Mount Misen

Most day-trippers to Miyajima see Itsukushima Shrine from the waterfront and leave. Look up from the shrine, though, and the green mountain behind it is the other half of the picture. Mount Misen, 535 metres, was itself sacred, and the forest centred on it is part of the World Heritage area of Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, along with the shrine and the sea in front of it. The inscribed area covers 431.2 hectares, about 14 per cent of the island. The primeval forest on the north slope, which faces the shrine, has been left uncut and is a National Natural Monument.

There are two ways up. The Miyajima Ropeway runs in two stages from Momijidani to Shishiiwa Station, and from there it is about 30 minutes on foot to the summit. The ropeway path is not flat: it drops and climbs again on stone steps, so do not expect a stroll. Or climb the whole way. The Daisho-in course starts beside Daisho-in temple and is 2.6 km of mostly stone steps, about 1.5 to 2 hours. The Momijidani course is the gentlest at first but ends in steep stairs. The Omoto course, 2 to 2.5 hours, goes through the primeval forest itself and has many junctions, so watch the signs. A good plan is the ropeway up and the Daisho-in steps down.

The top is a jumble of huge granite boulders, with an observatory rebuilt in 2013 and views across the islands of the Seto Inland Sea. Just below it are the halls of Daisho-in: Misen Hondo, which the temple dates to Kobo Daishi's training here in 806, and the Reikado, which kept a fire said to have burned since then. Fire from it was used to light the Flame of Peace in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 1964. On 20 May 2026 the Reikado burned down. The flame survived because it was also kept elsewhere, and the temple is raising money to rebuild the hall, so expect a fenced-off site for now.

Practical points. The last ropeway goes up at 16:00 and the last one down leaves at 16:30, and it closes for a few weeks of inspection twice a year. Bring water, especially if you walk up.