Hiroshima / Miyajima Full-day Private Tour with Government Licensed Guide
Description
This value-packed trip with a licensed and experienced English-speaking tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore both Hiroshima and Miyajima! To start your day, meet your tour guide at your hotel, then visit famous sites such as Miyajima, Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Shukkeien Japanese garden, and Hiroshima Castle. Your guide will customize your private tour in detail according to your interests. Eight-hours is the perfect amount of time to check out both Hiroshima and Miyajima island. We strongly suggest visiting both places when you come to this part of Japan. 24 Pass for Ferry and streetcar transportation is 900 Yen for adults, 450 yen for children. Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary. This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot. 10 Persons max per tour. You cannot combine multiple groups.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Please note that the duration of this tour has been changed from 7 hours to 8 hours, effective November 6th, 2024. If your reservation was made before November 6th, 2024, your tour will still be 7 hours and you will be charged for the 7 hour tour only. We kindly ask for your cooperation in reviewing the tour duration details in the confirmation email you received. Thank you for your understanding.
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園, Heiwa Kinen Kōen) is one of the most prominent features of the city. Even visitors not looking for it will likely stumble upon the large park of over 120,000 square meters. Its trees, lawns, and walking paths are in stark contrast to the surrounding downtown area. Before the bomb, the area of what is now the Peace Park was the political and commercial heart of the city. For this reason, it was chosen as the pilot's target. Four years to the day after the bomb was dropped, it was decided that the area would not be redeveloped but instead devoted to peace memorial facilities. Admission Fee: ¥200
Hiroshima Castle (広島城, Hiroshimajō), also called the Carp Castle, is a good example of a castle built on a plain in the center of a city as opposed to hilltop and mountaintop castles. Its main keep is five stories tall, and its grounds are surrounded by a moat. Also within the castle's precincts are a shrine, some ruins and a few reconstructed buildings of the Ninomaru (second circle of defense). Hiroshima developed as a castle town, whereby the castle was both the physical and economical center of the city. Built in 1589 by the powerful feudal lord Mori Terumoto, Hiroshima Castle was an important seat of power in Western Japan. While it was spared the demolishment that many other castles met during the Meiji Restoration, like the rest of the city, Hiroshima Castle was destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945.
Shukkeien is a Japanese garden in Hiroshima, designated as one of Japan’s Top 100 Historical Parks and a National Scenic Spot. This article introduces the highlights of the garden, access information, and other tips to enjoy it.
Miyajima is one of Japan’s most scenic destinations, famous for the iconic floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine. Walk through charming streets, meet the island’s friendly deer, and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of this historic island. With a local guide, you’ll learn about the island’s culture, history, and hidden spots beyond the main tourist areas.
Miyajima (宮島) is a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views. While officially named Itsukushima, the island is more commonly referred to as Miyajima, Japanese for "shrine island". This is because the island is so closely related to its key shrine, Itsukushima Shrine, in the public's mind. Like the torii gate, the shrine's main buildings are built over water. Miyajima is a romantic place, best enjoyed by staying overnight at one of the island's ryokan. While there are usually many day tourists, in the evening the area becomes much quieter and more peaceful. There are also wild deer on the island that have become accustomed to people. In the day the deer wander around the same sites as the tourists, and in the evening they sleep along the walking paths. Admission Fee: ¥300
Tenshinkaku(天心閣) is a Japanese old house looked single-story house cafe in Miyajima which is located on a hill. You can enjoy beautiful view of Toyokuni shrine, five-story pagoda and Seto island sea at once.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This private tour is a walking day tour with a meet up in Hiroshima/Miyajima. A private vehicle is not included. Public transportation or local taxis maybe used to transfer between sites. Exact transportation costs can be discussed with the guide after a reservation is finalized. Please have Japanese Yen on hand for your transportation costs. A private vehicle is not available for this tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This is a walking tour. Pick up is on foot.
Reviews(1,493)
Rena was very knowledgeable about Hiroshima, current information and history. She was friendly and answered all of our questions. The tour was a pleasure.
Yoko was well knowledgeable and catered to our son who was sea sick. She also was there for my little one who didn’t like some of the photos in Hiroshima library. We enjoyed her tour so very much and plan to book her next time we come back!
We had a wonderful experience and learned soo much about Hiroshima and Miyajima! Emiko was amazing! She was so knowledgeable, sweet, and friendly! We felt like she was part of our family fir the day!
From the moment we booked our private tour, to being back home, the tour company and then our guide had excellent communication. We met our guide Emmy at the Shin-Hiroshima station and she immediately helped us navigate the station and be on our way to Miyajima. Having a second-generation Hiroshima survivor lead us through our day was wonderful and we were able to tailor the day to meet our interests. Emmy provided answers to our questions, information on what we were seeing, and gave ample time for exploration and photos. After Miyajima we headed back to Hiroshima for the tour to continue with more historical perspective and even a detour to a calligraphy store! She was patient when we wanted to buy snacks or were in the museum. We felt fortunate to have spent the day with this amazing tour guide. It was a long day for all of us and Emmy made sure we weren't overwhelmed with information. She stayed with us all the way back to the Shin-Hiroshima station and made sure we got through with our tickets before departing. Following the tour, she sent photos that she took of our family throughout the day which was very much appreciated.
Hiroshi is an amazing guide. He has a wealth of knowledge and stories about the areas. He is extremely engaging, personable, and accommodating. He connected very well with my son, nephew, and myself. Hands down the best tour guide we’ve had.
We had a great day with Sei, our guide. He was friendly, very knowledgable and organised. He took us around Hiroshima Memorial Park and then to the museum where he had arranged for a private viewing of a short film about Hiroshima. Afterwards, we visited Miyajima Island. Again, Sei was very knowledgable. He had checked the tides to show the 'floating' Torri Gate. We did a fair bit of travelling, bus, tram, train and Ferry, but the day went smoothly. We didn't feel rushed. Everything flowed. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour with Sei and would definitely recommend it.
We had a great time on our tour of Hiroshima with our guide Hiroshi, he was very knowledgeable and generous, and gave us a personal and extensive tour of the peace memorial and of Miyajima Island. We would highly recommend this tour!
We had Sei as our private tour guide for the day. He was fabulous. He was very engaging and always ensured that we were with him. He gathered us in many times and provided a brief history or overview of what we were looking at/experiencing. Sei was very knowledgeable and provided very interesting facts. I would highly recommend this tour and Sei as your tour guide.
This was a very informative tour, including both the WW2 and wider history of Hiroshima. Our highlight was our guide Hiroshi, who showed us his family home on Miyajima as well as many other sights on the island. He was very fun, informative, and friendly. 10/10, would recommend.
Me and my family have had a fantastic day touring Hiroshima and Miyajima with Hiroshi-San. We started at the Hiroshima Memorial Park and Museum which was a profound and important reminder on the importance of peace and non-proliferation. We then went to Miyajima for lunch and visited some shrines and temples. Hiroshi-San was a fantastic guide. He was friendly, easy to talk to, informative and made the experience a fantastic day for us. He met us at our hotel in the morning which made it particularly easy to meet him. I would absolutely recommend this tour with Hiroshi-San!
