Tahoto Pagoda Viewpoint

Just a few minutes' climb from Itsukushima Shrine, the Tahoto Pagoda sits on a low wooded rise and gives what many photographers consider the single best composed view on Miyajima. From the terrace around its base you look down over the whole shrine complex — the long boardwalks, the tiled roofs floating above the tideline, and the great vermilion torii standing in the sea beyond — with the pagoda's own two-tiered silhouette rising behind you as a natural frame. It is the shot that appears on countless Miyajima posters, and it is entirely free to reach.

Tahoto is a tahōtō, a distinctly Japanese form of two-storied pagoda with a square lower body, a rounded white plaster core, and a square roof above. This one was built in 1523 and enshrines the Buddha of Healing, Yakushi Nyorai. Painted in weathered cinnabar and set among pines and, in season, cherry and maple, it is a graceful structure in its own right, but its position is what draws visitors: elevated just enough to lift the eye over the shrine and out to the water.

The view changes completely with the tide. At high water the shrine and torii appear to float, mirrored on the flooded flats, and the scene has the dreamlike quality that made Miyajima one of the 'Three Views of Japan'. At low tide the sea retreats and visitors walk out across the sand to the base of the torii, a different but equally photogenic sight. Checking a tide table before you climb up is well worth the trouble.

Seasons transform the setting. In early April the hillside blushes with cherry blossom framing the pagoda; in mid to late November the maples of nearby Momijidani turn scarlet and gold. Early morning, before the day-trip crowds arrive on the ferries, is the quietest and most atmospheric time, with soft light on the water and the resident deer wandering the paths below.

The walk up is short and gentle, a matter of stone steps behind the shrine, so it suits almost anyone; there are shaded spots to sit and restrooms near the shrine entrance below. Allow around thirty minutes to climb, take in the view, and photograph the shrine from several angles as the light shifts.

Reaching Miyajima means a ferry crossing. From Hiroshima, take the JR Sanyo Line to Miyajimaguchi and then the JR ferry to the island, both covered by the Japan Rail Pass. From the pier, follow the waterfront path past the shopping street and shrine, then climb the short slope to the pagoda. The viewpoint is open and free at all hours, though the shrine buildings below keep their own opening times.