flat now. The day after this was Chie's birthday, and as we'd be travelling to Osaka that day, her family decided to celebrate a day early...

19:35. Champagne at the Moriwaki family dining table!

19:35. Hmmm not sure what was going on here.

19:35. Me and Chie enjoying a glass each.

19:35. Neither of us look that happy here though!

19:36. It was only a matter of time before the streamers became a makeshift wig.

19:38. Lovely dear.

19:42. Chie's parents had bought us matching t-shirts for Chie's birthday (a bit odd, me getting a present too on her birthday, but still). Yes, it's cheesy, but I liked them nonetheless.

21:33. Chie's sister is something of a tea connoisseur. This hear is lady grey, I believe.

21:37. Chie blowing out the candles on her birthday cake.

21:38. All out!

21:38. Patience whilst cake is being divided into pieces is not something Chie relishes.

21:41. Well, basically, it's a cake being cut.

22:12. Kana as seen through an empty coffee pot. Not sure why but there you go.

22:12. ...and again.

22:12. Chie through the same coffee pot (?) much much more blurry.