Miyajima Ferry and Visitor Tax (2026): Which Ferry to Take, What It Costs, and Shrine Tickets
You can't book Miyajima, and you don't need to: you just turn up at Miyajimaguchi and take one of two ferries, every 15 minutes or so. The only new cost is the ¥100 Miyajima Visitor Tax, paid with your ferry fare when you go across.
If you have a Japan Rail Pass or a JR West pass, take the JR ferry: the pass covers it. On Nov 6, 2026 we checked both ferry companies' fare pages, the JR timetable and Itsukushima Shrine's admission page.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. The ferry and shrine tickets are only sold at the port and the shrine.
What is the Miyajima Visitor Tax, and how do you pay it?
Hatsukaichi City charges ¥100 per person each time you enter the island. You don't buy it separately: both ferry companies add it when you travel to Miyajima from Miyajimaguchi. The return trip has no tax.
JR Miyajima Ferry's fare page: "The Miyajima Visitor Tax of 100 yen will be charged separately when entering the island."
Miyajima Matsudai Kisen's fare page: travellers arriving from Miyajimaguchi pay an extra ¥100, and people who paid the tax in advance don't.
We couldn't load Hatsukaichi City's own tax page. The ¥500 annual rate is in the Ministry of Internal Affairs' record of the tax (soumu.go.jp).
JR ferry or Matsudai ferry: which should you take?
Both leave from Miyajimaguchi pier, a short walk from JR Miyajimaguchi Station, and both take about 10 minutes. The difference is the pass and the route.
JR Miyajima Ferry
Japan Rail Pass and JR West passes are valid. Departures from Miyajimaguchi between 9:10 and 16:10 take the Great Torii route, passing close to the floating gate.
Miyajima Matsudai Kisen
Takes cash, IC cards and tap-to-pay credit cards. One preschool child rides free with each paying adult.
JR Miyajima Ferry's Japanese fare page and its English top page say ¥200 for adults and ¥100 for children one way. Its English fare page still showed ¥180 / ¥90, which looks out of date. Both ferries now cost the same.
First and last ferries
If you stay on the island into the evening, check the last ferry back before you sit down for dinner.
Getting from Hiroshima to the island
- Take the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima to Miyajimaguchi. About 30 minutes. Covered by the Japan Rail Pass. The Hiroden streetcar Line 2 also goes there but takes about 70 minutes.
- Walk to the pier, a few minutes from the station. JR and Matsudai are separate companies with their own ticket gates.
- Tap your IC card or buy a ticket from the machine. The ¥100 tax is included in what you pay. Pass holders show the pass at the JR gate.Doing Hiroshima and Miyajima from Osaka? The Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass (¥17,000, 5 days) includes the Shinkansen and the JR ferry. The tax is extra.The pass on Klook ↗
- Cross in about 10 minutes. From the Miyajima pier, the shrine is a walk along the shore.
Itsukushima Shrine tickets and hours
High tide or low tide for the floating torii?
At high tide the gate seems to float. At low tide you can walk out to it on the sand. Both are worth seeing; check a tide table for your date and plan around one of them. Tide times change every day, so we don't list them here.
Do you need a tour?
No. Miyajima is easy on your own and much cheaper: the return ferry, the tax and the shrine come to ¥800 per adult, plus the train from Hiroshima. A tour makes sense if you have one day for Hiroshima and Miyajima and don't want to plan transfers.
Peace Museum + Itsukushima Shrine bus tour
Before you book, check on the listing what's included (ferry, shrine ticket, visitor tax, lunch), the guide language and the minimum group size.
Affiliate linksHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The museum opens at 7:30. Entry in the first hour needs a web ticket booked in advance, and you can head to Miyajima afterwards.
Planning the rest of your Hiroshima day?
Turn up, tap your card, and the ¥100 tax takes care of itself. Bring some cash for the shrine.
Affiliate link