23/10/2026
⛩️ This photograph was taken on an evening when most visitors had already caught the ferry back to the mainland. The great torii of Itsukushima Shrine stood in the water as the sun went down behind the hills, and the few people still on the shore watched the light turn the bay gold.
The gate has marked the entrance to the shrine for centuries, and the shrine itself has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. At high tide the torii stands in the sea and the shrine appears to rest on the water. When the tide goes out, you can walk across the sand right up to its base, so checking the tide tables shapes the whole visit.
Miyajima sits about an hour from Hiroshima, with a short ferry crossing of around ten minutes. Most travellers come for a few hours in the middle of the day, which is when the island is at its busiest. My advice is simple: stay at least one night in a traditional ryokan on the island. You get to see the gate at sunset, the shrine lit up after dark, deer wandering the lanes in the early morning, and the torii to yourself before the first boats arrive.
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