Hiroshima weather by month, charted
Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima: the floating torii, tide and fees
Daylight against the gate hours
When the light goes and the shrine closes
Choose a month to compare sunset with the shrine's closing hour and the usual warmth.
Shrine closesSunset
Jan
- Dusk falls around 17:21
- The shrine closes at 17:30, 6:30 p.m. over New Year days 1 to 33
- Hours of light about 10.1 h27
- Daytime lasts around 10°C, dark again around 2°C27
On January 1 the shrine is open from 12 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; on January 2 and 3 it opens at 6:30 a.m.3
Feb
- Dusk falls around 17:52
- The shrine closes at 17:303
- Hours of light about 10.9 h27
- Daytime lasts around 10°C, dark again around 2°C27
From January 4 to the end of February the shrine closes at 5:30 p.m.3
Mar
- Dusk falls around 18:17
- The shrine closes at 18:003
- Hours of light about 11.9 h27
- Daytime lasts around 13°C, dark again around 5°C27
March 1 starts the longest hours of the year, 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.3
Apr
- Dusk falls around 18:41
- The shrine closes at 18:003
- Hours of light about 13 h27
- Daytime lasts around 18°C, dark again around 10°C27
Bugaku court dance begins about 17:00 on April 15.40
May
Jun
- Dusk falls around 19:23
- The shrine closes at 18:003
- Hours of light about 14.4 h27
- Daytime lasts around 26°C, dark again around 19°C27
Kangen-sai, the largest annual festival, falls on the night of June 17 by the lunar calendar.23
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
- Dusk falls around 17:37
- The shrine closes at 18:00, 17:30 from October 153
- Hours of light about 11.4 h27
- Daytime lasts around 23°C, dark again around 14°C27
The hours shorten on October 15, the day bugaku court dance begins about 17:00.3,40
Nov
- Dusk falls around 17:07
- The shrine closes at 17:303
- Hours of light about 10.4 h27
- Daytime lasts around 17°C, dark again around 9°C27
The shrine closes at 5:30 p.m. all month.3
Dec
- Dusk falls around 17:02
- The shrine closes at 17:003
- Hours of light about 9.9 h27
- Daytime lasts around 12°C, dark again around 4°C27
December has the earliest closing of the year, at 5:00 p.m.3
Sunset is worked out for the 15th of each month on Japan time, for Hiroshima. Day length and temperatures: NOAA monthly averages, 1991 to 2020, with temperatures from its Iwakuni station, 33.2 km from Hiroshima. Closing times: Itsukushima Shrine.
The gate appears to float at high tide and stands on mud flats at low tide. Here are its dimensions, how to use the island's tide page, the shrine's hours by month, what entry costs and how to see it.
Editorial team, hiroshimatour.top · Updated November 2, 2026 · Roughly 7 minutes to read
Hiroshima in brief
- HeightThe O-Torii stands about 16.8 m high.1
- TideAt high tide the shrine and gate appear to float; at low tide you can walk up to the gate.2
- EntryAdult admission is 300 yen; a combined ticket with the Treasure Hall is 500 yen.3,4
- Hours6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from March 1 to October 14; earlier closing in winter.5,6
- Seen from a boatGreat Torii ferries run from Miyajima-guchi from 9:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.7
What the floating torii actually is
The Miyajima floating torii is the O-Torii, the Grand Torii Gate, and it stands in the sea about 16.8 m high.1 Its design is the four-pillar Ryobu-torii style, a wooden Shinto gate with a roof thatched in Japanese cypress bark and a body coated in vermilion lacquer.1 The main pillars are approximately 13.4 m tall and 9.9 m in circumference, and the crossbeam is approximately 23.3 m long.8 The main pillar is made from camphor wood, which resists corrosion even underwater.9
The gate is approximately 212.7 m from the main worshipping hall, the Haiden, and it is supported by its own weight.10 The current torii is the ninth and was erected in 1875.10 The four-pillar style is said to have been adopted when the gate was rebuilt in 1547.11 It was designated a Specially Preserved Building on April 5, 1899, and a National Important Cultural Property on March 29, 1952.12,13
Why is it out in the water? JNTO says the Otorii was built offshore in 1875 and was the original entrance to the shrine, which worshippers passed beneath by boat on their way in.14 Its position is about 200 m offshore from the main shrine.15 The custom when you pass under it is to bow twice, clap twice and bow once.16 That origin explains the odd sight of a gate with no wall beside it: the entrance was meant to be reached by water.
Plan your last entry
Shrine hours across the calendar
| Dates | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | 12 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. |
| January 2 to 3 | 6:30 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. |
| January 4 to end of February | 6:30 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. |
| March 1 to October 14 | 6:30 a.m. | 6:00 p.m. |
| October 15 to November 30 | 6:30 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. |
| December 1 to 31 | 6:30 a.m. | 5:00 p.m. |
Hours as the shrine publishes them on its admission page.5,6,24
High tide, low tide and the page that tells you which
What you see depends on the water. At high tide Itsukushima Shrine and the Otorii appear to float, while at low tide the shrine's foundation and mud flats are exposed and you can walk up to the gate, which JNTO calls a great photo opportunity.2 JNTO also calls the shrine one of the few in Japan where wooden buildings stand on the sea.19 No fixed hour gives the picture you want, because both views are tied to the day's tide.
The Miyajima Tourist Association keeps a tide page for exactly this question. You choose a day and an hour, and it shows time ranges: when you can walk right down to the Great Torii Gate, and when the shrine looks as if floating on the sea.20,21 It also gives the time and level of high and low tide for the day.22 If no walking range is listed for your day, plan around the floating view instead.
Use it before you fix the hour of your visit, not after you arrive. If the walking range falls in the evening, the shrine hours matter, because a late walk can run into closing time; mind the closing hours listed below. The association's note on Kangen-sai adds a hint of how the tide works here: that festival's date was set to a June spring tide high enough for deep-draft vessels.23
Opening hours across the year
The shrine is open year-round, and the closing time moves with the season. From March 1 to October 14 it runs 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; from October 15 to November 30 it closes at 5:30 p.m.; and in December it closes at 5:00 p.m.5,6 The longest stretch of the calendar, March 1 to October 14, keeps the 6:00 p.m. closing.5 From January 4 to the end of February the shrine closes at 5:30 p.m.24
New Year works differently. On January 1 the shrine is open from 12 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on January 2 and 3 it opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 6:30 p.m.24 Those are the shrine's own published hours, and January 1 is the only day that begins at midnight; every other day begins at 6:30 a.m.24 The Treasure Hall, a separate building, opens 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the year, and Senjokaku opens 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.25,26
If you are planning around light as well as water, the table below lists the closing time for each part of the year, and the month-by-month chart at the top sets those closing times against sunset, with day length and warmth taken from NOAA monthly averages.27 The shrine's floor plan matters here too: the visitor route runs from the entrance through the East Corridor, Marodo Shrine, the Main Shrine, the Hirabutai deck, the West Corridor, Tenjin Shrine, the Noh Stage and the arched Soribashi bridge to the exit.18 Allow time for all of it.
Pick your picture
When to be at the gate
Decide whether you want the floating gate or the walk to it.
If I want the picture of it floating
Come at high tide
At high tide the shrine and the Otorii appear to float on the water.2
If I want to stand beneath the gate
Come at low tide
At low tide you can walk up to the Otorii gate.2
If I only have the afternoon
Check the hours first
The shrine closes at 6:00 p.m. in summer and 5:00 p.m. during December.5,6
If I want to see it from a boat
The Great Torii ferry
It runs from Miyajima-guchi from 9:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.7
If I am on the bus tour
Check with the guide
The tour gives the shrine 50 minutes on its own schedule.
What the ticket covers and what it costs
Admission to Itsukushima Shrine is 300 yen for adults, 200 yen for high school students and 100 yen for elementary and junior high school students.3 A combined ticket for the shrine and the Treasure Hall costs 500 yen for adults, and it can be bought only at the entrance to the shrine.4 Senjokaku, also called Hokoku Shrine, charges a Shoden fee of 100 yen for adults.28 All fees are stated by the shrine in yen.
Treat the floor with care. The corridors have small spaces between the floorboards to relieve the pressure of the sea at high tide, and high heels may get stuck in them, so wear comfortable shoes.17 If you have a disability or rehabilitation certificate, the shrine's route page asks you to show it at the entrance.29 The boards, the gaps and the gate are all part of the architecture that the visit is about.
Getting in is straightforward. From JR Hiroshima Station it is about 30 minutes to Miyajimaguchi on the Sanyo Line and about 10 minutes by ferry; from the pier it is a walk of about 10 minutes to the shrine.30,31 There is no parking at the shrine.32 A 100 yen visitor tax comes with the ferry ticket.33 The Miyajima tide page and the shrine's hours are the two things worth checking on the morning you cross.
Your party's total
What a guided shrine visit costs
Set the number of guests and compare the guided options.
4 choices in one view
What a guided shrine visit costs
Set the number of guests and compare the guided options.
- Two-hour pier walk2 hrs overall · per person, from $28
≈
View - Half day tour3 to 4 hrs overall · per person, from $76
≈
View - Private Hiroshima day6 hrs overall · per person, from $98
≈
View - Bus day with Miyajima8 hrs overall · per person, from $126
≈
View
Every row multiplies the lowest per-traveler fare its seller shows by the size of your party, using the European Central Bank's published rate; final totals are fixed only at the seller's checkout.
Inside the shrine
The visitor route from entrance to exit
Start
Entrance
Combined tickets for the shrine and the Treasure Hall are sold only here.4
Entrance end
East Corridor and Marodo
The corridor floors have gaps for the sea at high tide.17
Middle
Main Shrine and Hirabutai
The main shrine and its deck are the center of the route.18
Before the exit
West Corridor and Tenjin
The route continues along the west corridor.18
Stage
Noh Stage and Soribashi
The Noh stage and the arched bridge come near the end.18
Finish
Exit
The last point on the shrine's route.18
The shrine behind the gate
The shrine was established in 593, according to the shrine, and Taira no Kiyomori rebuilt it in 1168 in the shinden-zukuri style.34 The Miyajima Tourist Association counts 37 buildings in the main shrine and 19 in the outer shrine, and says the main shrine stands as rebuilt in 1571 by Mori Motonari in the Heian style Kiyomori used.35,36 The first record of Itsukushima Shrine in Japanese history is in the Nihon Koki, dated 811.37
Itsukushima Shrine was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1996.38 Gagaku, traditional court music and dance, has been performed at the shrine since the time of Taira no Kiyomori and is still performed more than a dozen times a year.39 The Toka-sai performances of bugaku court dance begin about 17:00 on April 15 and October 15.40,41 Check the date if a performance is the reason you come.
The torii also plays a role in festivals. During Kangen-sai, the largest annual festival at the shrine, held on the night of June 17 by the lunar calendar, the boats depart the shrine heading toward the O-torii gate.42,43 Bugaku, the court dance introduced to Miyajima from Kyoto by Taira no Kiyomori, is accompanied by gagaku.44 Hiroshige made woodblock prints of the shrine and the gate at both low and high tide.45 Both views, in other words, have been worth a picture for a long time.
Video
Miyajima in one day, from the floating torii gate to walking to it
Hungry Vagabond on YouTube · Nothing loads from YouTube until you tap the player.
At high tide, Itsukushima Shrine and the Otorii appear to float on the water, while at low tide the shrine's foundation and mud flats are exposed.
Tick before you cross
Checks for a gate day
Before the ferry4
- Open the Miyajima tide page for your date and hour
- Check the shrine's closing time for your month
- Carry yen: shrine entry is 300 yen per adult
- Ask for the 500 yen combined ticket if you want the Treasure Hall
Inside the shrine4
- Wear shoes with soles; heels catch in the corridor gaps
- Show a disability certificate at the entrance if you have one
- Bow, clap twice and bow once if you pass under the gate
- Plan to leave before the closing hour for your month
Reaching the place3
- Train 30 minutes to Miyajimaguchi, then ferry about 10 minutes
- Walk about 10 minutes from the pier to the shrine
- Take the Great Torii ferry for a view from the water
Seeing the gate: by boat, on foot, or with a guide
There are three honest ways to see the gate up close. The first is from the water: the JR Miyajima Ferry's Great Torii ferry services take you closest to the gate, running from Miyajima-guchi from 9:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.7 The ferry accepts the Japan Rail Pass and the JR-WEST Rail Pass.46 The second is on foot at low tide, when you can walk up to the gate.2 The third is with a guide.
Guides on GetYourGuide include a 2-hour walk from the Miyajima ferry terminal that stops at the floating torii gate for 20 minutes, then Itsukushima Shrine for 40 minutes, the five-story pagoda, Daiganji and Daishoin, from $28. A half-day tour of 3 to 4 hours from JR Miyajimaguchi Station gives the shrine an hour and is listed from $76. A private 6-hour tour of Hiroshima and Miyajima visits the Otorii gate for 10 minutes and the shrine for 25, from $98.
The Viator bus tour on this site gives the shrine 50 minutes and is listed from $126, and its timetable is fixed by the itinerary, with a 10:00 meeting and set stop lengths. If seeing the gate at low tide is the main reason you came, travel on your own or choose a guided option that starts on the island, and check the tide page for your day before you commit. Compare the bus tour with the 2-hour pier walk, which spends 20 minutes at the gate itself.
FAQ
Questions we hear most.
How high is the floating torii at Miyajima?
Can you walk up to the floating torii?
At low tide the shrine's foundation and mud flats are exposed and you can walk up to the Otorii gate.2
Where do I find the Miyajima tide schedule?
How much is Itsukushima Shrine admission?
High school students pay 200 yen and elementary and junior high students pay 100 yen.3
What are the shrine's opening hours?
When was the current torii built?
Is there a boat that goes under the torii?
The JR ferry's Great Torii services run from Miyajima-guchi from 9:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.7
Sources
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima-jinja Shrine ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- West Japan Railway Miyajima Ferry · JR West Miyajima Ferry ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima-jinja Shrine ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · O-Torii (Grand Torii Gate) ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima-jinja Shrine ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Discovering Itsukushima Shrine, home to the floating Torii gate ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Discovering Itsukushima Shrine, home to the floating Torii gate ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Route ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Route ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima-jinja Shrine ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Tide Info ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Tide Info ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Tide Info ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Kangen-sai ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- NOAA · Global Summary of the Month, Station Hiroshima (rainfall) and Iwakuni (temperatures) (NOAA GHCN JA000047765 and JAW00043324), 1991 to 2020 ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Admission ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Route ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Access ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima-jinja Shrine ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · Access ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Miyajima ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · History ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Itsukushima Shrine ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Itsukushima Shrine ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Itsukushima Shrine ↩
- Itsukushima Shrine · History ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (UNESCO) ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Toka-sai ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Toka-sai ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Kangen-sai ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Kangen-sai ↩
- Miyajima Tourist Association · Toka-sai ↩
- Japan National Tourism Organization · Miyajima ↩
- West Japan Railway Miyajima Ferry · JR West Miyajima Ferry ↩
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