Miyajima Cultural Highlights Walking TourTake a cultural highlights tour of the beautiful Miyajima island in Hiroshima.
★★★★★- 4.5 hour tour
- Small group tour
- English speaking guide
What makes this tour unique
- Explore Miyajima, the Sacred Island of the Gods with a local friendly knowledgeable guide
- Take an in depth look into Itsukushima Shrine and Daishoin Temple and learn their rich history and culture
- Learn about the difference between the Japanese Shinto religion and Buddhism
- Try out some local delicacies recommended by your guide such as delicious fresh oysters and fried momiji dumplings etc
What's included
Not included
- Additional foods and drinks (Available for purchase)
- Ferry fee to Miyajima (360 yen ($3) round-trip)
Tips and recommendations by our official guides
Welcome to the beautiful island of Miyajima! This island, rich in culture and history (and also a lot of wild deer!) is a great place to delve into Japan's past!
As everyone knows, Miyajima has a very famous floating shrine called Itsukushima Shrine. However, this holy island has much more to offer than just this one extraordinary shrine. The island itself is known as spiritual power spot, and on this tour prepare to learn about Japanese Buddhism as well as Shinto religions and their differences, and visit the just as special Daishoin Temple and be enlightened!
Some hundreds of years ago, nobody was allowed to live on this island except the Gods, however now there are some residents on the island but no cemetery is allowed to be built because of the old customs.
On this tour start off by taking an in depth look into the world of Shinto and the famous World Heritage Itsukushima Shrine and the famous great red Torii gate in the sea. After this we will take you into the world of Japanese Buddhism and this unique and mystical temple with its plethora of different statues will surely amaze you.
After this your guide will take you to the quaint Momijidani Park which lays at the base of Mt. Misen to check out the seasonal colors, before taking a stroll down to the 5 story Pagoda and Senjokaku Hall (literally the “hall of a thousand mats”) to delve further into Japanese history.
After enjoying your stroll around this beautiful island and with a brain full of new knowledge on Japanese history, religion and culture get ready to chow down on some local delicacies and relax! Try out some fresh local oysters, fried Momiji dumplings and steamed buns with different fillings!
Solo travelers, friends, couples and family, all are welcome!
Official guide
Head to the beautiful Miyajima island and Itsukushima shrine
Meet your guide and travel to the sacred island of Miyajima that is deeply rooted in Japanese mythology and religion. See the famous Torii gates and enter Itsukushima Shrine. Your friendly local guide will you tell you about their background in Miyajima and their cultural signifiance to Japan. You'll also be taught about the Japanese religion of Shinto!
Explore Daishoin Temple, Momijidani Park and learn about the 5 story pagoda and Senjokaku Hall
After taking an in-depth look at Itsukushima Shrine and learning about Japan's Shinto religion go on to visit the Miyajima's other spectacular religious spot, the Daishoin Temple. Here your friendly local guide will teach you next about Buddhism's role in Japan and this temple's significance to the island. After this enjoy a stroll to Momijidani Park and check out the seasonal leaves. Then your guide will take you back down to where the 5 story pagoda and Senjokaku Hall is for some further cultural exploration!
Get ready to chow down on some local Miyajima delicacies such as delicious fresh oysters and fried momiji dumplings.
To finish off your culutral highlights walking tour, your guide will introduce you to some of the local delicacies available such as delicious fresh oysters and fried momiji dumplings among other delicious sweet and savoury treats!
Meeting Point
In front of the Seven Eleven right outside of JR Miyajimaguchi Station
See on google maps- It takes 30mins to JR Miyajimaguchi station from JR Hiroshima station. (JR Sanyo line)
- Your guide will be holding a board saying "Magical Trip"
- The restaurant industry faces difficulty of hiring restaurant staff and training them because many restaurant staff had to quit or got laid off during the times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, food and drinks at some restaurants possibly comes served late and the tour might be longer than originally scheduled. We kindly ask for your understanding
- Because most Japanese restaurants are not fully ready for providing vegetarian menus, choices of vegetarian foods in our tour is available but limited.
- All ages are welcome on this tour
- You do not need to pay for the guide's food and drinks.
- Please bring some cash for ferry fee (360yen) and additional snacks and drinks.
- Out of respect for other guests and to ensure the best tour for everyone, we must start the tour on time.
- You will not be able to join the tour, get refund or rescheduled if you are late for the tour and missed the group.
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the tour starting time.
- Free date/time rescheduling up to 24 hours before the tour starting time (depending on availability).
