Hiroshima To Miyajima: Train, Tram And The Two Ferries

The route splits into two parts, a ride on the JR Sanyo Line train or the Hiroden streetcar out to the mainland port of Miyajimaguchi, then a short ferry operated by either JR West Miyajima Ferry or Matsudai Kisen.

For the wider picture of what awaits on the far shore, the Miyajima island guide covers the shrine, the mountain and the village, and the question of which is better to visit, Hiroshima or Miyajima is answered separately if you are splitting days.

How Do You Get From Hiroshima To Miyajima?

From Hiroshima you travel overland to the port of Miyajimaguchi, either on the JR Sanyo Line train from Hiroshima Station, a reported 25 to 30 minutes at a reported 420 yen one way, or on Hiroden streetcar Line 2, a direct run of about 66 minutes at the flat 240 yen adult fare, and then take a ten-minute ferry across to the island, paying a 200 yen fare plus the separate 100 yen Miyajima visitor tax on entry.

That is the whole machine. Nothing about it is complicated, but the two legs have different operators, different fares and different passes, and the cheapest or fastest combination depends on where in the city you start and which rail passes you hold.

The JR Sanyo Line is the fast option. It runs from Hiroshima Station to Miyajimaguchi Station, and the ride is reported at about 25 to 30 minutes.

The Hiroden streetcar is the slow, cheap, scenic option. Line 2 runs direct from the Hiroshima Station area to Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi with no transfers, taking about 66 minutes end to end at the flat fare of 240 yen for adults and 120 yen for children, a fare that has applied on all Hiroden lines, including the Miyajima line, since 1 February 2025. One pocket of subtlety: the Hiroden tram is reported to enter the Hiroshima Station building itself since 3 August 2025, which shortens the transfer from the JR platforms.

If the day is meant to hold both halves of the destination, the timed plan in Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day sequences the museum, the ferry and the shrine around the opening hours.

How Long Is The Ferry From Hiroshima To Miyajima?

The ferry crossing itself from Miyajimaguchi to Miyajima takes about ten minutes on either JR West Miyajima Ferry or Matsudai Kisen, with boats sailing roughly every 15 minutes through the daytime, so the whole hop, pier to pier, is over almost as soon as it starts; count the overland leg, and Hiroshima Station to the island is a journey of roughly 40 minutes to well over an hour depending on train or tram.

That ten-minute figure is the official crossing time on the JR West Miyajima Ferry timetable, and Matsudai Kisen matches it. There is a third, faster boat on a different route: Aqua Net runs a high-speed ferry from Miyajimaguchi to Miyajima in a reported five minutes, departing about every 20 minutes, and the same company runs the direct boat from Peace Memorial Park, covered further down this page.

Frequency matters more than speed here. Both ferry companies at Miyajimaguchi run approximately every 15 minutes during daytime hours, which means a missed boat costs a quarter of an hour at most. The JR ferry's daytime departures from Miyajimaguchi run at 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour, and Matsudai Kisen keeps its own timetable on a similar rhythm, starting earlier at 7:15 from Miyajimaguchi on weekdays and finishing earlier too, its last weekday sailing from Miyajimaguchi leaving at 20:35.

One sailing type deserves its own note: between 9:10 and 16:10, JR West Miyajima Ferry departures from Miyajimaguchi operate as Great Torii route ferries, which approach closer to the torii gate on the water. If the crossing is part of the sightseeing rather than just a commute, a departure inside that window gives the water-level view of the gate, and the story of why the Miyajima torii gate stands in the water explains the engineering behind what you see.

What Does The Hiroshima To Miyajima Trip Cost?

Counting both legs, the standard one-way adult cost is 720 yen via the JR train and JR ferry, that is a reported 420 yen for the train, the 200 yen ferry fare and the 100 yen Miyajima visitor tax, while the tram-and-ferry combination runs cheaper, the 240 yen flat Hiroden fare plus the same 200 yen ferry fare and 100 yen tax, making the slow route the lower-priced of the two.

The pieces are worth separating, because one of them is not a fare at all. The Miyajima visitor tax is 100 yen per person, charged separately on entering the island, and it has applied since October 2023, with preschool children exempt. It is collected alongside the ferry ticket, and holders of certain disability certificates are reported to qualify for exemption on the ferries and the Aqua Net boats. The details sit on the page answering how much the Miyajima visitor tax is.

The ferry fare itself is 200 yen one way for adults on both JR West Miyajima Ferry and Matsudai Kisen, with a child fare of 100 yen for ages 6 to 12 on the JR boat. Preschool children ride free on the JR ferry with one paying adult, up to two children per adult. Both companies accept transport IC cards as well as cash, which removes the scramble for coins at the pier.

Do I Need To Book The Miyajima Ferry In Advance?

No, the Miyajimaguchi ferries do not need advance booking for ordinary travel: both JR West Miyajima Ferry and Matsudai Kisen run roughly every 15 minutes through the day, accept IC cards and cash at the pier, and the JR ferry's own fare page describes payment on the spot with the visitor tax settled separately, so you simply turn up and board the next sailing.

Two qualifications keep that honest. The first is the ropeway, not the ferry: on ten peak autumn dates in 2026, 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29 November, the Miyajima Ropeway uphill ride requires an advance online reservation, so a November day that includes Mount Misen does carry a booking step, just not at the water's edge. The second is the Aqua Net night cruise to the torii from Miyajima Pier No. 3, which requires booking at least two hours ahead.

With departures at 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour through the daytime on the JR boat, and a matching rhythm at Matsudai Kisen, the practical plan is to arrive, pay, and board. Late returns need more care: the JR ferry's last departure from Miyajima is at 22:14, while Matsudai Kisen's last weekday sailing from the island is at 20:15, and anyone staying for evening illumination or the lit-up torii should check which company's boat they are relying on. The case for not relying on either is made in staying overnight on Miyajima.

Which Ferry Should You Take To Miyajima: JR West Or Matsudai Kisen?

On fare and crossing time the two companies are identical, 200 yen one way and about ten minutes, so the choice comes down to schedule and passes: the Japan Rail Pass and JR-West rail passes are valid on the JR ferry but not on Matsudai Kisen, the JR boat sails later into the evening with a last departure from Miyajima at 22:14, and the JR ferry's Great Torii route runs on departures from 9:10 to 16:10.

For a rail pass holder the decision makes itself. The JR West Miyajima Ferry is covered by the Japan Rail Pass, train and boat both, with only the 100 yen visitor tax paid separately, and pass users settle that tax at machines on the pier. The same coverage extends to JR-West rail passes. Matsudai Kisen offers no pass integration, so for anyone holding rail coverage, the JR ferry is the no-extra-cash option after the tax.

For everyone else, the timetable is the differentiator. Matsudai Kisen starts from Miyajimaguchi at 7:15 on weekdays, later than the JR boat's 6:25 first sailing, and finishes at 20:35 from the mainland, while the JR ferry runs until 22:42 from Miyajimaguchi. Coming back late from the island, the JR boat's 22:14 last departure from Miyajima is the one that matters.

One local pass rewrites the arithmetic for tram riders. The Hiroden 1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass costs 1,000 yen for adults and covers streetcars across the network plus the Matsudai Kisen ferry, though not the JR ferry, and the plain Hiroden 1-Day Streetcar Pass costs 700 yen with no boat at all. Anyone making a round trip to the island plus city tram rides during the day comes out ahead on the combined pass, with the caveat that the ferry half of it locks you to Matsudai Kisen, visitor tax included.

Can You Take A Direct Ferry From Hiroshima City To Miyajima?

Yes, one direct boat exists: the Aqua Net Hiroshima World Heritage Sea Route, a high-speed ferry from a pier at Peace Memorial Park straight to Miyajima, reported at about 45 minutes and 2,400 yen one way for adults, and the same operator sells a reported through ticket combining the Peace Park to Miyajima and Miyajima to Miyajimaguchi legs for 2,500 yen adult one way.

The direct boat answers a specific problem. If your day in Hiroshima centres on the Peace Memorial Park and the museum, and the idea of backtracking to Hiroshima Station to ride the JR line west feels like a wasted hour, this sailing leaves from the park itself and puts you on the island without a transfer. It is expensive against the 720 yen train-plus-ferry total, and it is the one part of the Hiroshima to Miyajima system where the fare buys point-to-point convenience rather than transport.

The through ticket version is the smarter shape for a one-way island day: Peace Memorial Park to Miyajima by high-speed boat, then Miyajima back to Miyajimaguchi on the Aqua Net connection, reported at about five minutes and running every 20 minutes, where you rejoin the JR line or the tram for the ride into the city. The Ujina port area, covered in the Ujina port guide, is the city's other departure point for boats in the bay.

Should You Take The Train Or The Hiroden Tram To Miyajimaguchi?

Take the JR Sanyo Line train if speed matters, a reported 25 to 30 minutes from Hiroshima Station against about 66 minutes on Hiroden Line 2, and take the tram if you are starting away from the station, if you hold a Hiroden pass, or if the flat 240 yen fare beats the reported 420 yen train fare, since the tram drops you directly in front of the Miyajimaguchi ferry terminal with no transfer at the other end.

The two routes serve different mentalities. The train is a suburban JR line that treats Miyajimaguchi as an ordinary stop and gets there in half an hour. The tram is a street-level ride through the western suburbs at a third of the speed and a bit more than half the price, and it is the same 240 yen whether you board in the city centre or ride the full 66 minutes to the coast, because the flat fare applies to every Hiroden line including the Miyajima line.

Passes tilt it further. The 700 yen Hiroden 1-Day Streetcar Pass covers streetcar travel across the network for a day, and the 1,000 yen version folds in the Matsudai Kisen ferry. Rail pass holders should note the asymmetry running the other way: the JR train to Miyajimaguchi is part of the Japan Rail Pass coverage, as is the JR ferry, so a pass holder's entire journey from Hiroshima Station to the island costs nothing beyond the 100 yen visitor tax.

For a day that mixes trams, buses and ferries, book a Hiroshima tourist pass here.

Travellers arriving at the airport should factor in the first leg too: the limousine bus from Hiroshima Airport to the Hiroshima Station Shinkansen exit takes about 50 minutes at 1,500 yen adult, with IC cards accepted, and that station is where the train, the tram and the Shinkansen all converge for the run west.

What Should You Know Once You Land On Miyajima?

Stepping off the ferry at Miyajima you are a 10 to 15 minute walk along Omotesando from Itsukushima Shrine, which charges 300 yen adult admission and opens at 0:00 on 1 January and 6:30 the rest of the year, closing at 18:30 on 1 to 3 January, 17:30 from 4 January to the end of February and again from 15 October to 30 November, 18:00 from 1 March to 14 October, and 17:00 in December.

The island rewards knowing its two clocks: the opening hours and the tide. The shrine's hours shift by season as listed above, and the Treasure Hall keeps 8:00 to 17:00, so a late ferry arrival still leaves shrine time, though a combined shrine-and-treasure ticket at 500 yen adult only pays off if both are open for you. The tide governs the torii: the guide figures say the seabed is exposed enough to walk out to the gate when the tide falls below about 100 cm, and the gate appears to float when it rises above about 250 cm, and the live Hiroshima Bay tide block on this site is the place to check a specific date rather than any printed number, with the fuller explanation in when low tide falls at Miyajima.

Repair work is under way at the shrine complex, with East Corridor reinforcement running to December 2026 and five-storey pagoda repair to 2027, and the shrine remains open throughout; the current state is summarised under whether the Miyajima torii gate is still under renovation.

For a fuller island plan, the Miyajima tour options page walks through guided ways to cover the shrine, Momijidani and the mountain, and autumn visitors will find the maple season, with Momijidani Park's roughly 700 maple trees peaking around 10 to 30 November and the park illuminated from 13 November to 6 December in 2026, laid out in the Miyajima autumn leaves guide.

Is The Hiroshima To Miyajima Run Different With A Tour?

Yes, but the difference is not difficulty. The self-guided Hiroshima to Miyajima crossing is easy and the cheapest path, 720 yen each way by train and JR ferry or 540 yen by tram. A tour trades money for a fixed itinerary: a guide at the Peace Memorial Park, a set sequence that gets the shrine before the afternoon, and no decisions at Miyajimaguchi pier.

The trade is money for a fixed itinerary, and the question of touring Hiroshima on your own is answered in full elsewhere on this site.

For travellers basing themselves in Osaka or Kyoto rather than Hiroshima itself, a bullet-train day trip is one way to reach both the memorial city and the island in a single booked day, and the featured option below covers that route. Check availability if a planned crossing appeals more than a self-assembled one, and the wider set of options for the two-city day is compared on the Hiroshima Travel Guide homepage alongside everything else the destination holds.

Common Questions About Hiroshima To Miyajima Travel

What Is The Best-Value Way To Plan The Whole Day?

For pure value, the Hiroden 1 Day Streetcar and Ferry Pass at 1,000 yen is the strongest single ticket: it covers the 66-minute tram ride to Miyajimaguchi and the Matsudai Kisen ferry both ways, leaving only the 100 yen visitor tax and the shrine's 300 yen admission as extras, so a full round trip plus city tram travel costs less than a single one-way Aqua Net sailing from Peace Memorial Park at its reported 2,400 yen.

For pure speed, the pattern reverses: JR train out, JR ferry across, JR ferry back, JR train home, with every leg covered by a Japan Rail Pass apart from the tax. The 720 yen one-way figure is the number to hold in your head when a hotel, a tour or a stranger quotes you something wildly different for the same journey.

The final variable is the clock on the island. Itsukushima Shrine closes as early as 17:00 in December and as late as 18:00 through the main season, the ropeway stops carrying passengers up at 16:00, and the last boats leave at 22:14 or 20:15 depending on the company. A day that starts with the first JR ferry from Miyajimaguchi at 6:25 has sixteen hours of island in front of it; one that starts after lunch has three, and no fare or pass fixes that. Plan the crossing around the closing hours, not the other way round, and the ten minutes on the water will take care of themselves.

Whether the day is self-assembled from the timetables above or handed to a guided product, the geography stays constant: Hiroshima on the delta, Miyajima in the bay, and a ten-minute ferry holding them together.