Hiroshima private tour of the city and Miyajima in one day
Eight hours on foot with a licensed local English-speaking guide, three or four sites picked by you, met in Hiroshima without a vehicle.
Updated 4 November 2026
In shortThis is an eight-hour walking day with a licensed local English-speaking guide who meets you on foot in Hiroshima and builds the route around three or four sites you choose from the operator's itinerary list. Transport, the ferry, entrance fees and lunch are not included, and separate groups are never put together. It suits families and small groups who want to set their own pace and their own order of sites.
8 htour length
from JPY 30900per booking
★ 4.91,610 reviews
How a Hiroshima private tour day works
The day runs 8 hours with a licensed local English-speaking guide who meets you on foot in Hiroshima. You pick three or four sites from the operator's itinerary list, and the guide shapes the order and the timings around them. Maximum group size is 10 people and separate parties cannot be combined, so the guide works with you alone. The duration changed from 7 hours to 8 hours on 6 November 2024; bookings made before that date remain 7 hours, and the confirmation email states which applies.
No private vehicle comes with this tour. You move between sites on the Hiroden trams, local buses, the Miyajima-guchi ferry or a taxi, and those costs are settled with the guide after the reservation is confirmed, so carry Japanese yen. Trams sell no tickets on board and you pay as you get off. The Miyajima visitor tax is charged separately when you step onto the island and on this tour it is a cash extra.
Three or four sites is the right number for eight hours, and the listing's own timings show why: 90 minutes each for the Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien and the Tenshinkaku cafe, 60 minutes each for Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine. Add the crossing from Miyajima-guchi, about 10 minutes with departures roughly every 15 minutes through the middle of the day and gaps of 20 to 30 minutes early and late, and the day fills fast. For a first visit, take the Peace Memorial Museum plus Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine. Keep Shukkeien and the castle for a day when you are not crossing to the island.
A Hiroshima private tour earns its keep with travellers who cannot work to a coach schedule: families with small children, anyone who wants 20 extra minutes in one room of the museum, visitors returning for a second look. The rating stands at 4.9 ★ (1,610 reviews). If you would rather be driven and have admissions handled for you, the bus days on this site do that instead.
Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day with a licensed guide
Eight hours, three to four sites chosen from the operator's itinerary list, met on foot in Hiroshima, from 30,900 yen with a rating of 4.9 ★ (1,610 reviews).
Hiroshima The tour lasts 8 hours. The operator extended it from 7 hours on 6 November 2024, and reservations made before that date still run 7 hours and are charged for 7 hours. Check the duration stated in your confirmation email.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum90 min Peace Memorial Park is a designed landscape of approximately 122,100 square metres, completed on 1 April 1954 to a plan by three architects including Kenzo Tange, chosen first out of 145 competition entries. The museum opens at 7:30am and closes at 7:00pm from March through July and again September through November, 8:00pm in August, 6:00pm from December to February. Entrance is not included here, and the guide's entry covers only the sights listed in the itinerary.
Hiroshima Castle90 min Hiroshima Castle, also called the Carp Castle, was built in 1589 by the feudal lord Mori Terumoto on flat ground in the middle of the city, its grounds ringed by a moat and holding a shrine, historic ruins and the reconstructed Ninomaru buildings. The main keep closed in March 2026 on safety grounds because of deteriorating concrete and ageing building services, and it is not scheduled for demolition. The exterior can still be viewed, and the Ninomaru buildings, the Ninomaru museum shop and the Sannomaru area remain open 9:00 to 17:30 from April to September and 9:00 to 16:30 from October to March, last entry 30 minutes before closing. The keep and Ninomaru are illuminated from sunset until 22:00.
Shukkeien90 min Shukkeien was laid out from Genna 6 (1620) as the villa garden of Hiroshima's lord Asano Nagaakira, designed by his chief retainer and tea master Ueda Soko, and it is listed as a National Scenic Spot and one of Japan's Top 100 Historical Parks. Open 9:00 to 18:00 from 16 March to 15 September and 9:00 to 17:00 from 16 September to 15 March, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. The Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum stands directly beside it at the Shukkeien-mae tram stop, reached by changing at Hatchobori onto the Hakushima Line.
Miyajima60 min Miyajima, officially Itsukushima and known as the shrine island, lies less than an hour from the city and is reached from Miyajima-guchi in about 10 minutes by ferry. The guide walks you through the town streets and talks about the island's history and the quieter corners away from the main approach. Wild deer move through the same lanes as visitors during the day and sleep along the walking paths in the evening. The visitor tax is paid in cash on arrival.
Itsukushima Shrine60 min Itsukushima Shrine dates its founding to 593, the year Empress Suiko acceded, was rebuilt in shinden-zukuri style by Taira no Kiyomori in 1168, is a designated national treasure and was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The main buildings stand over the water, as does the Great Torii. Opening hours run 6:30am to 6:00pm from 1 March to 14 October, 5:30pm from 15 October to 30 November and from 4 January to the end of February, 5:00pm through December, and from midnight to 6:30pm on 1 January. The Miyajima Tourist Association publishes a daily tide table giving the windows when the shrine appears to float and when the torii can be approached on foot; on many days there is no torii-walk window, so read the table the night before and tell your guide which hours matter to you.
Tenshinkaku cafe, Miyajima90 min Tenshinkaku is an old Japanese house on a hill on Miyajima, built to look single-storey and now a cafe, with Toyokuni Shrine, the five-storey pagoda and the Seto Inland Sea in one view. Senjokaku, the Hokoku Shrine hall below it, opens 8:30am to 4:30pm all year.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
A customizable walking tour of 3 to 4 sites you choose from the itinerary list
Meeting with the guide in Hiroshima, on foot
Licensed local English-speaking guide
Not included
Transport, ferry, entrance fees, lunch and other personal expenses, all optional
Miyajima visitor tax, cash only
Private vehicle
Combining several tour groups is not possible
Guide entry fees cover only the sights listed in the itinerary
Meeting point, pickup and cancellation
Pickup: this is a walking day tour and the guide meets you on foot in Hiroshima or on Miyajima. No private vehicle is available. Public transport or local taxis are used between sites, the exact transport costs are discussed with the guide once the reservation is confirmed, and you should carry Japanese yen for them.
Cancellation: for a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Ages: infant 0 to 5, child 6 to 11, adult 12 and over.
Group size: up to 10 people per tour, and separate groups cannot be combined.
Other Hiroshima private tour options compared
Four other private days run in Hiroshima, and they differ mainly in length and in how much of the island they take in. The three-hour city option covers Peace Memorial Park and the centre only, the four to eight hour option lets you decide on the day, and the two full-day alternatives run 7 and 8 hours.
The operator confirms the itinerary once you have chosen your three or four sites, and the guide stays with your group only. Current dates and starting prices are on the booking page.
