Hiroshima and Miyajima

From Kyoto, you’ll take the train to Hiroshima (included in cost), a city that is forever linked to the tragic events of August 6th 1945, yet today you will find a friendly, bustling city many times the size of wartime Hiroshima. You’ll take local transportation, either by bus or cab to your hotel (not included). Spend some time exploring Hiroshima on your own, and perhaps visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which contains a large collection of monuments including the Children’s Peace Monument, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, and many others.

Overnights will be at the Rihga Royal Hiroshima or similar.

Spend more time exploring Hiroshima on your own, or perhaps take a ferry over to the island of Miyajima, or Itsukushima, famous for the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island of Itsukushima, including the waters around it (part of Seto Inland Sea), are within Setonaikai National Park. At low tide, the bottom of the sea is exposed past the island’s famous red torii. At high tide, the sea covers all the previously-exposed mud and fills areas underneath the shrine.  Itsukushima is mountainous, sparsely settled, and reached by a ten-minute ferry trip from the mainland. Miyajima’s maple trees are renowned throughout Japan, and blanket the island in crimson in the autumn. Momiji manju, pastries filled with azuki jam or custard, are popular souvenirs, and carry maple-leaf emblems. Many other varieties such as chocolate and cheese are also available. Deer and monkeys roam freely. Deer are thought of as sacred in the native Shinto religion because they are considered messengers of the gods.

Today you’ll take the local train to the Osaka Airport and board a flight back home.