Miyajima Cruise Port

Only for a look around the berth. Our shortest timed plan, "The shrine and the gate", runs ~2h door to door, so it needs a 4-hour call (off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, back at the gangway an hour before all-aboard). On a 2–3 hour call stay within a short walk or taxi of the ship. The timed plans are at port-of-japan.com/miyajima/plans/.

The half-day is "The shrine, Daisho-in and oysters" (~3.5h door to door), which needs a 5.5-hour call or longer (off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, back at the gangway an hour before all-aboard) — every transit leg counted from the berth, with an escape route if you run late. The timed steps are on the plans page at port-of-japan.com/miyajima/plans/.

Le Soléal, National Geographic Resolution, Heritage Adventurer, Island Sky, Silver Cloud are on Miyajima's published call list or the lines’ own itineraries, most calls first. Ships with a guide on this site link to it from the schedule, and this page carries plans sized to the hours each ship typically spends here. The full official call list — every ship with counts and seasons — is in the schedule section at port-of-japan.com/miyajima/#schedule.

① The pier the ship’s tenders use is not published; figures are from the ferry terminal ② Along the shore to the shrine entrance: 831 m, about 10 min, flat. The foot of the torii, when the tide is under 100 cm: 755 m, about 9 min ③ Senjokaku and the Five-storied Pagoda: 730 m, about 9 min, with steps Fare: Shrine ¥300 · with the Treasure Hall ¥500 · Senjokaku ¥100. Our estimates from map routing at 80 m a minute. Ponant gives 20 minutes from its tender landing to the gate, at a group’s pace. For today's exact departure times, open Google Maps transit directions from the pier — local timetables change by day, and the app knows today's.

① Ferry terminal → Momijidani Station: 1,566 m, about 20 min, uphill through Momijidani Park. From the shrine exit 995 m, about 15 min ② Momijidani → Kayatani, 8-seat gondolas, about 10 min; change; Kayatani → Shishiiwa, 35-seat car, about 4 min, every 5–15 min ③ Shishiiwa Station → the summit: a mountain path of about 1 km; allow 30 min each way Fare: Adult ¥2,000 return, ¥1,100 one way · child ¥1,000 / ¥550 · cards, transit IC and PayPay at Momijidani Station only. Runs Up 9:00–16:00, last car down 16:30 (as posted 13 Nov 2026; hours vary by day) · online booking required on the busy days the operator lists. The operator runs a free shuttle bus from the park entrance stop to the station, about every 20 min from 9:50, not 12:10–13:10. No strollers or wheelchairs on the ropeway; it stops in high wind or thunder.

① From the ferry terminal: JR West Miyajima Ferry or Miyajima Matsudai Kisen, about 10 min ② At Miyajimaguchi: JR Sanyo Line and the Hiroden tram to Hiroshima Fare: ¥200 each way (child ¥100) · coming back to the island the ¥100 visitor tax is added. Runs About every 15 min. Only worth it on a long call. High-speed boats also run from the island to Hiroshima Port, about 25 min, and to the Peace Park, about 50 min (Hatsukaichi City’s access page).

Around Mar 25 for first bloom and Apr 3 for full bloom, by the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 records as computed by Port of Japan. The last decade has run roughly 5–6 days earlier than those normals, and the date wanders by a week or more each year. The port-by-port table is at port-of-japan.com/journal/japan-cherry-blossom-cruise-ports/.

Maples at the nearest JMA observation tree turn around Nov 22 by the 1991–2020 normals — and recent years have run later. Mountain and temple foliage nearby often peaks one to two weeks earlier than the city tree. Every port's date is in the foliage table at port-of-japan.com/journal/japan-fall-foliage-cruise-ports/.

Miyajima sits on the Chugoku coast, which averages 3 typhoon approaches a year (JMA 1991–2020 normals) — the peak is August to September. Ships reroute rather than sail into a storm; the coast-by-coast picture and the booking-window advice are at port-of-japan.com/journal/typhoon-season-japan-cruise/.

20 cruise calls are on the official Hiroshima Port cruise call list of Hiroshima Prefecture (previous and next port columns) for 2026 (calendar 2026; Miyajima appears there as the previous or next port, and no authority lists Miyajima itself), all by international ships. Every ship and its season is listed in the schedule section at port-of-japan.com/miyajima/#schedule.

No. There is no cruise berth. Small expedition ships anchor off the island and land passengers by tender or Zodiac: Ponant’s excursion notes for Le Soléal say “tender landing”, and Noble Caledonia says Island Sky’s guests go ashore by the ship’s Zodiacs. Large ships that sell a Miyajima excursion are docked at Hiroshima; for those, see the Hiroshima guide.

No cruise line or authority publishes the pier. Ponant puts the shrine a 20-minute walk from its tender landing. From the island’s ferry terminal the shrine entrance is 831 m, about 10 minutes at a normal pace by our estimate. Note the name of the pier, and the time of the last boat, before you walk away from it.

It depends on the tide. The Miyajima Tourist Association says the gate appears to float above 250 cm and can be reached on foot below 100 cm. The complete guide has a table of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s predicted high and low for each 2027 call. On Le Soléal’s 20 March call the low is at 14:36, soon after arrival; on her 7 May and 1 October calls the tide passes 250 cm at about 07:30 and stays above it to the end of the call, and on 11 May from about 10:50. These are predictions for Hiroshima; Miyajima runs slightly earlier.

About two hours from the landing covers the walk along the shore, the gate, the shrine’s corridors and the walk back. The shrine opens at 6:30 and costs ¥300. Senjokaku, the large hall beside the pagoda, adds 20 minutes and ¥100 from 8:30.

Only part of it. The first car goes up at 9:00. The two legs take about 10 and 4 minutes, and the station is about 20 minutes on foot, uphill, from the ferry terminal. On a call that sails at 11:30 or 12:00 that leaves time for the Shishiiwa lookout at most, not the summit path. The fare is ¥2,000 return, and the operator requires online booking on the busy days it lists.

Hatsukaichi City charges ¥100 per visit to anyone entering the island by boat, since 1 October 2023. Ferry and passenger-boat operators collect it with the fare. The city’s page does not say how it is collected from a cruise ship’s tender passengers; ask the ship. Preschool children and holders of disability certificates are exempt.

No. About 500 wild deer live on the island, about 200 of them in the town. The Tourist Association asks visitors not to feed them and warns that they eat paper, plastic and cloth, which can kill them. Keep maps, tickets and bags out of reach.