Miyajima Half-Day Customized Tour with Licensed Local Guide
Description
This value-packed trip with a licensed and experienced English speaking tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore Miyajima island and Itsukushima Shrine! To start your day, please choose your must-see spots in Miyajima island which you prioritize. Your guide will customize your four-hours private tour in detail according to your interests. Four hours is the perfect amount of time to check out Miyajima island. 24 Pass for Ferry and streetcar transportation is 900 Yen for adults, 450 yen for children. Note: We recommend the meeting point of Miyajimaguchi Passenger Terminal Ticket Office(Ferry Boarding Area for Miyajima) as this tour starts when you meet the guide. The guide can also meet at your hotel in Hiroshima city or at Hiroshima city cruise port. Please be aware that travelling to and from Miyajima is part the the 4 hours.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We recommend the meeting point of Miyajimaguchi Passenger Terminal Ticket Office(Ferry Boarding Area for Miyajima). If you meet in Hiroshima or at Hiroshima station or port, It may take up to an hour to travel to Miyajima. In this case, you may need to request a tour extension.
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.
Daishō-in or Daisyō-in is a historic Japanese temple complex with many temples and statues on Mount Misen, the holy mountain on the island of Itsukushima, off the coast of Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan. It is the 14th temple in the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and famous for the maple trees and their autumn colors.
A lively hub of souvenir shops and bite-sized snack stalls lead the way to the iconic Itsukushima Shrine.
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.
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. A private vehicle is not available for this tour. 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.
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(218)
If the perfect tour guide had a name, this would be Hiroshi. He is a perfect host, a warm and caring person. Well before our meeting he provided lots of details and customized the itinerary for us and with us. During the private tour for me and my daughter he shared a lot of information, took us to a typical Japanese restaurant, made sure we had beautiful memories taking a lot of pictures, explained the traditions and the culture while visiting both the touristy spots and the hidden gems of Miyajima island which is his home. Pick up and drop off were smooth. We also had the chance to get to know each other as he is really interested in the human side of the relationship with his guests so that we had an amazing cultural exchange. I am definitely recommending Hiroshi as the best guide you could have
Thank you very much for your wonderful review. It was truly a pleasure spending the day with you and sharing the history and culture of Miyajima. I’m especially happy to know that you enjoyed the local experiences and took such a genuine interest in Miyajima’s history. Your kind words mean a great deal to me and give me encouragement to continue doing my very best as a guide. Thank you again for choosing my tour. I hope you will always have wonderful memories of your time in Miyajima. Hiroshi
My uncle booked the tour, normally i wouldn't think of booking a guide as you can read in museums what happened. But once the tour started it was quite clear that she tells things that are not displayed. I really like how we got more deep knowledge. The museum and tour were very impressive. For lunch Minori took us for okonomiyaki this was so tasty and fun to have a local experience. After lunch we went to miyajima where we could see friendly deer and a majestic shrine. During the whole day it felt as if she was part of our family and we had an amazing day, minori really know a so much. Would do it again 100%
The tour was impressive and very nice. Minori is a great guide. She was good prepared and showed us all important things! It’s is also good first to go to the museum and the monuments and later to the island. The museum is impressive and also the monuments and it really and again makes you think……… We humans can develop so many great and good things, but out of some reason do so stupid things 😞 The island was a pleasure to walk around and see the dear in the streets. Minori to us to the best lunch with best local food ever!!!
Thank you both so much for your wonderful and heartwarming reviews! I am truly touched to hear that the museum's deeper insights left such a strong impression and gave you a new perspective on having a guide. It was an absolute joy walking around Miyajima, seeing the friendly deer and the majestic shrine together, and sharing that delicious local lunch for an authentic experience. Throughout the day, it felt like family to me as well, and I am so grateful to have spent this unforgettable time with both of you. I would love to guide you again anytime. Minori
We went on a half-day tour with Hiroshi to Miyajima which was simply the best tour guide experience we have had! He went above and beyond what could be expected - in terms of time (much longer), places we went, knowledge and kindness. Hiroshi truly deserves our warmest recommendations!
Thank you very much for your wonderful review. I am delighted to hear that your visit to Miyajima was one of the best tour experiences you have had. It was a real pleasure to spend the day with you and your lovely family, and I truly enjoyed sharing the history and culture of Miyajima with you. I hope the memories of your visit will stay with you for many years to come, and I look forward to welcoming you back to Hiroshima someday. Hiroshi
Yoko Shimida was our guide on July 5, 2026 to Miyajima. Yoko is a very friendly, positive and knowledgeable guide who contributed to us having a fantastic experience, and got a good introduction to the history of the place. Yoko had prepared material for the children, which they were very interested in. We can highly recommend Yoko 😀
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! It truly means a lot to me. It was a pleasure spending the day with all of you. You were all so kind and positive, and you made the day so enjoyable for me as well. I'm so glad we could explore Miyajima together. I also enjoyed hearing about your country. It was so interesting, and I loved enjoying the Nectar peach juice together—it brought back happy childhood memories.It was wonderful to see the children enjoying the little game and activities. They were so sweet! Thank you again and I hope to welcome you back to Japan someday!☺️ーYoko
Super Nice with Yoko Shimada she was very sweet and had prepared a little game for the children. Super friendly, we would definitely reccomend especially if you have kids and need something that is also fun for them😊 5/5 ⭐️
Wonderful experience! Our guide, Hiroshi was so knowledgeable and kind. He told us about Hiroshima and Miyajima history that we wouldn’t have found out otherwise. He taught us how to enter the shrines respectfully and how to pray. We also got to meet his lovely sister and hear about his family and his own personal history in Hiroshima. Such a lovely experience. I would recommend a tour with Hiroshi to anyone.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review and for taking the time to share your experience. I truly appreciate your generous support. It was a real pleasure spending the day with your group. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the history and stories of Hiroshima and Miyajima, and I am delighted to know that you had such an enjoyable experience. Your kind words about my guiding mean a great deal to me and encourage me to continue improving my tours. Thank you again for your generosity and support. I sincerely hope that the memories of your time in Japan will stay with you for many years to come. Hiroshi
Our guide was very attentive and very nice. At times, his explanations in English were not very clear.
This tour experience was truely the best part of my entire trip to Japan, all thanks to Hiroshi. His communication and organisation leading up to our tour was extremely helpful and punctual, but when it came to the tour itself it was then that I was truely blown away by his passion, guidance and care. Our experience with Miyajima Island felt so much more intimate and personalised solely because of him. He was regularly giving us amazing options and recommendations on things to do and places to see - it felt more like we were travelling with him than him being our guide. He was extremely knowledgeable when it came to the history and significance of Japanese culture and answered all our questions with great articulation. Hiroshi truely went above and beyond - he even took us out for lunch, communicated with our hotel to organise luggage transport for us, took the most amazing photos of us, and he even helped me with my train ticket home.
Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews and for your generous support. Reading your thoughtful comments brought me great joy. I truly appreciate that each of you took the time to share your own impressions and experiences from our day together. Receiving such kind words from both of you means a great deal to me. Thank you for your kind comments about my guiding and explanations. I am delighted to know that my passion for Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Japanese culture came across during our time together. I was especially happy to hear that our visit to Miyajima felt more personal and meaningful. Creating experiences like that for my guests is always one of my greatest goals. It was a real pleasure to spend the day with the two of you. I truly enjoyed sharing Hiroshima and Miyajima with such wonderful people, and I sincerely appreciated your warmth, curiosity, and kindness throughout the day. I sincerely hope you will carry many happy memories of Japan with you, and I wish you both happiness, success, and many wonderful adventures together in the years ahead. Hiroshi
Had a tour today with hiroshi, me and my girlfriend are very happy with the experience he took us to many beautiful places and gave a great detailed explanation of history and cultural significance of everything, answered all questions thoughtfully and it was obvious he cares so much about what he does and that made the experience so special.
Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews and for your generous support. Reading your thoughtful comments brought me great joy. I truly appreciate that each of you took the time to share your own impressions and experiences from our day together. Receiving such kind words from both of you means a great deal to me. Thank you for your kind comments about my guiding and explanations. I am delighted to know that my passion for Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Japanese culture came across during our time together. I was especially happy to hear that our visit to Miyajima felt more personal and meaningful. Creating experiences like that for my guests is always one of my greatest goals. It was a real pleasure to spend the day with the two of you. I truly enjoyed sharing Hiroshima and Miyajima with such wonderful people, and I sincerely appreciated your warmth, curiosity, and kindness throughout the day. I sincerely hope you will carry many happy memories of Japan with you, and I wish you both happiness, success, and many wonderful adventures together in the years ahead. Hiroshi
