How to Get to Miyajima Island and What to See
Why Visit Miyajima Island
Why visit Miyajima Island? In my opinion, Miyajima is a “must-see” for anyone in the Hiroshima area. Miyajima Island, also known as Itsukushima Island, is located in Hiroshima Bay which is technically part of the Sea of Japan. The island is only accessible via ferry, and there are a few different options to get to the island. The highlight of the island is the Itsukushima Shrine which is a Shinto Shrine marked by a giant floating Torii. As the tide rises, the floating Torii appears to be sitting on the surface of the water, and the area around the shrine itself fills with water.
Another highlight of the island is the native deer which run around and come right up to tourists.
How to Get to Miyajima Island and What to See - Table of Contents
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How to Get to Miyajima Island
Before visiting Miyajima Island, most tourists will ask themselves how to get to Miyajima Island. Getting to Miyajima is not complex, and there are many ways to get to Miyajima Island.
The easiest and cheapest way is to take the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station. From there, it is easily accessible via two ferry lines, and with a JR pass, you can get from Hiroshima Station to the island for free. It only takes ten minutes to get from the train station to the island using this route.
I chose to go a different route. For ¥3,000, I purchased a ferry ticket from the Peace Park to the island. This route is much longer than the one mentioned above. It took almost an hour to arrive, but the trip offered beautiful views of the harbor and the surrounding area. I purchased a one-way trip and took the JR Ferry and the JR Sanyo Line back to Hiroshima.
Both ways were unique and showed different scenery. For those who don’t mind spending a little bit of extra money, I would recommend one route there and the other route back.
Miyajima Island - What to See - The Miyajima Deer
One of the top attractions at Miyajima Island are the deer. Upon arriving at Miyajima Island, I was quickly met by the wild deer. They came right up to me and tried to take my food out of my hand. That food happened to be a beef skewer, but they didn’t seem to care. I also saw them eat someone’s map, a guidebook, and a ¥1000 note.
If you are planning on traveling to Nara to see the deer, I highly recommend Miyajima Island as an alternative.
Miyajima Island - What to See - The Main Street
After checking out the deer, I walked down the main street. It was loaded with gift shops as well as restaurants. Some of the restaurants were sit-down style, but most of them were street vendors. The gift shops all had similar items, and most of them did not offer many high-end souvenirs. I was most interested in seeing the Itsukushima Shrine, so I quickly went in that direction, following the signs and walking under numerous Torii.
Walking towards the shrine did offer an excellent view of a very sandy beach. I went down to the beach level and walked in the water. It was a great way to cool off as the temperature was still extremely warm.
What to See - Miyajima Island. -The Itsukushima Shrine
The Itsukushima Shrine is the main attraction of Miyajima Island and is a fantastic maze of temples, shrines, and Shinto Torii. It costs ¥600 to enter the grounds, although most of the shrine could be seen without paying the fee. There are open areas around the temple that fill with water during high tide. At my time of visit, the tide was much lower. The low tide meant that I was able to head out into the bay and get up close to the floating Torii.
As always, it is important to remember that I was in an active place of worship, and some people made the trip not as tourists but as worshippers. Because of this, I was meticulous to make sure that I was not intruding on their religious experience when taking my photos. One thing I noted is that worshippers were tying ribbons of paper to the support bars of the shrine.
In all of the pictures I posted, the tide was low. If it had been high tide, the entire surrounding area would have been filled with water.
The highlight of the entire island is the Floating Torii. During high tide, the Torii appears to be floating on the top of the water. As stated above, it was low tide at the time, so almost the entire Torii was visible.
Past the Itsukushima Shrine is a sandy beach. From the beach, it is possible to walk all the way out to the Floating Torii during low tide.
Miyajima Island Tours
I thought a self-guided tour of Miyajima Island was practical for my sightseeing style. For me, it is more fun to try to figure things out on my own and take in the sights at my own pace. That being said, I know many travelers prefer to take a tour led by an expert. Below are some of the tours of Miyajima Island that caught my eye.
I am an affiliate partner of Viator. If you book a tour using one of the links below I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider booking using one of my links.
Prices are accurate as of June 2023.
 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Miyajima Island Tour from Hiroshima - $125.80 Explore World Heritage sites in Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day! Miyajima is famous for its Itsukushima Jinja Shrine. Its red torii gate appears to be standing in the sea during high tide. Walk through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to promoting peace around the world. |
 Miyajima full day tour - $380.00 You can enjoy one of the world heritage sites in Hiroshima including world famous Otrii gate. If the weather permits, you go hiking to Mt.Misen to enjoy the beautiful site Seto Inland Sea from the summit or observatory by rope ways. |
 Small-Group Guided Tour to the Island of the Gods on Miyajima - $109.28 Discover Miyajima, the World Heritage site and one of Hiroshima's leading tourist destinations. |
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Getting Back to Hiroshima from Miyajima Island
I spent about three hours in total on the island. There was a cable car and a ropeway that led to a mountain in the middle of the island. Unfortunately, it was closed as it was late in the afternoon. To return, I used my JR pass to take the JR Ferry back to the train station. From there, I took the JR Sanyo back to Hiroshima Station and then walked to my hotel.
The JR Ferry was much larger and had multiple decks that were inside and outside. The outside decks provided a great view of Miyajima Island as we left. In contrast, the ferry from the Peace Park only had an inside deck which made the island difficult to see during my inbound journey. I was glad that I was able to visit Miyajima Island. I want to go back sometime during high tide and see how different the shrine looks.
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