Miyajima Transportation

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By car or by train from Hiroshima to the ferry that takes you to Miyajima will take between 20 and 30 minutes through the suburbs of Hiroshima without any special sights. It was interesting for me to see many streets on stilts.
From the train-station it is just a few meters to the ferry and there is also a large carpark.
There is a giant hall for everybody waiting for the ferry, you will find several cafes,shops and also restrooms there.
Click here for a railpass in Japan

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It is a nice and easy walk along the beach to the Itsukushima Shrine & O-torii-gate and you will pass by a lot of great photo-opportunities along that way. On the way TO the shrine I may suggest that you take the path along the beach and on your way back you might want to take the street through the village with lots of restaurants and souvenirshops. Walkingtime on both ways is about 15 minutes.
When-ever you will find steps there will be a ramp as well for wheelchairs, see my last pic.

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The ferry to Miyajima island is going to and fro on a regular basis and you have to choose your time of departure that will also be printed in your ticket. The ships are taking cars as well, but that is for local people only and does not make sense for tourists, not even for handicapped people, as you cannot drive by car to the touristical sights of Miyajima.
By wheelchair on the ferry and in Miyajima island should be no problem at all, everything is flat and when-ever there are a few steps there is a ramp for wheelchairs as well.
The ferries run about every 15 minutes.
A One-way trip is 170 yen for adults / 80 yen for children
there are 2 ships-companies :
JR ferry Tel(0829)56-2045
Matsudai Tourist Ship Tel(0829)44-2171

There are two ferry companies operating side by side, JR Ferries and Matsudai Ferries.
The JR ferries is free if you are using a JR Pass, it operates from 6:25 to 22:40 TO the island and between 5:45 and 22:14 FROM the island. During the day they operate roughly every 15 minutes, but at nite they operate everh 30mins.

The Matsudai Ferries operate between 7:15 and 20:35 TO the island and between 7:00 and 20:15 FROM the island. They also operate every 15 minutes.

if you arrived at Hiroshima station at 21:00, you should be able to arrive at Miyajimaguchi in less than an hour time.
Good Luck!!

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From Peace Park, go to Hiroshima Station. Once there, get on the JR Sanyo Line to Miyajimaguchi station (about 400 yen, takes about 30 minutes)
You can also take the tram for slightly less money (about 270 yen). This is what I chose to do. The tram takes a bit more time, but it is still very efficient.
Both will take you to to Miyajimaguchi Station. From here, go to the ferry pier and purchase ferry tickets (170 yen) to take the ferry to Miyajima. The ferries are constantly taking people to and from the island, so you should never have to wait more than 10-15 minutes for a ferry. There are two different ferries. If you have a JR Railway pass, then you should take the JR ferry, because they will accept it. If you do not have the JR Railway pass, then don't worry about choosing a ferry. They both take you to the same place!

Most people who tour Miyajima just go to the shrine and then go back to the mainland. If this is what you plan on doing, then do not worry about transportation while you are on the island. You can easily walk around and see all of the sites.

Though it only costs 270 yen (or is covered by your tram day pass), it is not worth getting to Miyajima from downtown Hiroshima this way. It takes almost an hour an a half and makes many stops. It's worth paying the extra couple of hundred yet and taking the JR to Miyajimaguchi station. Use the extra time to explore around Miyajima.

The habitated part of the island is not really that big. After you get off the pier, just walk. The only place you may not want to walk to is probably the top of the hill where it is accessible via cable cart.