Hiroshima & Miyajima in 1 Day: Private Tour — Guide miki

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

The guests were visiting from Europe. Communication before the tour was difficult, but on the day of the tour we were able to meet without any problems. The night before, they contacted me saying they wanted to visit a Pokémon Café and wanted to know what time the tour would end. Hiroshima has a Pokémon Center, but it was unclear whether it had a café there, so to confirm whether the place they meant was the same one I had in mind, I sent them a link to the Pokémon Center. After they checked it, we confirmed it was the same place.

On the day of the tour, I received a message that they had missed the bullet train, so the 11:00 start became an 11:30 start. They said there had been a trouble purchasing the bullet train ticket in Osaka. Although they had bought a reserved seat ticket from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima, a staff member told them they could not board with it, so they bought a new one and paid again. When I asked about the fare, they said they had paid about 11,000 yen twice. After the tour, I checked the fare from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima, and since a reserved seat is about 10,420–10,640 yen per person, I sent the guests a link explaining this.

The morning bullet train ticket trouble seemed to have made things hectic, but when we met at the Hotel, they immediately noticed me and waved enthusiastically. The tour proceeded pleasantly, and at both Miyajima and Peace Park the guests asked many questions and also shared many personal stories. The guests were interested in Ghibli and Pokémon, and at Miyajima one of them surprised the other with a gift of Ghibli goods, which was greatly appreciated. As for food, one of the guests did not care for seafood and preferred chicken. Another had nothing in particular they disliked and happily enjoyed both lunch and sweets. One of the guests mentioned they had a goshuin book and requested to visit places where they could receive stamps, so I took them to Itsukushima Shrine and Daigan-ji Temple. There, at Itsukushima Shrine the calligraphy was written first and then an orange stamp was pressed, while at Daigan-ji the stamp was pressed first and then the calligraphy was written, so a question arose about whether the method differs between shrines and temples or from place to place. When I asked at Daigan-ji, they said it differs from place to place and there is no particular rule. After Miyajima, we headed to the Atomic Bomb Museum. The guests spent more than an hour carefully viewing the museum and shared various impressions and questions. Afterward, while touring the memorial monuments, they requested that I ask whether there was a nearby bookstore that might carry a particular art book they wanted. When I asked at Kinokuniya Bookstore, unfortunately the book was not in stock and it turned out to be a special book that could not even be reserved. Just to be sure, the staff checked whether any Kinokuniya nationwide had it in stock, but it did not appear to be available. When I relayed this to the guests, they understood and thanked the staff for checking. After the tour, since they planned to have dinner, I told them about the SOGO department store where the Pokémon Center is located, Pacela, Hondori, and the location of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the tour ended at the entrance of the Pokémon Center. The weather and climate were wonderful, the guests enjoyed themselves very much, and I too had a very pleasant time.

Recently, I often see the wording "Places you would like to visit (4 hour tour: 2-3 places, 6 hour tour: 3-4 places, 8 hour tour: 4-6 places)." I have also received messages from guests such as "For 4 hours it's 2–3 places, and for 6 hours 3–4 places, right?" and I sometimes feel it would be concerning if the understanding of how many places can be visited differs between the guest and the guide. For example, within a 7-hour tour, doing both Itsukushima Shrine and Daisho-in at Miyajima is quite difficult. However, if guiding through Miyajima while showing the five-story pagoda, Senjokaku, and the giant rice scoop counts as three places, then 3–4 places at Miyajima is possible. Depending on the crowds, Itsukushima Shrine may have to be skipped. Similarly, within Peace Park, if the museum, the memorial monument tour, the Atomic Bomb Dome, and the hypocenter count as four places, it is possible, but if Peace Park, Hiroshima Castle, and Shukkeien count as three, it becomes quite difficult. As advised by your company, I do tell guests in advance that we may not be able to visit everything on the tour list. In Hiroshima, travel between Miyajima and the city takes roughly just under an hour. So far there have been no complaints from guests regarding the number of places visited, but I am a little concerned about whether a difference in understanding of "places" might arise.

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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