In shortOkunoshima lies in the Inland Sea off Tadanoumi. From Mihara Station the JR Kure Line reaches Tadanoumi in about 20 minutes, then it is about 7 minutes on foot to the port and about 15 minutes by boat. The island has roughly 4 km of coastline, covered on foot or by rented bicycle, and its rabbits are wild animals that must not be chased or picked up.
about 15 minboat from Tadanoumi Port
about 20 minMihara to Tadanoumi by rail
about 4 kmisland coastline
Sat, Sun, holidaysMihara Port Rabbit Line only
How to get to Okunoshima from Hiroshima
Getting there has three parts: a coastal train, a seven-minute walk and a short crossing. The JR Kure Line follows the shore of the Inland Sea, and from Mihara Station it is about 20 minutes to Tadanoumi Station. From there the official tourism information gives about 7 minutes on foot to Tadanoumi Port, which is where the boats for the island leave.
Coming out of Hiroshima city you travel the length of that coast, so the rail leg is the long part of the morning and the connection at Mihara is the one to look up for your own date. Trains along the Kure Line are thinner on the ground than on the main line, and a missed connection at either end shows up directly in how much island time you get.
The island is privately held, which changes the driving arrangements. Drivers are asked to leave vehicles in the public car park at Tadanoumi Port and cross as foot passengers, and anyone who genuinely has to bring a car onto the island must contact Kyukamura Okunoshima in advance.
Okunoshima ferry routes and the last boat of the day
Three crossings serve the island, and only one of them suits a normal weekday. Tadanoumi Port is the route to plan around, about 15 minutes afloat. Mori Port on Omishima is also about 15 minutes, useful if you are already on the Shimanami side of the water. The Rabbit Line out of Mihara Port takes about 30 minutes, and it sails on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only, so on a Tuesday it is not on your list of options at all.
Fix your return before you walk away from the pier. Read the departures posted for the day you are there, write down the last one, and work backwards from it: the island has no late service to fall back on, and the walk or ride back round the coast to the pier is not instant. Note that time on your phone and plan the rest of the island around it.
| Route | Crossing | Rail or road approach | Runs |
|---|
| Tadanoumi Port | about 15 minutes | JR Kure Line, about 20 minutes from Mihara Station, then about 7 minutes on foot | the main year-round route |
|---|
| Mori Port, Omishima | about 15 minutes | from the Omishima side of the Inland Sea | scheduled service |
|---|
| Mihara Port (Rabbit Line) | about 30 minutes | boats leave straight from Mihara Port | Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only |
|---|
Getting round the island on foot or by bicycle
Okunoshima has roughly 4 km of coastline, and the official tourism information suggests renting a bicycle to get round it. That is good advice. The coast road and the shoreline paths are flat enough, and a bicycle turns the circuit into something you can do twice, once for the rabbits near the pier and once for the quieter stretches where far fewer people walk.
On foot the same 4 km is a comfortable half-day of slow walking, with stops. Keep the pace honest if you are walking: the viewpoints look over the water toward the neighbouring islands, and the temptation is to sit down at one of them and lose the twenty minutes you needed for the boat.
- Rabbits concentrate near the pier and the paths behind it, so walk further out if you want them without the crowd
- The shoreline route is the simplest way to see the whole island without a map
- Save the climb to the viewpoints for after you have checked your return sailing
How to behave around the animals
The animals here are wild, and the official line is direct: do not chase them and do not pick them up. If you want to offer food, it has to be suitable food and it has to be given in a safe place, meaning away from the road and away from the crush at the pier, where a rabbit darting toward a handful of food is in danger.
In practice that means crouching down and keeping still rather than following. Rabbits approach people who stop moving. Picking one up for a photograph is the single thing visitors most often get wrong, and it is explicitly ruled out.
Keep children with you and show them the sitting-still method before you land. Rabbits come closer to someone who stays put than to someone who runs after them.
- Do not chase the rabbits
- Do not pick them up
- Offer only suitable food, and only in a safe spot away from traffic and the pier
- Keep your distance and treat them as wild animals
The flexible day for the rest of your trip
If the island takes one whole day, the private 8-hour day with a licensed local English-speaking guide lets you pick the 3 to 4 sites you still want in Hiroshima and set the pace yourself, from 30,900 yen, 4.9 ★ (1,610 reviews).
★ 4.9/5 · 1,610 reviews
The wartime ruins and the island museum
There is more on Okunoshima than the animals. Concrete shells and overgrown structures from the island's wartime industrial period stand along the paths, which is why the interior looks nothing like a park, and the island's museum sets out that history for visitors who want the context rather than just the ruins.
Confirm the museum's opening details on the day. The hours and closed days are not something to take from second-hand sources, and the museum is the one stop on the island that can be shut when you arrive. Give it a slot in the middle of your visit so a closure does not wreck the rest of the plan.
Whether the island works as a full-day outing
Treat Okunoshima rabbit island as a full day and nothing else. The rail leg along the coast, the walk to the port, about 15 minutes each way on the water and a 4 km island to cover between fixed sailings add up to a day that starts early and ends when the last boat goes. There is no version of this that squeezes into an afternoon.
That also means it does not share a day with the city and Miyajima. The prefecture's published one-day itinerary for the Dome and Miyajima is full before you add anything to it: 30 minutes at the Atomic Bomb Dome, 60 in the Peace Memorial Museum, 45 minutes on the boat and 60 minutes at Itsukushima Shrine, roughly 220 minutes of stops. Add an island in the far east of the prefecture and something gets cut.
The sensible shape of a trip with Okunoshima in it is two days: one for the island, one for the park and Miyajima. If you want the second of those days handled for you rather than assembled from timetables, the flexible option on this site is the private day. Hiroshima & Miyajima in 1 Day: Private Tour, Licensed Guide bends around you: 8 hours, from 30,900 yen, 4.9 ★ (1,610 reviews), with a licensed local English-speaking guide who joins you on foot in Hiroshima while you pick 3 to 4 sites off the operator's own list. The inclusions stop at the guiding, so transport, the ferry, entrance fees, lunch and the Miyajima visitor tax (cash only) stay in your hands as optional extras.
A fixed itinerary is the easier choice the day after an island day. Hiroshima & Miyajima Guided tour with Itsukushima Shrine & Ferry takes 8 hours and carries the bus and the ferry in both directions, a bilingual guide working in English and Spanish, and entrance to Itsukushima Shrine, from JPY 7127, 4.9 ★ (740 reviews). You board either at Hiroden-Miyajimaguchi Station or at the Shinkansenguchi Hiroba bus berth between stops 8 and 9 outside Hiroshima Station, and the operator wants you there 15 minutes ahead of departure.
Questions people ask
Can I take a car onto Okunoshima?
Not as a matter of course. The island is privately held, and drivers are asked to leave their vehicle in the public car park at Tadanoumi Port and cross on foot. If you genuinely must bring a car, you have to contact Kyukamura Okunoshima in advance. Most visitors park at Tadanoumi and cross as foot passengers.
Do I need to bring a bicycle?
No. The official tourism information for the island suggests renting a bicycle once you are ashore, which is the easiest way to handle roughly 4 km of coastline between fixed sailings. Walking the same circuit is possible if you keep an eye on your return boat.
Can I reach the island from Hiroshima Airport?
The airport is well placed for it, east of Hiroshima city and much closer to Mihara. Buses leave from the first floor by destination, with stop 3 for Fukuyama, Mihara and Onomichi, and stop 6 for Takehara and Tadanoumi. The Mihara run is scheduled at about 38 minutes, from where the Kure Line takes about 20 minutes to Tadanoumi Station. Departure counts on these routes are low, so check the posted times for your flight.
Which months suit Okunoshima best?
April and October, on the numbers. Hiroshima averages daily highs of 19.8C in April and 23.7C in October, against 32.8C in August, and 4 km of exposed coast in August heat is unpleasant. Avoid the rainy season, which normally runs for this region from about 6 June to about 19 July, and keep an eye on September, when typhoon landfalls peak.
Is the island suitable for small children?
Yes, with supervision, because the rules matter more here than the terrain. Children have to understand that the rabbits are wild, must not be chased or picked up, and that food is offered only where it is safe to do so. The flat coastal paths and the short crossing are otherwise manageable for families.
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