Miyajima sakura, rain, heat and red maples: your best month

If you want one answer, pick spring or autumn. In April the average daily high is 18.5 °C and in October it is 22.7 °C, which makes a day of walking in the open comfortable rather than a test of endurance.^3,3 Those are also the seasons when the two big sights of the trip, the Peace Memorial Park and the island shrine, are easiest to enjoy at your own pace.

Details move the answer around. A traveler who wants blossom needs a narrow window in spring, one who wants red leaves needs November, and a traveler who hates crowds may choose the quieter edges of winter. Japan's national tourism board describes the seasons in the broadest terms: a cool, breezy spring, a stiflingly hot summer, an autumn that suits outdoor exploration and a winter of many sunny days.^1,8

The rest of this page works through the calendar one block at a time, then through the one variable that has nothing to do with the month: the tide at the island. The tide decides whether the great gate stands in the sea or on wet sand, and it changes twice a day on every date of the year.

Miyajima autumn is built around Momijidani Park, which the Miyajima Tourist Association calls one of the loveliest fall scenes in Japan, with the red of the maples brilliant against the deep green of an evergreen forest.^19,5 The oldest temple on the island, Daishoin, has maples that turn red in autumn too.²⁰ On the mainland, the Sandankyo and Taishakukyo gorges are known for fiery colors, and the national tourism board tells visitors to go before the areas close for the winter.¹⁴

Autumn warmth stays kind. October averages a high of 22.7 °C and November 17.3 °C, with 111 mm of rain in October and 79 mm in November.^3,3 The island's fire walking ceremony at Daishoin falls on November 15.¹⁰

Days shorten, so the shrine's hours do too. From October 15 to November 30 Itsukushima Shrine is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., half an hour earlier than the summer closing.²¹ Build the afternoon around the last boat and the early close rather than trying to squeeze in one more stop.

At high tide the shrine and its great gate appear to float, and at low tide the foundation and mud flats are exposed so you can walk up to the gate.²⁶ The Miyajima Tourist Association's tide page lets you choose a day and shows the hours for walking to the gate and the hours when the shrine looks as if it floats, with the time and level of each high and low tide.^27,28,29 Check it once you know your date, because it matters more than the month for the photograph you want.

The same page says that, with luck, the sunset can be seen behind the great gate.³⁰ The largest annual festival at the shrine, Kangen-sai, is tied to a June spring tide high enough for deep-draft vessels.³¹ Whichever month you choose, the tide table beats any rule of thumb.

One caution applies to any date: the JR ferry route page still carries an old note about a restoration project at the great torii, although the repair has since been finished, so the gate itself should stand without scaffolding.³² If your dates are fixed and the water is wrong, a guided day still works: the 8-hour Viator coach tour from $126 visits both the city and the shrine whatever the tide.