Things to do in Miyajima & Hiroshima⛩️
This blog will include our recommendations for Miyajima and Hiroshima.
Miyajima
To get to Miyajima you have to go to Hiroshima first and then catch the thirty minute ferry to the island. We spent one full day and night exploring this island and it was one our favourite places. We stayed a night at Miyajima Guesthouse Mikuniya to experience the full Ryokan stay and woke up with gorgeous views. You can walk everywhere to get around as everything is pretty close and within walking distance.
Momijidani Park
From the ferry port, we walked to Momijidani Park on the way to the Cable Car. Here you can see Wisteria Trellis crops start to bloom and a few wild deer that are very friendly.
Miyajima Rope-Way & Shishiiwa Observatory
Get the Miyajima Cable Car up to the Shishiiwa Observatory, which gives you gorgeous views over Miyajima and Hiroshima. We went around 10am, and it was pretty busy but very cool to do, it costs ¥2000 for a return way trip for the both of us.
Mount Misen
Once you are at the observatory, you can then hike up to the top of Mount Misen, which can take around forty-five minutes. Here, you can see a whole 360 degree view over the island and see Hiroshima in the distance.
Itsukushima Shrine & Floating Torii Gate
One of the main sights, is to see the red Floating Torii Gate. During the day the tide comes in, giving the affect that the gates are floating in the sea. As night comes and the tide goes out, you get the chance to walk around the gate.
Daishoin Temple
There are a few temples in Miyajima that you need to visit. Sadly two of them were getting maintenance on them whilst we were there so were completely covered. The one temple we did visit was Daishoin Temple, which is at a historic Buddhist temple and at the bottom of Mount Misen. As you walk up the stairs to the temple, the bell is located at the top and visitors get the opportunity to ring the bell to mark their visit and make a wish. The temple as a whole is gorgeous and has a lovely view of the island and Hiroshima. It is also known for its hall of different Raman statues, each with different facial expressions as well featuring hundreds of small Jizō statues wearing colourful caps (pictured below).
Explore the Streets of Miyajima
You have to explore Miyajima town and pop into all the different food stalls and try one of their sweet treats. There are so many shops to choose from and random food stalls dotted about, we couldn’t walk five minutes without stopping and buying something. We also went back to the Floating Tori Gate to see it in the dark as the tide had completely gone out, meaning we could walk around and touch the shrine.
Cafe Lente
Another find in our Lonely Planet Guide was this cute cafe overlooking the streets of Miyajima, with a gorgeous view of the Floating Torii Gate. This cafe only serves two dishes, which is what they are known for, so we got one of each to share. One was a curry and the other was a soba noodle salad, so the contrasting of cold to hot meals was really good. We also got two ice coffees with ice cream and a strawberry cheesecake to share - we were obviously very hungry! A really lovely place to sit down and have lunch.
Hiroshima
After getting the ferry from Miyajima back to Hiroshima, we spent one full day exploring the city.
Peace Memorial Museum, Peace Park, and the Atomic Bomb Dome
We spent the morning learning the history about World War II and how it affected Japan in the Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Park, before walking to the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Hiroshima Castle
We then grabbed a Luup, which is like a Boris Bike but in Japan and cycled around Hiroshima to the castle. Hiroshima Castle is known for its black, five story architecture, which is surrounded by a moat. It was originally built in 1589, but was destroyed by the atomic bombing in 1945. It was then rebuilt in 1958 as a museum to showcase local history before WWII happened.
Baseball Game
By chance we found out that the Hiroshima Toyo Carp team were playing a match one evening, so we decided to buy tickets. We cycled to the stadium, had a few drinks and food nearby and then spent the evening watching a home game at the famous Zoom Zoom stadium.
We were only in Hiroshima for one full day and coincidentally on the day we were there, there was a dumpling festival happening. I think the festival happens every year for a month or so, so double check the dates online! But for us we made the most of it, as we had just come from Miyajima and hadn’t eaten anything all day. The dishes were pretty cheap, so Ned and I got eight different dishes to share. They were all made fresh in front of us and were incredible, we honestly had to force ourselves to stop they were that good. The festival happens in the square of Hiroshima and also has craft beer and dessert stands.
