Take an island, throw in adorable wild deer, a giant floating torii gate, gorgeous views from high up on Mt Misen, fresh seafood delights and an abundance of momoji manjyu sweets (a steamed maple leaf-shaped bun with an assortment of filling), and you have the makings of a truly memorable experience. No doubt one of the top highlights during our most recent trip to Japan was our visit to beautiful Miyajima Island. 

The island is located just over half an hour from Hiroshima. We managed to squeeze it all in within a day, including the long trek to and from our accommodation in the Kyoto area. Granted it was a loooong day, with our alarms going off in the wee hours of the morning, but well worth it. 

ITINERARY:

Psssssst, we used HyperDia to work out our train times and connections. 

Kyoto --> Hiroshima (JR train): 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Hiroshima --> Miyajimaguchi (JR train): 30 minutes

Miyajimaguchi --> Miyajima Island (JR Ferry): 10 minutes

We left at around 7.30 AM to arrive at the island at about 10 AM, leaving a good amount of time to explore the island before leaving at 6 PM (great time to catch the sunset). 

THINGS TO SEE AND DO:

- Itsukushima Shrine

- The Great Torii

- Mt Misen (hike/catch a cable car)

- Omotesando Street (main street)

- All the deer (be warned: they're persistent as heck when they want food and you may cop a headbutt or two... but you put up with it because they're very cute)

- To eat: oysters, momoji manjyu