Let's take a walk around Miyajima
An easy trip to enjoy the tiny alley streets of the island
Once you have input the information for the beginner and advanced levels, let's actually take a walk around Miyajima. Here, we will introduce four tiny alley streets in Miyajima. Let's fully grasp the features of each one and enjoy Miyajima to the fullest.
Omotesando
The most lively Omotesando shopping street that can be said to be the main street of Miyajima. The total length is about 350 meters to the stone torii where you can see the Great Torii.
It is a standard course for tourists, and the shopping street continues almost in a straight line. On the left and right of the street, there are souvenir shops such as the famous Momiji Manju shop, restaurants where you can taste conger eel and oysters, and even inns, all things that visitors can enjoy.
It is unique to the Omotesando shopping street that you can enjoy other baked momiji manju at stores! There are a variety of types and flavors, so let's compare them and find your favorite dish! There are also shops that have an eat-in corner.
[Featured column]
TOTO Miyajima Omotenashi toilet
~ Stylish construction that makes you want to stop by involuntarily ~
The “TOTO Miyajima Omotenashi Toilet” is equipped with toilets, resting spaces, tourist information centers, etc. that are pleasant for tourists. It was born from the idea that many people visiting Miyajima, a World Heritage Site from around the world, would enjoy sightseeing comfortably. At the information center, the staff will support you for a comfortable trip to Miyajima.
[Opening hours]
Toilets 9:00-21:00
Tourist Information Center/Rest Space 10:00-18:00
Machiya-dori
Machiya-dori is a street that used to be lined with merchant houses and hatago (inn). Worshipers and drunk guests were seen happily going and going. It was the main street of the era when Miyajima was the most gorgeous, and at that time it was called Honmachi-suji.
Today, although the main area has been handed over to Omotesando, there are retro-modern inns, shops, and galleries that add a modern sense to traditional machiya architecture, and you can enjoy a nostalgic atmosphere somewhere in the Showa 30s. It has gained popularity as. In addition, at night, the lanterns on the eaves are lit up, making you feel more tasteful and historic.
Takinokoji
Takinokoji was once the residence of the Shinto priests of Itsukushima Shrine, and was lined with shrine families such as Tanamori, Shokei, and Monimoshi. Even now, there are houses of Shinto priests. It is a slope that continues gently from Itsukushima Shrine to Daishoin. Along the street, you can see the Shogei House, which is the residence of a Shinto priest from the Edo period, the studio of Miyajima Dorei, which is the only one remaining in Miyajima, and a row of houses that are built in the senbongoshi-style. In the early morning, the street is so quiet that the sound of geta from the priest heading to the shrine echoes in the street.
Tiny streets around the Mountain (Yamabe no komichi)
When Omotesando was still at the bottom of the sea, the oldest approach to Miyajima where worshipers walked to Itsukushima Shrine is the old path of Yamabe.
If you climb the slope of Yogaiyama that continues in front of Miyajima Pier, you can see the waves created by the symbolic Great Torii Gate, the five-storied pagoda, and townscape tiles.
Go down the Yogaiyama, pass in front of Fudo temple, and follow the path along the mountain to the Nyoninzaka where the Chichi Jizo, and the statue of a woman enshrined in the clay wall of Juzantei, are located.
If you go further south down the slope, you will arrive at Hojuin Temple, commonly known as Asebi-ji Temple. There are places where the slope is tight due to the road along the mountain. However, it is an attractive old path where you can see and discover an unknown side of Miyajima, such as old stone walls, old cherry trees, tiles called sarugawara, and small halls.
