Travel Guide
Miyajima Ferry Guide 2026: ¥100 Visitor Tax, JR Ferry, Great Torii Route, and Itsukushima Shrine Hours
For a Hiroshima day trip to Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine, the confusing part is not only the ferry fare but also the visitor tax and timetable.
ByMomentBook EditorialPublishedUpdated
For a Hiroshima day trip to Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine, the confusing part is not only the ferry fare but also the visitor tax and timetable. As checked on official pages on April 27, 2026, visitors entering Miyajima by boat generally pay the Miyajima Visitor Tax of ¥100 per person per visit.
This guide focuses on JR Miyajima Ferry from Miyajimaguchi, the Great Torii route window, and the official hours and admission fees for Itsukushima Shrine. Fares and timetables can change, so recheck the official pages before boarding.
What to know first
- The Miyajima Visitor Tax is ¥100 per person per visit for people entering Miyajima by boat.
- Preschool children are exempt from the visitor tax.
- JR West Miyajima Ferry lists the standard fare as ¥180 one way for adults and ¥90 one way for children, with the visitor tax charged separately.
- JR West Miyajima Ferry says Japan Rail Pass and JR-WEST Rail Pass can be used.
- The ferry trip takes about 10 minutes, and Miyajimaguchi departures from 9:10 to 16:10 are marked as Great Torii ferry services.
- Itsukushima Shrine closing time changes by season; from March 1 to October 14, hours are 6:30-18:00.
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Naokijp, Itsukushima Island, Mt Misen, Torii of Itsukushima Shrine and Ferry for Miyajima Route 001.jpg.
How the visitor tax works
Hatsukaichi City explains that the Miyajima Visitor Tax is a local tax used to support sustainable tourism on Miyajima. When boarding a boat to the island, you pay it to the boat company together with your boarding fee; at a ticket machine or service window, it is collected as part of the boarding ticket you buy before boarding.
If you use a transportation IC card at the automatic gates, the gates for JR West Miyajima Ferry and Miyajima Matsudai Kisen Tourist Ship automatically charge the visitor tax with the boarding fee. If you already bought a travel-agency discount ticket or a special event ticket, check whether the tax is included; otherwise you may need to pay it separately at the boat company window.
JR ferry timetable and Great Torii route
JR West Miyajima Ferry’s regular timetable lists the first Miyajimaguchi departure at 6:25 and the last at 22:42. From Miyajima, regular departures run from 5:45 to 22:14, and the operator notes that every ferry also transports cars.
Services leaving Miyajimaguchi from 9:10 to 16:10 are marked as Great Torii ferry services. The operator says travel time is the same as regular ferries, so this is the practical window if you want the sea-side view of the shrine gate.
Itsukushima Shrine hours and admission
Itsukushima Shrine’s official page lists the shrine as open year-round. Hours are 6:30-17:30 from January 4 to the end of February, 6:30-18:00 from March 1 to October 14, 6:30-17:30 from October 15 to November 30, and 6:30-17:00 in December.
Admission to Itsukushima Shrine is ¥300 for adults, ¥200 for high school students, and ¥100 for elementary or junior high school students. A combined ticket with the Treasure Hall costs ¥500 for adults, ¥300 for high school students, and ¥150 for elementary or junior high school students, and the shrine says combined tickets are available only at the shrine entrance.
Route and footwear
The shrine access page says JR Hiroshima Station to JR Miyajimaguchi Station takes about 30 minutes on the Sanyō Main Line, followed by a walk to the ferry port and about 10 minutes by ferry from Miyajimaguchi Port to Miyajima Island. By Hiroden streetcar, it is about one hour from Kamiyacho in central Hiroshima to Hiroden Miyajimaguchi.
Itsukushima Shrine has no parking. The shrine also notes that the corridor floorboards have small gaps to ease sea pressure at high tide, so wear comfortable shoes; high heels may get stuck.
Final planning checks
Use this guide as a decision sequence, not as a promise that every counter, gate, platform, trail, or desk will behave the same way on the day you arrive. Start with the official source links, then compare them with your real date, arrival time, group size, mobility needs, luggage, and payment method. If the official page has changed since the checked date, follow the current official page and keep this article as the structure for the questions you still need to answer.
For Miyajima Ferry Guide 2026: ¥100 Visitor Tax, JR Ferry, Great Torii Route, and Itsukushima Shrine Hours, the most useful habit is to keep the practical pieces together. Put tickets, booking references, QR codes, identity documents, pass numbers, screenshots, and the relevant official page in one place before leaving your hotel. If a staff member, driver, guide, ticket desk, or gate agent asks for proof, you should not have to search through email, browser tabs, and photo albums while a queue forms behind you.
Build a time buffer around the strictest point in the plan. That may be last entry, the last return trip, a timed reservation, a maintenance window, a ferry or train connection, a security check, or the moment when weather makes the experience less useful. The buffer is especially important when the route has more than one operator, when a holiday schedule is possible, or when the plan depends on a transfer that is easy on a map but slow in real life.
Treat prices and rules as items to verify, not as trivia to memorize. A good travel plan notes the current fare, permit, pass, age rule, discount category, closure day, bag policy, photo rule, and accessibility limit, then checks the official page again before payment. This avoids the common mistake of buying the right product for last season and the wrong product for this visit.
If the visit matters a lot, prepare a fallback that uses the same area instead of rebuilding the whole day from zero. Choose a nearby indoor stop for bad weather, a lighter route for tired companions, a later meal option for a queue delay, and a return plan that still works if the first choice sells out or stops early. The fallback should be simple enough to use without research under pressure.
Finally, read the source section with a practical lens. Official pages answer different questions: one may confirm the price, another the route, another closures, and another visitor rules. Check the page that matches the decision you are about to make, and do not assume that one source covers every operational detail. That habit keeps the article stable while still letting the newest official information control the final choice.
How to use the sections
Use "What to know first" as a checkpoint, not just as background reading. Confirm what decision it supports, what proof or timing it requires, and what you will do if the official source gives a different answer on the travel day.
Use "How the visitor tax works" as a checkpoint, not just as background reading. Confirm what decision it supports, what proof or timing it requires, and what you will do if the official source gives a different answer on the travel day.
Use "JR ferry timetable and Great Torii route" as a checkpoint, not just as background reading. Confirm what decision it supports, what proof or timing it requires, and what you will do if the official source gives a different answer on the travel day.
Use "Itsukushima Shrine hours and admission" as a checkpoint, not just as background reading. Confirm what decision it supports, what proof or timing it requires, and what you will do if the official source gives a different answer on the travel day.
Use "Route and footwear" as a checkpoint, not just as background reading. Confirm what decision it supports, what proof or timing it requires, and what you will do if the official source gives a different answer on the travel day.