Where to Stay in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima-ken

What is Hatsukaichi known for?

Across a narrow strait lies the holy isle, where the great red torii of the Itsukushima Shrine seems to float on the sea at high tide, and behind it the wooded slopes of Mount Misen climb from the shore, wandered by tame deer. The gate stands out in the water. Shrine and island mark the city.

What are the main landmarks in Hatsukaichi?

The Itsukushima Shrine floats on the sea at Miyajima. Its great red torii stands out in the shallows, seeming to float at high tide, the emblem of the island, before the shrine on stilts. A sacred peak rises behind.

Mount Misen climbs steep and wooded above the halls, while Senjōkaku, the great hall, and the tame deer fill the holy island of Miyajima.

What is the history of Hatsukaichi?

Hatsukaichi grew beside one of Japan's holiest islands. Long ago the people held the isle of Miyajima to be sacred, a dwelling of the gods too holy to farm, and they built the Itsukushima Shrine out over the water so that pilgrims might land without setting foot on the hallowed ground. A great gate rose in the sea.

The vermilion torii was raised in the shallows, and the shrine's halls were laid on stilts above the tide, mirrored in the still water. The mainland town lived by the road and the sea. Hatsukaichi stood on the old highway west of Hiroshima, a market and a post town where travellers set out for the island.

The shrine drew pilgrims for centuries. Warlords and emperors gave gifts to Itsukushima, and its fame spread across Japan as one of the country's three great views. The red gate still stands in the sea.

Hatsukaichi keeps its holy island on the inland sea.

Where is Hatsukaichi?

Hatsukaichi lies on the Seto Inland Sea just west of Hiroshima in Japan. The city runs along the mainland shore and takes in the island of Miyajima across the strait, a steep wooded isle rising from the calm sea, among the many islands of the inland waters. Green hills back the coast.

The quiet sea lies scattered with isles.

What is the climate of Hatsukaichi?

Hatsukaichi has a mild, humid climate. Warm, wet summers and cool, dry winters cross the inland sea, sheltered by the islands, and a rainy season soaks the hills in early summer. Autumn brings red maples to the slopes.

The sheltered sea keeps the air mild.

How do you get to Hatsukaichi?

Hatsukaichi lies just west of Hiroshima on the inland sea. Trains and the highway run to it from Hiroshima along the coast, and a short ferry crosses the strait to Miyajima island. Boats reach the shrine and the isles around.

Most arrive by train and ferry from Hiroshima.