Hiroshima in One Day: Miyajimaguchi/Miyajima — Guide miki

What Is a Private Day Tour of Hiroshima and Miyajima Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

Upon arriving at Hiroshima Station, the guests said, "We'll leave the route and places to visit up to you," so I proceeded with the tour while asking about their preferences along the way. Since they mentioned they disliked crowds and waiting in lines, I explained that the Atomic Bomb Museum tends to be crowded and instead guided them to another museum where they could view exhibits in a quieter setting.

As they did not have a transportation IC card and said they would pay in cash, I recommended a one-day pass that covers buses, trams, and the ferry. In Hiroshima, starting from late March, the bus system and boarding procedures became more complex — passengers must prepare the exact fare before putting it into the fare box, 1,000-yen bills can be exchanged in the machine, but new 500-yen coins require asking the driver to exchange them, making procedures cumbersome and time-consuming at each boarding and alighting. For that reason I recommended the one-day pass. As a result, boarding and alighting were easy, and the one-day pass (1,000 yen) turned out to be cheaper than paying each time, which reassured me as well.

On Miyajima, although the five-story pagoda was under renovation, the guests enjoyed the torii gate and the giant rice scoop, bought chopsticks as a souvenir, and fully enjoyed strolling around the island. They also ate ice cream at a hotel and bought momiji manju. As one of the guests was cutting back on sugar, they did not have the ice cream.

Although they had said lunch was optional, when I explained how okonomiyaki is made and its ingredients, they said they had been wanting to try it, so we went into an okonomiyaki restaurant near Miyajimaguchi. Since they do not eat pork, they had it made with beef instead. The guests mentioned that one of them was quite a gourmet who would not touch anything that wasn't delicious, but they told me many times that the okonomiyaki was delicious.

Since they had kindly bought a one-day pass, and because the tram is one of Hiroshima's distinctive features and does not get crowded at its starting stop, we took the tram to Nishi-Hiroshima. As I wanted to pass by Peace Memorial Park, we transferred to a local bus and viewed Peace Memorial Park on the left, got off at Hondori, and strolled through the Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum, Hondori, and inside Peace Memorial Park. Upon learning that after the atomic bombing people had desperately written messages on walls to search for their families, they quietly said, "That's such a sad story." While strolling through the park, they listened attentively to my explanations and took photos. Before I realized it, it was time to head to Hiroshima Station, so we took a local bus back to Hiroshima Station. As the guests said they wanted to move up their return bullet train, I guided them to the English counter at the ticket office, and the tour ended. They told me it had been a very meaningful and enjoyable day in which they learned a great deal.

Click here for more details: Hiroshima & Miyajima in 1 Day: Private Tour, Licensed Guide

Tour Report by miki

Dear guests,
Hello! My name is Miki. I was born and brought up in Hiroshima. I enjoy traveling around Inland Sea areas and I enjoy chatting with guests from overseas!

In Hiroshima, you can see many beautiful rivers and old bridges. Lately, I often take photos of Hiroshima city including bridges and rivers. There are not many tall buildings here, but I know some places you can visit and see the view for free. By the atomic bomb dome, there is a building called Orizuru(paper crane) Tower. You need to pay to go up to the top floor but you can see the view of Hiroshima city and the Miyajima Island(Itsukushima).

Many tourists from overseas as well as Japan want to visit Miyajima Island. You can see a beautiful shrine from Heian Period which is around 12th century and a huge Torii gate in front of the shrine and it is in the water. There are several ways to visit the island from Hiroshima city. If you are going to stay near JR Hiroshima Station, we will visit the island by JR train and JR ferry. If you are staying in the city area, we can go there by streetcar and ferry, or there is a high-speed boat from Peace Memorial Park pier directly to the island and vise versa.

Hoping to see you in the near future!

Miki
Your tour guide in Hiroshima