Day Trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima from Kyoto/Osaka - without a tour

As part of 6 days in Kyoto, we took a day trip to Hiroshima and the nearby island of Miyajima. Looking at a map, it might not be apparent that this is possible as it’s roughly 360 km each way, but the Shinkansen trains are so fast and efficient that this is something that can be done if you are willing to get on an early train. We had an itinerary where we saw the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum and spent the afternoon on the Island of Miyajima before we travel back to Kyoto. (this same trip could be done from Osaka as well). We booked ferry tickets same day, and we were flexible to do the Island first, and the Peace Museum on the return (Hours 7:30 AM to 7PM) or the museum while we waited for our ferry slot.

Example Itinerary

• Bullet train to Hiroshima arriving - around 9:45 AM
• Taxi from the train station to the Ferry close to the Peace park (this is labeled “Hiroshima World Heritage River Cruise” on google maps)
  • From here you can walk to either the peace park and the ferry
  • Buy same day tickets - we were able to buy tickets for 11:30 which gave us about 90 minutes to explore
  • Peace park, Museum
  • Ferry to Miyajima - arriving at 12:30
• Walk around Miyajima
  • Itsukushima Jinja Shrine and Floating Torii gates
  • Street food
  • 3:40 departure back to Hiroshima
• Late dinner in Kyoto / Osaka - we arrived by 7:00 PM

This is an ambitious schedule but we had a limited amount number of days and this was something we wanted to see, even if we didn’t have time to linger and enjoy it on a slower pace.

Some Highlights:

Booking Ferry

On arrival, you’ll want to go to the ferry terminal first to book your ferry and return - when we go there, there’s basically a paper that shows what time slots are still available. We chose to book a ferry time that gave us enough time to explore the peace park first, and then take the ferry, but you might not know what options are available until you get to the ferry terminal. I don’t think they offered online booking. Here is a picture of the paper that shows what time slots are still available for booking.

Hiroshima / Peace Park and Museum

For obvious reasons, we didn’t take a ton of photos here, especially inside the Museum as it’s a somber experience. The remains of the Industrial Promotion Hall (Atomic Bomb Dome) are commonly photographed, however, and serve a reminder of the destructive force of the bomb as one of the few surviving buildings near the blast.

The Museum - We entered around 10:30 and spent about an hour inside, purchasing tickets from the kiosks on entry. The museum documents both the immediate toll of the bomb as well as the long term suffering caused by radiation poisioning and cancer. One of the most striking imagry showed the museum opening a mere 10 years after the bomb while there was still so much devestation around the city - https://hpmmuseum.jp/virtual/VirtualMuseum_e/exhibit_e/exh0507_e/exh050702_e.html -

While it feels a bit odd to blog about this as a tourist destination - I think it’s important that we learn from history so as to not repeat the mistakes of our older generations.

This was an incredibly powerful experience, but something that was a priority to experience on our Japan Trip.

Miyajima Island

The ferry was efficient and comfortable - every seat was filled, so it’s worth lining up a few minutes early to be able to sit together.

The views from the island are spectacular - this gate is the one that everyone photographs - this is in front of the Itsukushima shrine.

This second gate, is on the opposite side of the ferry terminal from town, worth looking at on your way back to the ferry.

While you are here, you’ll be able to walk the entirety of the village, as well as see the shrine with the floating gates, plus try some food from the many vendors in the town - We didn’t eat a proper meal here, instead ate from a lot of different places to try to experience the different options that were there.

The famous shrine is the Itsukushima Shrine, and it can get crowded. There was a bit of a line to enter, as well as a lot of people on the shore jockeying for position to get the perfect photo of the Torii gates in the small bay. Once you see the shrine, continue to walk past around the back of temple to the other side where there’s a small rocky beach / seawall where you can enjoy the gates with a few less people. If the line to enter is very long, you can also get here without entering the shrine itself, just go around the back to the other side!

Food Highlights

Pancakes at Mukougawa Pancake Miyajima - this is a dining experience - https://www.instagram.com/mukougawa_miyajima/?hl=en there are 6 seats in the restaurant and it’s sort of hidden in a back alley, but it’s worth trying - everything is made to order and it’s done very elegantly right in front of you - see the linked post / video.

We ate a bunch of other street snacks:

However, of all the street snacks, there was one thing that was really a Must Have - Momiji Manju

… these cookies originated in Miyajima - we went to this place where they make them fresh and serve them to you - cheese was our favorite flavor- and one of the best places to get them is Miyatoyo-honten (at least that is the name on google maps) - https://maps.app.goo.gl/zhjMvbbN4jg2FwiYA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy for the location. Seriously, you have to try these, they are served hot right out of the oven and the cheese cookies have this sweet and savory combination that is just incredible. We went through the line twice!

Heading home

It was a long trip back to Kyoto, between the ferry and the Shinkansen, but it was really worth it be able to see this part of Japan. It’s really amazing and I can’t wait to plan a trip back to really explore the southern part of Japan. If we got to come back, would want to stay overnight to experience sunset sitting on the beach by the shrine looking at the Shinto gates in the water, as well as getting some hiking and nature in.

Miyajima was amazing and we were so happy to be able to experience both this and the Hiroshima peace park in one day!