Basically because of bad weather and generally being underprepared for Naoshima I’m sort of half a day behind on my itinerary. Right now, I’m sleeping in Hiroshima. Tomorrow I take the Shinkansen to Kyoto, it’s just a question of when. I didn’t actually PLAN to go to Miyajima before but I keep getting recommended it. I wonder if maybe I should just do the peace park tomorrow (the only thing I particularly WANT to do here in Hiroshima) then go to Kyoto in the middle of the day to get a headstart on all the things I’ll be doing. It’s just stressing me out planning all this around going to Miyajima. I can see the appeal but it wasn’t part of my plan and doesn’t allure me like other attractions (e.g. Osaka Castle, Fushimi Inari, Kyoumizudera, Arashiyama, Golden Temple, Akihabara, teamLab exhibitions)
My accomodation plans are
-Hiroshima (tonight)
-Kyoto (4 nights)
-Hakone (1 night)
-Tokyo (4 nights)
I guess my question is, is Miyajima worth cutting out half a day in Kyoto for?
Edit: I didn’t mention but I am staying until the afternoon to look at the peace museum which is part of the issue because it feels like squeezing too much into one day
3 comments
Unfortunately nobody can answer this but you.
However, I do think we should prioritise the things we personally wish to do over the general “must-sees”. For many people, going to Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime (twice in a lifetime?) trip, and it would be a pity to fill those limited days with places and activities that you feel you “have” to do but don’t really care about.
My first time in Japan, I went to Takasaki as a day trip. I skipped Nikko, Kawaguchiko, Yokohama, Hakone… that everyone recommended. Takasaki ended up being my favourite day of my trip, and it’s the one place that inspired me to revisit Japan. Also, I didn’t go to Kyoto until my third trip, and then it was just for a day, because I didn’t care to go, regardless of what everyone recommended. I don’t regret that; I went to Tohoku instead and I loved it.
Ask yourself this: you have limited days in Japan. What are the things you *truly* wish to do? What places excite you, make you say “omg I can’t wait”? Which places put a smile on your face to think about them? Is Miyajima one of those places?
Many people love Miyajima, it’s a famous tourist destination. I do believe sometimes people love Miyajima simply because they are new travellers and haven’t been to places like Yamadera, Hagi, Hiraizumi… so they have few truly breathtaking destinations to compare it to. If you want my personal opinion on Miyajima: it’s a nice enough place, but there will be tourists now in July, and the shops sell the same trinkets as every other popular tourist destination in the country. Daishoin is nice. Senjokaku is nice. The folklore museum is nice. The hike up the mountain is nice. But nothing I did there left a lasting impression compared to some other places I’ve been to around the country.
There is nowhere you “need to” or “should” visit. It’s your trip, your lifetime memories. Go wherever you like.
Comes down to what is worth it for you. For me no questions, I would happily skip a day in Kyoto for the peace park/museum and miyajima.
Currently on the Shinkansen back to Kyoto after doing a day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. We only did the museum and peace park in Hiroshima then took the electric cable car to Miyajima. The electric cable car takes an hour or so from the peace park and over an hour back to Hiroshima station. If you don’t want to spend 2 hours on the electric cable car or pay for a taxi one way then skip. We took a taxi from Miyajima to Hiroshima station and it was well over 7000 yen.
But personally Miyajima has been one of, if not the coolest, places we’ve been in Japan so far. We went today so there were not many crowds and we had so much fun walking with the deer, eating oysters, visiting the shops (which are a bit different and in my opinion a little nicer than the shops in Kyoto). We absolutely loved it and thought it was well worth the trip. Tbh I thought it was cooler than Fushimi Inari.