The JR ferry from Miyajimaguchi takes 10 minutes and is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. I stood at the bow as Miyajima emerged from the morning haze — a forested island anchored by the vermilion slash of the floating torii gate. At 8:15 AM, there were maybe 20 people on the ferry. By noon, there would be thousands.
First lesson: come early. Miyajima before 9 AM is a different island.
The moment I stepped off the ferry, a sika deer was standing at the gangway. Not approaching tentatively. Standing directly in my path with the confidence of a customs official.
Miyajima has roughly 500 wild deer. Unlike Nara's deer (which are fed by tourists), Miyajima's deer are genuinely wild. They're also genuinely opportunistic. Within 30 seconds, one had attempted to eat my paper ferry ticket. Another was investigating my backpack zipper.
Keep all food sealed in bags. They will find it. They will eat it. They will eat the bag too. A woman near the shrine had her entire bento stolen by a deer that appeared from nowhere with the stealth of a ninja and the appetite of a teenager.
The UNESCO World Heritage shrine is built over water, its corridors extending on stilts above the tidal flats. Entry is 300 JPY. The current structure dates to 1168, though a shrine has existed here since the 6th century.
The Noh theater stage — the oldest surviving Noh stage in Japan — sits over the water. I stood on it alone (a rare moment of solitude) and looked out at the torii gate through the stage's pillars. The framing was so perfect it felt deliberate, which of course it was. Every sightline in this shrine is composed.
I'd checked the tide times at miyajima.or.jp the night before. High tide was at 10:30 AM, which meant the shrine would appear to float. The torii gate, at high tide, rises from the water like a portal to somewhere else.
At high tide, the 16.6-meter vermilion gate stands in water. It was completely renovated in 2022 after three years of restoration. The color is intense — a deep orange-red that photographs can't quite capture because the contrast with the grey-blue water is more subtle in person.
I took photos from the shrine, from the shore, from a stone lantern on the beach. Every angle works. But the best view is from the small pier south of the shrine, where you can see both the gate and the shrine buildings reflected in the water.
Miyajima's signature sweet is the momiji manju — small cakes shaped like maple leaves and filled with red bean, custard, chocolate, or cheese. Omotesando Street, the main shopping lane from the ferry to the shrine, has dozens of shops selling them fresh.
Iwamura Momijiya has been making them since 1912. The standard red bean version is 100 JPY and excellent — thin, crisp shell with smooth filling. But the real discovery was age-momiji: deep-fried momiji manju on a stick. Crispy outside, molten inside. 200 JPY. I ate three.
I also had the island's other specialty: grilled oysters. Miyajima's waters produce excellent oysters, and stalls along the street serve them grilled in the shell with a squeeze of lemon for 200-300 JPY each. They're plump, smoky, and salty.
The 535-meter sacred peak is the island's highest point. I took the Miyajima Ropeway (2,000 JPY round trip) from Momijidani Park to the upper station, then hiked 30 minutes to the summit.
The panoramic views of the Seto Inland Sea — islands scattered across blue water in every direction — were worth the climb. On a clear day, you can see Hiroshima city across the water.
At the summit, the Reikado Hall houses a flame said to have been burning for 1,200 years, lit by the monk Kobo Daishi during his 100-day meditation. Whether the flame is genuinely that old is debatable. The atmosphere is not — it's ancient and reverential.
Bring water. There are no shops at the top.
Most visitors focus on Itsukushima Shrine and skip Daisho-in, a Shingon Buddhist temple at the base of Mount Misen. This is a mistake. Hundreds of small stone Buddha statues line the approach, each wearing hand-knitted caps in bright colors. Prayer wheels along the stairway spin with a satisfying mechanical click. The main hall contains sand from all 88 Shikoku pilgrimage temples.
Free entry. Allow 45 minutes. I spent longer because every corner revealed something new — a tiny garden, a hidden statue, a view of the shrine below.
By afternoon, the tide had gone out. The sea floor around the torii gate was exposed, and I could walk right up to it. The gate's base is massive — six pillars sunk into the sand, barnacle-encrusted and ancient-looking despite the recent renovation.
People placed coins in the cracks of the pillars for luck. I did too. Standing at the base of the gate and looking up, then turning to see the shrine in the distance across the tidal flats, felt like a different experience entirely from the morning's high-tide viewing.
This is why tide timing matters. High tide and low tide give you two completely different Miyajima experiences. If possible, plan your day to see both.
The park at the ropeway base has 700 maple trees. In November, they turn the valley red, orange, and gold — one of Japan's premier autumn color spots. In October, they were still green but the gentle stream, arched bridges, and dappled light made it beautiful regardless.
A deer was sleeping on one of the bridges. I sat on a bench and watched the light fade. The park emptied. The island was returning to its residents.
Most visitors leave by 5 PM. The last ferry runs until around 10 PM (check schedules). The island after dark, lit by lanterns and mostly empty, has a sacred quiet that matches its history — for centuries, no one was allowed to be born or die on Miyajima because the island was considered too sacred for the impurities of human life.
I took the 6:30 PM ferry back. The torii gate was illuminated against the darkening sky, its reflection broken by gentle waves. The deer had retreated into the forest. A monk was sweeping the shrine steps.
For a deeper exploration of Miyajima's art and spirituality, read our thematic guide to sacred Miyajima. If you're visiting Hiroshima, Miyajima is a natural day trip — 1 hour by train and ferry from the Peace Park.
