Itsukushima ShrinePhoto: そらみみ / CC BY-SA 3.0
The shrine’s halls and corridors stand on piles over the tidal flat, so the same floor is over water at one hour and over sand at another. It opens at 6:30 all year.
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
A World Heritage shrine of roofed corridors built on piles over the tidal flat, facing the great torii: about 16.8 m high, the ninth on the site, erected in 1875 and held down by its own weight. The Miyajima Tourist Association gives the rule: above a 250 cm tide it appears to float, below 100 cm you can walk out to its foot (check the tide table in the complete guide); the gate is free at any time. The shrine is open 6:30–18:00 from 1 March to 14 October, to 17:30 from 15 October to 30 November and to 17:00 in December. Adult ¥300, or ¥500 with the Treasure Hall, a ticket sold at the shrine entrance only. A ship that anchors at 06:00 can be at the entrance when it opens.
- Number 1 of ten on our list for Miyajima.
- Short enough to be certain of: 1 hr 30 min door to door, so even a tender day works.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Yes" — add Senjokaku and the pagoda above the shrine, and Daisho-in, 7 minutes behind it.
- From 06:30 — to 18:00 from 1 March to 14 October, 17:30 to 30 November, 17:00 in December. Treasure Hall 08:00–17:00.
- 1 hr 30 min door to door needs a 3.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Things worth knowing
- Check the tide for your call in the complete guide before you choose the hour.
- The corridor floorboards have gaps: the shrine asks visitors to wear comfortable shoes, not high heels.
- Keep paper maps and tickets in a closed bag: the deer eat paper.
Itsukushima Shrine and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 1 hr 30 min goes
The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.
If your ship is late, cut the 1 hr 10 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions
How far is Itsukushima Shrine from the tender landing?
The landing pier is not published. From the island's ferry terminal the shrine entrance is 831 m, about 10 minutes on foot along the shore by our estimate. Ponant gives a 20-minute walk from its tender landing to the gate.
When can I walk out to the torii?
When the tide is below 100 cm, by the Miyajima Tourist Association's rule. The complete guide gives the Japan Meteorological Agency's prediction for each 2027 call.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
The shrine and the gateNeeds a 4-hour call · ~2h door to doorAny call, including the morning calls that sail at 11:30 or 12:00. The shrine opens at 6:30The shrine, Daisho-in and oystersNeeds a 5.5-hour call · ~3.5h door to doorCalls of 5.5 hours or more that land at about 8:00 or later (Daisho-in opens at 8:00, the oyster shop at 10:30), on any day but Wednesday, when Yakigaki no Hayashi is closedRopeway to Mount Misen, then the shrineNeeds a 7.5-hour call · ~5.5h door to doorCalls of 7.5 hours or more, with the day inside the ropeway’s hours, 9:00 up to 16:30 down. None of the 2027 calls with published times fits: the morning calls sail by 12:30 and Le Soléal’s 20 March call lands too late for the summit. Check your own ship’s hoursUnder the shrine’s roofs, then the shopsA wet day · ~2.5h door to doorA wet day on a call of 4.5 hours or more. The shrine’s corridors are roofed but open at the sides, and Senjokaku is a roofed hall; the ropeway stops in high wind or thunderWhat to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
2 hr 15 min for bothMomiji manju at Fujiiya
Momiji manju are small maple-leaf cakes filled with bean paste, the island’s standard gift.
See the detail
2 hr 15 min for bothThe shore walk and the deer
About 500 wild deer live on the island and about 200 of them in the town, mostly along the shore between the ferry terminal and the shrine.
See the detail
2 hr 30 min for bothSenjokaku and the Five-storied Pagoda
On the hill above the shrine stand the vermilion Five-storied Pagoda and Senjokaku, the large wooden hall the shrine lists as Hokoku Shrine.
See the detail