We combined a visit to both Hiroshima and Miyajima into one day. Staying for a night in Hiroshima and taking the short ferry ride to Miyajima. This day trip was with our 2-year-old son. Was one day enough to see both? See our whole day and thoughts below. 

Links in this post are affiliates, booking through them will earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you. 

Accommodation in Hiroshima

We had booked one night in Hiroshima to visit the memorial park and go to Miyajima island. The Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel is right outside Hiroshima station and the prices were very reasonable. A deluxe king room was $135 (aud). We were looking forward to a spacious 35 sqm room in between staying in a small room in Osaka.

We got a surprise upgrade. Now we had an 80sqm room with two double beds. A lovely surprise and a little bit of luxury on our budget trip. Sheraton Hiroshima
Hiroshima Sheraton
Hiroshima Sheraton

Miyajima

Miyajima is a small island located close to Hiroshima. The island’s official name is Itsukushima but it is more commonly known as Miyajima, which in Japanese means shrine island. It gets this name from its famous shrine Itsukushima shrine, which is built over water and appears to float during high tide. The shrine features a large orange torii gate that is positioned out in the water and during high tide it also seems to be floating.

Hiroshima to Miyajima

Getting the Ferry to Miyajima

To get to Miyajima we took the JR Sanyo line from Hiroshima station to Miyajimaguchi station, a 25-minute ride. We exited Miyajimaguchi station to find it was pouring rain. Putting the rain cover over the stroller, we both tried to take cover under our umbrella. Once the rain got a bit lighter we made a mad dash across the road, where we found an elevator on the street. The elevator took us down to a walkway under the road and then we came up in another one closer to the pier. Again we ran for it and made it to the pier a little less than soaking wet.

As we had a JR pass, we didn’t need to get any tickets so joined the line for the next ferry. The ferry soon arrived and we boarded, folding the stroller up and carrying our one-year-old up the steps to get seats inside. Soon after leaving the Hiroshima port, we could see the large Torii gate coming into view. It was a short 10-minute ferry ride and we were on Miyajima island. We left the pier area and headed towards Itsukushima shrine. Thankfully it was only drizzling rain for most of the walk.

Ferry to Miyajima

Itsukushima Shrine

We spent some time outside the entrance of the shrine complex, viewing the large torii gate that sits out in the sea. I juggled the camera and the umbrella and took some photos of the famous ‘floating’ gate. There were lots of deer wandering around the area. 

We proceeded to the entrance of the shrine, paying our 600 yen fee at the counter.  The entire shrine complex is built over the water. There are several buildings that are joined by wooden boardwalks. We strolled along, mainly staying under the covered areas as the rain had become a lot heavier. I ventured out in the rain to snap some quick pictures.Itsukushima's floating torii gate

Deer in MiyajimaItsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine

We continued along the boardwalk under the orange corridor. We took our time to admire all the details around the shrine complex. There are many lanterns and impressive lion-like statues that act as guardians of the shrine, keeping evil spirits away. A highlight for our two-year-old was watching a deer slowly walking through the water and up onto a sandbank. miyajima and hiroshimadeer in Miyajima

deer in Miyajima

A rainy day

We got to the end of the boardwalk and exited the shrine complex. Fletcher spotted a vending machine and wanted a juice and as it was such a drizzly day it was perfect for drinking a hot royal milk tea. We wandered around the back of the shrine and weren’t sure what to do next. I had originally wanted to go up Mt. Misen but as it was so wet and still raining, it wasn’t going to be a good idea.

I remembered seeing that there was an aquarium on the island and we decided it was something Fletcher would enjoy as well as getting us out of the rain.

Miyajima day trip

Miyajima day trip

street in Miyajima

Miyajima Aquarium

We found the aquarium on the map and thankfully got there easily. We entered and paid the 2800 yen entrance fee for 2 adults. The aquarium features many different displays and sea life from around the local area and the world. One display shows an example of the many oyster farms that are around the area of Miyajima and Hiroshima. Miyajima with kids
Miyajima AquariumFletcher loved the aquarium. He was able to really enjoy the displays as most of them could be viewed from his height. Tim and I sat on a bench seat while Fletcher had a great time at a large tank that contained many different fish, eels and stingrays. He had people laughing at him while he pretended to be scared of the stingrays. Whenever they would swim close by he covered his eyes and ran away before laughing. He could have stayed at this one tank all day but we eventually moved him on to explore the rest of the aquarium.

aquarium fun

Miyajima Aquarium

While we were there, there was one show/talk taking place so we headed straight to it. Two aquarium staff bought out a penguin each and sat down with them. People were able to go up and give the penguins a pat. I thought Fletcher would want to touch a penguin and I wasn’t sure about it but, he was more interested in the large fake penguins anyway.

After seeing the penguins we backtracked to view the tanks we had passed. There were all sorts of different sea life to view and we watched as a man cleaned the stones in one of the tanks.miyajima aquariumMiyajima Aquarium

Miyajima Aquarium

Miyajima Aquarium

Miyajima Aquarium

The aquarium had outdoor pools but as it was raining and there were no feedings happening at the time we didn’t go to view them. We were able to see the finless porpoise or as the aquarium referred to them ‘whales of the Seto Sea’, from the inside tank. They were playing around with each other and were hitting a ball on their heads. Miyajima Aquarium

Miyajima Aquarium

Lunch in Miyajima

Once out of the Aquarium, we realised it was lunch time. It was still raining so we chose to dine in a restaurant close to the aquarium. I thought it was a nice clean, modern open space, suitable for our toddler and stroller. Tim thought we would end up spending too much money on lunch but it was quite reasonable. 

Tim had Katsudon, a dish of rice, breaded pork and egg. Fletcher and I shared a tempura plate. It had prawns and various vegetables with dipping sauces. Due to the pouring rain, we just dashed inside.  I have since looked it up, turns out it is actually a hotel, called Mizuhasou. 

Back to Hiroshima JR ferry Miyajima

After lunch we put the rain cover over the stroller and walked back to the ferry port station. Inside it was very busy with people waiting for the next ferry. Fletcher had fallen asleep while we were walking so we took a seat and waited.

When the ferry arrived, we weren’t sure whether to get on or wait for the next one as Fletcher was sleeping in the stroller. We didn’t know if we would be able to leave him in it and board the ferry. After pushing the stroller into the bottom part, we were standing beside the steps when someone pointed us in the direction of a room in the downstairs area. We entered the room and sat with two ladies for the short journey back to Hiroshima.

Travel with kids reality

Somewhere between getting the ferry from Miyajima and then a train to Hiroshima station, we noticed our 2-year-old’s pants were wet. We realised it was from the rain getting through a gap in the side of the stroller cover. Normally I would have had spare clothes in the backpack but of course, when they were needed, there were none there. We got our bag from the Sheraton Hotel to get new pants and then put it in a locker at the station.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima peace memorial

We took a tram to the station near the Peace Memorial Park. By the time we arrived, it was almost 3:30 p.m. It was raining quite heavily, so we sheltered under a tree to look at the A-Bomb dome. The building used to be the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. When the atomic bomb exploded all those inside died, however, the building was not completely destroyed and remains standing today as a memorial. In 1996 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A-Bomb dome

Children’s Peace Monument – Sadako Sasaki

We then made our way to the Children’s Peace monument. Here, the statue of Sadako Sasaki stands tall surrounded by paper cranes. I had learned the story of Sadako at school and this was something I wanted to visit.

Sadako was two years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. When she was eleven Sadako became ill and was diagnosed with Leukemia. Several years after the explosion there was a large increase in Leukemia, especially among children. It had become clear that this was a result of radiation caused by the atomic bomb.

An old legend states that a person who folds 1000 origami cranes would have their wish granted by the gods. Sadako started folding cranes while in hospital. The story has different endings. One claims she finished before her death while another claims she didn’t complete the 1000 and they were finished by her friends.

Sadako was twelve years old when she passed away. Her classmates set about having a monument built in her name. In 1958 the monument was built, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. This not only represented Sadako but all the other children who had been affected by the bomb. It stands today surrounded by many paper cranes that have been sent and placed by people from all over the world as a symbol of peace. hiroshima and miyajima

children's peace monument

Getting back to Osaka

Making our way to the museum, we realised if we visited, we wouldn’t get back to Osaka until quite late. We still had to get a tram back to Hiroshima station, a shinkansen to Shin-Osaka station and then the subway to the station near our hotel. In order to get a bullet train that would be covered with our JR pass we had to make our way back. The Nozomi trains leave a lot more frequently. The others are about every half an hour, with some having a lot of stops along the way, making for a long train trip.

We walked back to the tram stop and got the next one back to Hiroshima station. Rushing for the Shinkansen tracks, we almost forgot our bag. 

Hiroshima peace park

We made it back to the hotel at about 7 p.m. after picking up dinner on our way. It had been a busy day and soon after eating, Fletcher was in bed asleep. Tim headed out to search around for somewhere to buy nappies. Looking online, we couldn’t find much. After walking around for quite some time, Tim came back empty-handed. We were onto our last few nappies so needed to get some the next day. (see our post on buying nappies in Japan )

The next day we stopped in Nagoya to visit the SCMaglev Museum. We then continued onto Shizuoka and collected our rental car. Read about it here.

Is one day enough time to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima?

We didn’t feel we had enough time to visit both places properly. We were travelling with a small child and the rain had an impact on our sightseeing. One thing I didn’t factor in was the travel time from Hiroshima station to the Peace Park and back again. If you can allow it, I recommend one full day for each place. It would be good to see more of Hiroshima, there is a wooden castle in the town that looks interesting.

 



Booking.com

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedin