We want to visit Hiroshima and spend the night on Miyajima on our upcoming trip, but now it seems like a lot of money and time (we were planning on going there and back from Osaka in two days one over-night). Is it really worth it??

Both Hiroshima and Miyajima are very interesting. If you want to save money stay in Hiroshima and take ferry to Miyajima for 2-3 hours. If you do that I'd highly recco going in late afternoon/early evening (depending on time of year) so you can see how the sun setting changes the atmosphere of the amazing Miyajima Torii. If short on time, spend the time in Hiroshima which is a very nice city and has the amazing Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and other interesting sites. Lots of reasonable places to stay in Hiroshima.

I'm very glad I visited Hiroshima and then spent the night on Miyajima. Part of that may be because I chose to stay in a ryokan on Miyajima - the only time I did so during time in Japan. It was not expensive by ryokan standards, but it was quite a splurge for me and I thought it worth every penny. And I loved seeing the Itsukushima Torii by varying lights and at both low and high tide. Too, after the very moving Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum, I welcomed a very quiet evening. If you do go to Miyajima, try to get to the top of Mt. Misan for some lovely views over the Inland Sea.

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much.

I would definitely spend a night on Miyajima - it is really magical there imo - and there are places to stay for all budgets....my visit to Hiroshima was on a rainy day but when I went to Miyajima the weather was beautiful - there is a lot to see there....

It is definitely worth the time. It is worth the money if it is affordable.

Will you have a JR pass of any kind?

What is the rest of your itinerary like? In particular, what are you doing on the 2 days before and 2 days after visiting Hiroshima?

It is only an hour and a half from Osaka to Hiroshima and another half hour and a boat ride to Miyajima.

Some on this forum have visited Hiroshima and Miyajima as a day trip from Kyoto and thought it worthwhile.
If you will have a JR Pass then the trip is worth the money as there would be no additional cost for the train.

If you don't have a pass, then you might want to get one depending on your itinerary. If a 7-day or longer JR Pass is not needed then a Sanyo Area Pass, 20,000 yen for 4 days, would be what you want. I asked about the 2 days before/after Hiroshima to see how you might be to use the Sanyo pass to get more value from it.

What would be your alternative to this overnight trip?

Miyajima is one of the three most beautiful places to visit in all of Japan and not to be missed. The other two are Matsushima in Tohoku and Amanohashidate southwest of Kyoto. An overnight at a minshuku on Miyajima like Momijisu could make your trip without breaking the bank.

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d...a/momijiso.htm

Well now that I already gave you my emotional answer, I have the same questions asked above by mrwnrfl, what is your itinerary before and after Osaka and will you be using a jr pass?

Aloha!

I stayed overnight on Miyajima at a relatively inexpensive place called Kinsui Villa (sister hotel to the much grander Kinsuikan). My room was one of the loft styles, and I quite liked it. Dinner and breakfast were both very good, and served in a dining room instead of my room.