Private Hiroshima & Miyajima Full-Day Guided Tour

Peace Memorial Park and Museum

The Peace Memorial Park was created on the delta island where the busy Nakajima district stood before 6 August 1945. Your private guide walks you along its central axis, from the arched Cenotaph that holds the register of names, past the Peace Flame, to the Children's Peace Monument surrounded by paper cranes sent from all over the world. The Peace Bell can be rung by visitors as a wish for peace.

Museum entry is included. The Peace Memorial Museum, opened in 1955 and renovated in 2019, explains the city before the war, the day of the bombing and the long work of rebuilding and peace education, through personal belongings and testimonies presented with restraint. Allow about an hour and a half. On a private tour you can ask questions freely and take as much quiet time as you need.

The Atomic Bomb Dome

Across the river from the park stands the Atomic Bomb Dome, completed in 1915 as the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, a modern exhibition building designed by a European architect. It was one of the very few buildings near the centre whose walls remained standing after the bombing, and the city chose to preserve the ruin exactly as it was.

In 1996 the Dome was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a symbol of the hope that such destruction is never repeated. You view it from the riverside paths. Your guide places it in the story of modern Hiroshima, a city that rebuilt itself into the green, lively place you see today, and points out the bridges and streets around it. This part of the day usually takes about 20 minutes.

Itsukushima Shrine and the floating torii

From the city you travel with your guide by train and ferry, the standard answer to how to get to Miyajima from Hiroshima, crossing to the island in about ten minutes. Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dates by tradition to the late sixth century, and its vermilion halls and corridors over the tidal flat took their present form in the 12th century. At high tide the shrine seems to float.

The Great Torii in front of it, about 16 metres tall and made from natural camphor trunks, stands in the sea by its own weight; at low tide you can walk to its base. Entry to the shrine is included. Itsukushima Shrine opening hours are generally from 6:30 until 17:00 to 18:00 depending on the season, and an unhurried visit takes about 45 minutes.

Senjokaku Pavilion and the five-storey pagoda

On the small hill above the shrine stands Senjokaku, whose name means the pavilion of a thousand tatami mats. Construction began in 1587 on the order of the ruler then unifying Japan, but it was never finished, so the great hall still has no ceiling panels or front walls. Today it is a breezy, open space hung with old painted votive boards, with views over the town roofs to the torii.

Next to it rises the red five-storey pagoda built in 1407, which blends Japanese and Chinese architectural styles and is one of the best photo spots on the island. Entry to Senjokaku is included in this private tour. Your guide times the visit around the crowds and the light, and you can sit on the wooden floor and rest for a while.

Daisho-in and Daigan-ji temples

Daisho-in, founded according to tradition in 806, is the oldest temple on Miyajima and sits at the foot of Mount Misen. The stone stairway up to its halls is lined with metal prayer wheels that you turn as you climb, and hundreds of small stone statues of Buddha's disciples, many wearing knitted caps, line the paths. A dim cave inside the grounds is lit by lanterns, and the autumn maples here are superb.

Daigan-ji, next to the shrine's exit, is a quieter temple long responsible for the shrine's upkeep and dedicated to a deity of music and eloquence. Both visits are included. Is Miyajima worth visiting for a full day? With a private guide you can spend longer at the temples and still have time for momiji manju cakes on Omotesando street before heading back.