“Please don’t move from one side of the boat to the other,” the captain warns. “This might be dangerous and can lead to capsizing!”.
The Itsukushima Shrine of Miyajima is a holy place. And the island was off-limits for ordinary visitors.
In former times, pilgrims would come by boat and pass through the gate officially demarcating the holy area. This so-called Miyajima floating Torii is a proper shrine gate marking an entrance to the holy area. The nickname means that the gate was cleverly set up in the water. Therefore, it was possible to enter the holy area without actually stepping on the – forbidden – island.
Read in this travel blog post about a boat ride through the floating Torii of Miyajima!
