What the four hours with AIDO include
AIDO meets at JR Miyajimaguchi Station, crosses with you on the ferry and walks the island in a small group or privately. The guide checks the tide table for your day, so the walk can be timed for the torii in the water or on the sand. A tasting of momiji manju, the maple-leaf cakes sold all over the island, is part of the tour. The Peace Memorial Park and the museum are not part of it, which makes the walk easy to combine with a guided walk through the Peace Memorial Park on the same day or the next.
A longer island day with the ropeway
Machinovate Japan meets at Hiroshima Station, under the Tourist Information sign outside the Shinkansen gates, and travels with you by train and ferry. On the island the group of up to 15 visits the Senjokaku hall, the Itsukushima Shrine and the Daisho-in temple, then has about two hours of free time on Omotesando for lunch. In the afternoon the ropeway goes up Mount Misen, and you choose between staying at the Shishiiwa viewpoint and walking on to the summit, a path the operator calls steep. The guide fits in a walk out to the torii when the tide is low. The day lasts nine hours, ends back at Hiroshima Station, and is not suitable for wheelchair users.
One guest who walked to the summit with the guide wrote that it was worth the extra effort. Another, rating the day lower, thought the island easy enough to visit without a guide.
Getting to the start
Miyajimaguchi is about 25 minutes from Hiroshima Station on the JR Sanyo Line. Tram line 2 runs there as well and takes longer. On the island, the ferry terminal is about ten minutes on foot from the Itsukushima Shrine. Ferries, the visitor tax and the direct boat from the Peace Memorial Park are on the ferry and visitor tax page.
Shrine opening hours
The Itsukushima Shrine opens at 6:30 for most of the year and closes between 17:00 and 18:30 depending on the season. An early start puts you ahead of the day-trip groups, which reach the island from mid-morning.
| Period | Shrine opens | Shrine closes |
|---|
| 1 January | 0:00 | 18:30 |
| 2 and 3 January | 6:30 | 18:30 |
| 4 January to end of February | 6:30 | 17:30 |
| 1 March to 14 October | 6:30 | 18:00 |
| 15 October to 30 November | 6:30 | 17:30 |
| December | 6:30 | 17:00 |
Itsukushima Shrine opening hours as published for 2026, compiled by watabi.org. Senjokaku hall and the treasure hall have separate tickets.
The Misen ropeway
Mount Misen rises behind the shrine, and the ropeway is the quick way up. Its lower station is about ten minutes on foot from the shrine. The ride comes in two parts: a gondola from Momijidani to Kayatani in about ten minutes, then a larger car from Kayatani to Shishiiwa in about four. From the upper station the summit is a further walk, and the round trip on foot from there takes about an hour.
- The ropeway runs from 9:00 to 16:00, and the last ride down leaves at 16:30.
- It closes for maintenance twice a year, around February and July.
- Strong wind and thunderstorms stop it, which is common in the typhoon season of late summer.
- The Machinovate Japan day includes the ropeway tickets. The AIDO walk and the private Voyagers day do not; plan the ticket and the time on top.
Three hiking trails also lead from the town up to the summit if you would rather walk the whole way.
The order that usually works
Shrine and torii first, while the island is quieter and the tide suits you, then the ropeway before 16:00. In autumn, from 15 October, the shrine already closes at 17:30, and the maple valley at Momijidani by the lower ropeway station is at its busiest.
Combining the island with Hiroshima
For a full day with both sites and a guide, the coach and small-group tours from Hiroshima Station cover the memorial and the island together. A half day on Miyajima fits better if you stay in Hiroshima for two nights or want time for Mount Misen.
