Itinerary Check – 2 Days Matsuyama and Hiroshima

2 comments

1. You’re giving yourself 3 hours to check out the entirety of Miyajima including Mt Misen, and then 2 for Peace Park and 2 for the castle?

   Strolling up the omotesando (shopping street) checking out shops and food stalls will take you hours, not including seeing Itsukushima/the torii and Mt. Misen, let alone the other sights on the island. It took us 3 hours to do just the omotesando and Itsukushima, we never even got to the mountain. If you want to actually do any hiking or take the ropeway, it’ll be at least half a day. OTOH it takes less than an hour to go through the Atomic Bomb museum unless you really like to linger thoughtfully over every artifact, and the castle about the same. The park is a fine sight and better for lingering if you want to be thoughtful but you may still be wildly overestimating the time you would be capable of spending on site.

   Also consider that it actually takes 25-30 minutes to get from the main Hiroshima train station to the Miyajima-guchi station, from which you have a short walk to get to the ferry, to and from.

   I would consider what you’re going to Hiroshima/Miyajima to see, specifically, before expending that much time trying to time your transportation to the minute in order to cram in a side trip.

2. Just to confirm, will you not be using a JR Pass, right? The reason I ask is because the Nozomi train is not covered by the JR Pass, and the train you mentioned from Hiroshima to Tokyo is the Nozomi. However, if you are traveling after October, there is a new JR Pass that does allow you to take the Nozomi.

   As for the train to Matsuyama, you can take the Shiokaze rapid train from Okayama. BTW, the Shiokaze has special Anpanman-themed trains running, which I happened to take before.

   Ex Kyoto 9:25-> Okayama 10:25 by Nozomi, Okayama 10:35 -> Matsuyama 13:15 by Shiokaza

   Route search web
   https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/