Miyajima tide times and torii

The torii's three states

The Great Torii stands in the sea and is held up by its own weight, so the tide decides what you see. When the tide is high, at about 250 cm or more, it looks as if it floats. When the tide drops below about 100 cm, you can walk out across the sand to its base. Between those heights it stands in water and you can't reach it on foot. The figures follow the tide at Hiroshima Port, not the island itself, so treat them as a guide.

Why a shrine stands in the tide

Itsukushima Shrine was built over the tidal flat on purpose. The Miyajima Tourist Association says the idea may have been to build a Dragon Palace, since the enshrined goddess is the goddess of the sea, or to express Pure Land belief. The foundation posts sit in the water and decay easily, so the shrine needs constant maintenance. The present torii is the ninth on the site and was erected in 1875. It stands more than 200 metres from the main worship hall. The shrine's buildings are designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and the shrine appears in Japanese records as early as the year 811.

How to read the tide table

The Miyajima Tourist Association publishes a tide page where you enter a date and it shows the tide levels for the day. There are two high tides and two low tides a day, and each cycle arrives roughly 50 minutes later than the day before, so last week's table is no use this week. Look for the hours when the level crosses the height you want: above about 250 cm for the floating look, below about 100 cm for the walk. Check the day before, and again that morning if the shot matters to you. No state is better, only different: the shrine halls, the shops and the deer are the same at every tide.

If you're on the day tour

The tour doesn't let you choose the tide. Its itinerary lists about an hour at Itsukushima Shrine and about an hour of free time on the island, and the timing depends on your date and start point. The one thing you control is the date. Look up the tide table for dates you could book, compare it with the island time shown in your booking, and pick the date that suits you. If the torii afloat, or walking to it, matters most, go independently and plan around the tide.

Getting to Miyajima and back

The shrine's access page says it takes about 30 minutes from JR Hiroshima Station to JR Miyajimaguchi Station on the Sanyo Line, then about 10 minutes by ferry. The streetcar from central Hiroshima takes about an hour. Two companies run the ferry, JR West and Matsudai. The JR West ferry accepts the Japan Rail Pass and IC cards. Both publish timetables, including changes for busy days. There is no parking at the shrine, so leave the car on the mainland. Each ferry company shows the day's operating status on its website, which is worth a look on the morning you travel.

The Miyajima visitor tax

Hatsukaichi City has charged a visitor tax on Miyajima since 1 October 2023. It applies each time you enter the island by boat, and the ferry company collects it on top of the fare. You can instead pay an annual amount at a city office before your first visit. Preschool children and holders of a disability certificate are exempt, as are school trips, island residents and commuters. The city introduced it to cover public services that visitors create. On a tour, check whether it is covered in your booking.

Shrine hours, tickets and the route

The shrine lists its hours as open year-round. It opens in the early morning and its closing time moves with the season, earliest in December, so check the official page for your date. A separate ticket covers the Treasure Hall, and a combined ticket is sold only at the shrine entrance. Hokoku Shrine (Senjokaku) has its own hours and fee. The corridors have small gaps between the floorboards to ease the pressure of the sea at high tide, so high heels can get stuck. If you have a disability certificate, show it at the entrance.

Read next: Itsukushima Shrine: what's beyond the famous gate

Deer and shrine manners

Sika deer roam freely around the shrine and the town, and they are not afraid of people. They go for food, paper bags and maps, so eat purchased food at the shop rather than carrying it along the street, and don't hold maps or paper bags where a deer can reach them. Itsukushima is a working Shinto shrine, so keep your voice down in the corridors and halls. The ropeway and the hiking trail to Mount Misen need extra time on top of the shrine visit, which is worth knowing before you plan the afternoon.

The route through the shrine

The shrine's official route runs from the entrance past Marodo Shrine and the East Corridor to the Main Shrine and the Hirabutai, the broad deck over the water. It continues along the West Corridor, past Tenjin Shrine and the Noh Stage, and over the arched bridge called Soribashi to the exit. The Miyajima Tourist Association says the present main shrine dates from 1571 and keeps the Heian-period style that Taira no Kiyomori used. At the end of the Hirabutai, the Hitasaki, the sea opens out on every side.

Planning an independent day around the tide

If the tide is your priority, work backwards from the table. Pick the hour when the level crosses your target, plan to reach the shrine shortly before it, and allow time for the ferry from Miyajimaguchi on top. For the walk-out, wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy, because the seabed is wet. For the floating look, you can see it from inside the shrine corridors as well as from the shore. The JR West Great Torii ferry runs in the daytime only, so don't plan a sea view around the evening. At low water people also gather shellfish near the gate, so the sand can be busy.

Who this isn't for

If you need the torii afloat on one fixed date, nobody can promise it, because only the tide decides. If you want to choose your own hours at the shrine, go independently, since the tour's hours are fixed and the shrine's published hours change with the season. If you use a wheelchair, the tour listing says it isn't suitable for wheelchair users, and the shrine's long corridors with floorboard gaps are worth checking with the shrine first.