A Hiroshima and Miyajima day trip offers one of Japan’s most powerful and rewarding travel experiences, blending profound history with breathtaking natural beauty. From the solemn reflections at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to the iconic “floating” torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, this itinerary allows for a balanced pace, exploring museums and iconic destinations.

This is a self-guided itinerary, so feel free to add or remove things as you please. We’ve designed this itinerary to have a good flow for your day trip to Hiroshima & Miyajima. We’ve also included optional visits – for the purpose of time keeping, we’d recommend only doing 1 optional visit in both Hiroshima and Miyajima.

To include everything we have included in this itinerary, we recommend starting between 8:00 am-9:00 am.

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Hiroshima and Miyajima Day Trip Itinerary

Trip Start - Hiroshima

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Start the day at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum - perhaps one of Japan's most significant and moving museums. Inside, visitors can reflect on the damage caused by the devastating Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and gaze upon many of the relics that were destroyed by the blast. This eye-opening museum serves as a lasting memory of the damaged inflicted upon Hiroshima in World War II.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a must visit on any Hiroshima and Miyajima Itinerary

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

After visiting the peace museum, head to the Peace Memorial Park and take in the sights of the park, as well as view at the Atomic bomb dome, which surprisingly mostly survived the blast of the Atomic bomb. The park is full of history, interesting memorials, and carries significant weight, being less than a kilometer away from the hypocenter. Today, the park is visited by families of those lost, and visitors from around the world to pay respect.

Hiroshima Castle Park (Optional)

If you're looking for a quick extra visit in Hiroshima, head to the Hiroshima Castle Park. While the castle keep closed it's doors to the public in March of 2026. You can still walk around, and admire the castle park for free, and is only about a 10-15 minute walk from the Hiroshima Peace Park, making for a quick and easy side trip.

Hiroshima Orizuru Tower (Optional)

The Hiroshima Orizuru Tower is a prominent and contemporary landmark located next to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, on the northern end of the Peace Park. Opened in 2016, the tower is situated near the Atomic Bomb Dome, the tower provides breathtaking panoramic views of Hiroshima city, including the Peace Memorial Park, the Ota River, and the cityscape.

Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki

Before heading out to Miyajima, be sure to grab some lunch. Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is a popular street food in Hiroshima. Adapted from the Osaka style, this savoury Japanese pancake is full of cabbage, thick bouncy noodles, pork belly, and glazed with a savoury sauce, then drizzled with Japanese mayo. One of our favourite okonomiyaki restaurants is Okonomiyaki Mitchan Sohonten , which can be found at Hiroshima Station - a perfect location before heading out to Miyajima. aim to be leaving Hiroshima by about 12:30pm to ensure you can have time to explore Miyajima at your pace.

Miyajima

Getting to Miyajima

After you’ve had your fill of okonomiyaki, take the train from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station (approx. 30 mins, 420 Yen one way) to take the ferry out to Miyajima (approx. 10 minutes, 200 yen each trip). The JR Pass covers the train from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station, and the JR Ferry to Miyajima. There are two ferry companies with similar schedules are fares, but only the JR ferry is covered by the pass. There is a mandatory 100 yen tourist tax which is charged before departing the main land to Miyajima, regardless of which ferry company you take.

Itsukushima Shrine O-torii

After arriving on Miyajima, follow the coastline from the ferry terminal to the floating Torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine. Admire the gate from the shore during high tide, or walk along the sand flats at low tide to see see the 16 metre (52 ft) tall vermillion torii gate up close. The Itsukushima Shrine torii gate has become an iconic symbol of Japan, with millions of visitors each year.

Itsukushima Shrine (Optional)

Itsukushima Shrine is designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of the most significant places in Japan, with a history dating back over 1400 years. In the Shinto belief, Miyajima Island itself is considered sacred, so the shrine was ingeniously constructed over water to allow worshippers to pay respects without setting foot on the holy ground. Even today, births and deaths are prohibited on the island to maintain its purity, a tradition that’s still respected by locals.Itsukushima Shrine takes on two entirely different apperances, depending on the tide. At high tide, the shrine and torii gate appear to be floating a top the water.

Mt. Misen & Miyajima Ropeway (Optional)

If you want an ariel perspective of the island, head over to the Miyajima Ropeway and ascend Mt. Misen. Mt.Misen is the highest peak on Miyajima Island, standing at approximately 535 meters (1,755 feet) above sea level. To get to the the top, visitors often hike (taking several hours), or take the Miyajima ropeway - a cablecar systems that takes you near to the summit of Mt. Misen for a perfect, panoramic view of the island and Seto Inland Sea of Japan. Using the ropeway, it should take about 1 hour round trip with sightseeing time.

The Omotesando Shopping Street on Miyajima

Omotesandō Shopping Street

The Omotesando Shopping Street is a popular shopping street on the island of Miyajima, in Hiroshima Prefecture. The street is lively and lined closely with shops, stalls, and street food. The shopping street is about 300 meters long (approximately 970 feet) and lined with shops on both sides. One of the most popular things to try at the Omotesandō Shopping Street is ‘momiji manju’ or a fried maple leaf. There are numerous stalls that sell Miyajima’s signature dish along this bustling shopping street. Shops begin closing around 4:00pm, but most will be open until 5:00pm. If you are worried about time with the optional activities, head down Omotesando Shopping Street before Itsukushima Shrine to allow to plenty of souvenir shopping time.

Once you’re done exploring Miyajima, head back to the Ferry terminal and set across for the mainland. Alternatively, we recommend staying overnight on Miyajima, allowing you to see a different side of the island and explore beyond the standard tourist attractions.