One Day Scenic Hike @ Miyajima Island

Miyajima Torii Gate High Tide
Edwin Teoh
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Miyajima Island is well known among the locals of Japan for Itsukushima Shrine. Plus, knowing it’s that close to Hiroshima, means that my trip that can be considered as a day trip to explore the island.

Journey to Miyajima Island

Take a local train from Hiroshima Station down to Miyajimaguchi Station (about 35 mins away), you will find the ferry terminal to bring you to Miyajima Island. The journey from the ferry terminal to the island is around 10mins and there are multiple timings throughout the day. There are two companies operating with ferries here, but I chose to ride with JR since I had a regional JR pass on me. So I rode for free!

Timings can be found here!

Ferry To Miyajima Island

Miyajima Torii Gate View From Ferry Terminal

You can actually see the gate from the ferry terminal if you look closely enough.

Once you arrive at Miyajima Island, exit the terminal at the island and take a right turn to head to Itsukushima Shrine and the other attractions surrounding it. But if you wish to explore more, there’s a map in the terminal that can point out the main attractions around the island.

Island Map Of Miyajima Island

Itsukushima Shrine and the Torii Gate

Moving on to Itsukushima Shrine and the Torii Gate. Itsukushima Shrine is a UNESCO heritage and sits on a coastline that is easily affected by the tides of the ocean. Planning your trip with consideration of the tides is important here as you might be able to catch the high tide and low tide moving in and out. At the time I went, the high tide was the around 12 in the afternoon and the low tide in the early morning. So I knew at around which time could I walk on the beach.

Miyajima Torii Gate Low Tide

Taken in the morning when the tide was low and there were people along the beach.

Miyajima Torii Gate Front View

Walking on the beach allows you to get close to the gate.

Miyajima Torii Gate High Tide

Taken around afternoon when the tide has entered and you start the see that the gate appears to be floating.

Path To Itsukushima Shrine On Miyajima

Behind the gate is the famous . Admission fee is 300 yen.

Itsukushima Shrine Entrance On Miyajima

The entrance is always filled with people throughout the day.

Itsukushima Shrine On Miyajima

Itsukushima Shrine Interior On Miyajima

Itsukushima Torii Gate High Tide

Itsukushima Shrine High Tide On Miyajima

Once the tide has reached in, it would also look like the shrine was built on top of water,

Itsukushima Shrine Deer On Miyajima

After lunch, I spent the later half of the day exploring some of the less popular shrines and temples of the island and playing with the deers.

Itsukushima Shrine Deers On Miyajima

Yes, there are free roaming deers on this island.

Itsukushima Shrine Pagoda On Miyajima

A 5-storied Pagoda which is sadly not accessible

Daisho-in Temple

After which, I visited Daisho-in temple, a temple with a complex layout of many small shrines and statues. Here are some photos that I took. It didn’t seem like a very old temple as I was lead to believe. Perhaps it was because of the layout.

Daisho In Temple Tengu On Miyajima

Daisho In Temple On Miyajima.jpg

Mount Misen Hike via Daisho-in Route

Daisho-in Temple was also a start of a short but steep climb up to Mt Misen, a mountain that was worshipped by the locals for many years on the island. The Daisho-in course is the shortest of 3 courses, as you can see from the picture below. However, short on a mountain of this height means a steep climb to the summit. But I can reassure you that it is a rewarding hike.

Miyajima Hiking Map

Personally, I feel that the 535m hill is for adventurous people and people fit to climb up a large number of steps. Unless you are that, I would suggest that you just take the ropeway up and walk down, as it’s a lot easier and less tiring. But if you decide to hike up or down the hill via the Daisho-in route, there are many great views that you can chance upon.

Miyajima Torii Gate View From Hill

The view makes the Torii gate look tiny.

Miyajima Dam

A dam, this was located quite high up in the hills and was towards the end of the route.

Miyajima Hiking Trail

While it was a crowded site at the bottom of the hill, the summit had an opposite vibe where there was no one around. You could really enjoy the beauty of nature and at the same time take photos of yourself without people judging you.

Miyajima Hill Summit

Miyajima Hill Summit View

Taking some new wallpaper photos since the view was just too good to pass off.

Torii Gate Sunset View

After returning to the base of the hill via the ropeway, the sky cleared up over the past day of rain and the colours of the sunset was beginning to pop out. I spend the late evening just happily shooting away with my camera and enjoying the moment of beauty. 

Miyajima Torii Gate Sunset View

Great Torii gate, high tide with sunset colours.

Miyajima Sunset Tide

Miyajima Sunset View

Itsukushima Shrine town would start closing early at around 5pm. So just take note if you intend to buy souvenirs at the end of the day. It is also around this time where people start to leave the island and head back to the mainland for dinner.

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