Itsukushima Shrine and Torii Gate || Miyajima Island || Hiroshima, Japan

Miyajima Island has a lot to offer and you can easily spend the whole day here. It was our first trip to Japan as a family and we arrived on Miyajima Island a lot later in the day than we had planned so we only got to check out the Torii Gate and Shrine at the base of the mountain. There are many hikes and trails to go up the mountain and visit other observatories and shrines.

Catching the ferry to Miyajima Island

To get to Miyajima Island, you’ll need to catch the ferry. For us, it was a smooth ride, and its a fast 5 - 10 minutes to cross the water. If you have a child and a stroller, you can stay at the bottom where the cars are usually, or you can carry it up to one of the upper decks.

Wild deer on Miyajima Island

There are wild deer on Miyajima Island, so if you don’t mind that you can’t feed them here, this is a great option if you’re unable to make the additional trip out to Nara Deer Park. But BE AWARE, they are wild and will bully their way to try and get food from you. One stole my pamphlet thinking it was food - they tried to take our child’s snack away so I got between the deer and my child, and they saw the corner of the paper and snatched it.

Walking from the pier to the Shrine, you go through this long walkway with various food vendors and small retail shops. On the way back from the Torii gate, we stopped by for some soft serve - it was a hot June summer day and I needed something cool and refreshing. It seems that these shops change out every few years or maybe by season - the shops my parents saw a couple of years ago were no longer here and this time, there were a lot of shops selling oyster dishes.

Torii Gate & Shrine

We got lucky, not only was it low tide, but apparently, really low tide. We were able to walk out to the gate and touch it and my parents said the past two occasions they visited, the water hadn't receded enough to go out and touch the gate.

From the gate, we walked towards the shrine. The shrine entrance fee is 300Y per person. Inside, you can buy omamori ( good luck charms ). During low tide, the shrine isn’t as magical as it usually is since it’s missing the water element - most people didn’t go in so it was peaceful and not crowded.

Kid Friendly?

This spot is kid-friendly - you can use your stroller from the pier to the shrine without major hassles. If it’s low tide, your stroller isn’t going to make it across the wet sand, so I recommend leaving it on the sidewalk and walking out to the Torii gate, or if you are able to, fold it up and take it with you. I wouldn’t leave any valuables in the stroller, and the only people you would need to worry about are other tourists, most Japanese locals won’t touch your things and leave your stroller alone. Our stroller is compact, so we were able to fold it and carry it with us across the sand and opened it back up once we got back to the sidewalk to continue our way to the shrine.

Bean was able to get out of her stroller and walk around from the pier to the torii gate, to the shrine. She was 13 months at this time and walked well, but still unsure and wobbly on uneven terrains. At the shrine, the “rail guards” are quite short, so if you have a fast toddler/kid who would likely hop over, you’ll need to pay close attention to them. During high tide, there is water all around the walkways of the shrine.

If it’s low tide and you’re going out to the Torii gate, there will be small tide pools along the way and they potentially have small sea creatures - so keep that in mind if you’ve got a curious little one who may try to pick them up!