What's on in Hiroshima, Japan through the year

Busy — Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Miyajima visitor tax

  1 Jan – 31 Dec

  A hundred yen per visit to the island, collected with the ferry ticket since October 2023. Rail-pass holders buy it separately at the terminal; a year pass is five hundred. Source ↗

Still on: Oyster season (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Oyster season (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom, Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

• Nature

  Cherry blossom

  22 Mar – 8 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The castle moat and the Peace Park riverbanks, both walkable in an afternoon. The front usually reaches Hiroshima a couple of days before Kyoto.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Oyster season (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom, Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Cherry blossom (22 Mar – 8 Apr (usually))

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Miyajima Kangen-sai

  30 JulMajor festival

  Boats carry court musicians out across the bay on the night of the seventeenth day of the sixth lunar month, timed to a high tide and a near-full moon. Usually late July or early August. Source ↗

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Peace Memorial Ceremony, Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Aug – 30 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The Inland Sea is sheltered compared with the Pacific coast, but a system tracking through stops the Miyajima ferry and the shinkansen for a day. Source ↗

• Festival

  Peace Memorial Ceremony

  6 AugMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  The city stops at 8:15 on 6 August. The park is closed off for the morning, lanterns go on the river that evening, and hotels in the centre are booked a year out. Source ↗

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Miyajima Kangen-sai (30 Jul)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Typhoon season (1 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Oyster season

  15 Oct – 15 Mar · usuallyForaging season

  The bay grows most of Japan's oysters and the rafts are worked all winter. Miyajima holds an oyster festival on the pier in the middle of February, which is the cheapest they are all year.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Oyster season (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Miyajima visitor tax (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Oyster season (15 Oct – 15 Mar (usually))