Miyajima: Itsukushima Shrine (Again) + Daisho-in Temple

During our last trip to mainland Japan back in June 2018, we visited 7 cities including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Fukuoka. After our time exploring Hiroshima, we grabbed the tram all the way down to Miyajima. There are faster ways to arrive, but we loved the tram. Miyajima was the place I was most excited about visiting in all of Japan! Most people do a day trip while visiting Hiroshima, but I wanted to spend a good amount of time exploring the island, so we booked a room for a night at Guesthouse Kikugawa.

We arrived around noon on our first day, ate and tried a few beers at Miyajima Brewery, petted the deer, walked to the floating torii gate, visited the Itsukushima Shrine and then walked to the Miyajima Ropeway, where we took a cable car up Mt. Misen and saw an amazing view, plus a few temples before heading back. You can see all of that on the Miyajima: Part 1 post!

Afterward, we explored the town, ate dinner at Mame Tanuki Pub and ran down in time to catch the sunset. The next day we woke up early to visit the Itsukushima Shrine again (yes, again) but this time as soon as it opened while the tide was high. Then we walked to the Daisho-in Temple before grabbing our luggage and heading off the island and to the last city of the trip!!

                                                               ^^ crazy grainy photo of us ^^

Day 2 in Miyajima

                                                    ^ the street our guesthouse was on, so charming ^

                                       ^^ crazy how different the torii looks depending on the tide ^^

                                           ^ brought one of these cute rice laddles home with us! ^

        ^^ walked past a small factory making the famous momiji manju, a cake shaped like a maple leaf ^^       ^ This was such an unexpected surprise!! We went back to the gift shop in Hiroshima to buy some of these ^

                              ^^ Grabbed some coffee soft serve before heading back for our luggage ^^

Itsukishima Shrine

Open Daily: 6:30AM – 6PM (March to October 14)
6:30AM – 5:30PM (January, February and from October 15 through November)
6:30AM – 5:00PM (December)
Admission: ¥300

Daisho-in Temple

Open Daily: 8AM – 5PM
Free Admission

See more from our trip: Dotonbori Street | Kiyomizudera Temple | Exploring Kobe + Cafe Freundlieb | Nunobiki Herb Garden | Himeji Castle | Kobe Chinatown | Ikuta Shrine | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park | Hiroshima Castle + Gokoku Shrine | Miyajima Pt. 1 | Fukuoka Castle Ruins + Ohori Park | Nanzoin Temple + Tochoji Temple + Kushida Shrine |