Iwakuni and Miyajima

Hi,can we travel to Iwakuni and Miyajima in day? Hope is not too rush for us, as we travel in slow space to enjoy the sights.

Thank you
Jody

It depends on how much you want to see and where you start and end your day. If you just want to see Itsukushima Shrine and a little bit of the town on Miyajima, you can do it within half a day. But if you also wish to climb Misen and see all the minor sights, you may require an entire day.

In Iwakuni, you can see the bridge in an hour. But if you also want to visit the castle and the museums, you need at least half a day.

As for transportation, the two cities are close together and close to Hiroshima. If, for example, you are based in Hiroshima, you will only spend about two hours on transportation. If you start and/or end your day somewhere more remote, you will have to account for longer transportation times.

Hi Uji,
We are going to Kibune,can this be done within 2 hrs as side trip from kyoto.
Thank you once again
Jody

It takes about an hour to get to Kibune from central Kyoto. So, two hours are needed for the round trip alone. Kibune itself has not too much to see/do besides the shrine and restaurants. The shrine (two sites) can be seen in 15-75 minutes depending on your pace. A meal typically takes 30-120 minutes.

If you want to hike to Kurama, you would need more time.

You can manage to see both places as a day trip from Hiroshima, although Miyajima would certainly deserve more time. For your reference, our timing for the same trip we did yesterday was like this:
8am start from Hiroshima JR station
9 am arrive to Miyajima ferry terminal
9-13 visiting the Itsukushima Shrine, souvenir shops, Senjokaku, walk to the Daishoin temple and from there walk to the ropeway station
13-15 ride up Mt. Misen, climb from the upper ropeway station to the top of Mt. Misen and return by ropeway
15-16,30 walk from the ropeway to Miyajima pier, take the ferry and train to Iwakuni and bus from Iwakuni Sta. to the bridge
17,30-18,30 return to Hiroshima

I would suggest starting in the place where you want to see the least. That will give you more time to explore whichever place interests you more.

For most people that would probably mean starting in Iwakuni and then spending the rest of the day in Miyajima, but if Iwakuni interests you more, you could visit Itsukushima Shrine first and then spend the rest of the day in Iwakuni.