Why this site exists
The Great Torii at Itsukushima is two completely different experiences depending on the water level, and which one you get is decided hours before you arrive. Japanese visitors check a tide table as a matter of course. English-speaking visitors mostly don't — not through carelessness, but because the tide tables, the thresholds and the local knowledge that turns numbers into "yes, you can walk today" have lived almost entirely in Japanese.
This site does that translation. It answers one question well — when can you walk to the gate, and when does it float — and builds the rest of the practical advice around that answer.
Where the tide data comes from
Tide heights are taken from the Japan Meteorological Agency's official tide tables for Hiroshima (observation station Q8, Ujina), the same published predictions used by Japanese tide tables. Values are centimetres above 潮位表基準面 (chart datum), the standard Japanese reference level.
The data is refreshed automatically every day. For dates beyond the published tables, the site falls back to a harmonic tidal model whose constituents were fitted by least squares to those same official predictions, validated to within roughly 7 cm.
Two honest limitations:
- The reference station is Hiroshima, not Miyajima itself. The stations are about 15 km apart in the same bay, so the difference is small — but these are Hiroshima Bay figures, not a Miyajima-specific gauge.
- Predictions are astronomical, not actual. Strong wind and low atmospheric pressure can push real water levels above or below the prediction. Use the times to plan; use your eyes for safety.
How the thresholds are set
- Below about 100 cm — the seabed in front of the shrine is exposed and walkable out to the gate.
- Above about 250 cm — water surrounds the torii and it takes on its floating appearance.
These are practical thresholds rather than official ones. Conditions on any given day depend on weather and on where you walk, so treat the edges of a window as approximate and don't linger as the tide turns.
Editorial independence
Some links on this site are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you book through them at no extra cost to you. That revenue is what keeps the tide data free to use.
It does not buy placement. Accommodation and attraction details are compiled from public sources — principally the Miyajima Ryokan Association's own member listings — and nothing on this site is a paid inclusion. Where we recommend one option over another, it is because of what it offers, not what it pays.
Corrections
Times change, ferries reschedule, restaurants close, and prices move. If you find something wrong — especially anything about tides, safety or transport — please tell us. Corrections are the fastest way to make this site better for the next visitor.
Miyajima Tides is not affiliated with Itsukushima Shrine, the Miyajima Ryokan Association, the ferry operators, or any tourism authority.