The ¥100 visitor tax
nobody tells you about.
Miyajima has charged a ¥100 visitor tax per person since 1 October 2023, collected on the outbound leg only. It is normally bundled into your ferry ticket, so most people never notice it — unless they hold a rail pass, in which case they have to buy it separately at the terminal and nobody warns them.
¥100 ($0.63) per person, charged on the outbound leg only, since 1 October 2023 — so a same-day return is ¥300 out and ¥200 back, not ¥300 each way. Residents, island workers, commuting students and preschool children are exempt. Rail-pass holders are the trap: the JR Pass covers the JR ferry but not the tax, so you buy a separate ¥100 ticket at the terminal. There is a ¥500 annual pass, but it needs in-person registration at Hatsukaichi City Hall and only breaks even at five or more visits — just pay the ¥100.
What the tax is, and why you probably will not see it
The fee itselfMiyajima has charged a ¥100 visitor tax per person since 1 October 2023, collected with your ferry ticket on the outbound leg only. Rail-pass holders are the trap: the pass covers the JR ferry but not the tax, so you still have to buy a separate ¥100 ticket at the terminal.
Formally it is a local levy on visitors entering the island, introduced by Hatsukaichi city and in force since 1 October 2023. It is ¥100 per person and it is charged on the outbound leg only — you pay to go, not to come back — and the money is earmarked for maintaining the island under the pressure of several million visitors a year.
In practice it is invisible to most visitors because both ferry operators collect it with the fare. You buy a ticket at the counter, the outbound costs ¥300 instead of ¥200, and unless you are counting you never learn why. A same-day return is therefore ¥500 ($3.17) per adult in total, and ¥250 for a child at the ¥100 child fare.
There is a ¥500 annual pass, and our advice is to ignore it. It only breaks even at five or more visits and it requires in-person registration at Hatsukaichi City Hall, which is not somewhere a visitor is going. Just pay the ¥100. The one product that genuinely changes the sum is Hiroden's ¥1,000 Streetcar & Ferry 1-day pass: it includes the visitor tax, covers the trams and the Matsudai ferry, and cuts the ropeway round trip from ¥2,000 to ¥1,500. Its limit is that it is Matsudai-only, so it cannot be used on the JR sailings that detour past the torii. ⚠ The Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass does not include the tax.
Here is the thing that makes this page necessary: not one of the ten pages ranking on Google's first page for this island mentions the tax at all. That includes both of the results dedicated entirely to Miyajima. It is a small amount of money and a completely avoidable surprise at a ticket window in a language you may not read.
The ¥100 tax, in full
Who paysChecked 4 August 2026. Amounts are per person.
| Case | You pay | How it is collected |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary visitor, one trip to the island | ¥100 | Bundled into the ¥300 outbound ferry ticket at the counter |
| Ordinary visitor, same-day return | ¥100 total | Outbound leg only — ¥300 out, ¥200 back, ¥500 per adult |
| Frequent visitor | ¥500 annual pass | Breaks even at 5+ visits, and needs in-person registration at Hatsukaichi City Hall — skip it |
| Holder of Hiroden's ¥1,000 Streetcar & Ferry 1-day pass | Included | Covers the tax and the Matsudai ferry, and cuts the ropeway return to ¥1,500 |
| Holder of the Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass | ¥100, separately | The pass covers both ferries but not the tax |
| JR Pass or rail-pass holder | ¥100, separately | The pass covers the JR ferry, not the tax — buy the tax ticket at the terminal |
| Island residents | Exempt | — |
| People working on the island | Exempt | — |
| Students commuting to the island | Exempt | — |
| Preschool children | Exempt | — |
Exemption categories are as published by the municipality. If you think you qualify, expect to show something at the counter — we could not verify what documentation is required in each case, so allow a few extra minutes.
Three ways this catches people out
The trapsThe JR Pass and the JR West regional passes cover the JR West Miyajima ferry in full. They do not cover the visitor tax, which is a municipal levy and not a transport fare. You walk to the gate with a pass in your hand and still need a ¥100 ticket. Buy it at the terminal before you board.
¥100 per person, outbound onlyBoth operators charge ¥200 for the crossing itself. If your ticket says ¥300, the extra ¥100 is the visitor tax, not a price rise and not a foreigner surcharge. The fare is identical for everyone and identical between the two companies.
¥200 fare + ¥100 taxYou do not. The tax is on the outbound leg only, so a family of four pays ¥400 going over and nothing coming back. Two separate island days in a week is ¥800 — still less than the ¥500 annual pass is worth chasing, given it must be registered in person at Hatsukaichi City Hall.
¥500 annual pass breaks even at 5+ visitsMiyajima visitor tax at a glance
The numbersBeing surprised by it
at a counter is not.
The tax is bought at the pier, not online, so there is nothing to reserve in advance — this page exists so the number is not a surprise. If you are pricing the wider trip, the ferry, the streetcar day pass and the regional rail passes are the lines that actually move a Hiroshima budget. Transport tickets and passes for the region are listed on GetYourGuide; we do not publish their prices here because we could not verify them.
See transport ticketsVisitor tax questions
FAQPage schema pairedIs there an entrance fee for Miyajima?
There is a ¥100 ($0.63) visitor tax per person on the way over, in force since 1 October 2023, but no admission charge for the island itself. Walking the streets, the promenade, Momijidani Park and Mount Misen all cost nothing; the ticketed things are Itsukushima Shrine at ¥300, Senjōkaku at ¥100, the Treasure Hall at ¥300 and the ropeway.
Does the JR Pass cover the Miyajima visitor tax?
No. The JR Pass covers the JR West Miyajima ferry crossing in full, but the ¥100 tax is a municipal levy and sits outside it. You buy a separate ¥100 tax ticket at the ferry terminal. This is the single most common way visitors get caught out, and almost nobody publishes it.
How do I pay the Miyajima visitor tax?
In most cases you already have: both ferry operators collect it with the fare, which is why a one-way ticket costs ¥300 rather than ¥200. If you are travelling on a rail pass, buy the ¥100 ticket at the terminal counter or machine before boarding.
Is the Miyajima visitor tax charged both ways?
No — outbound only. You pay ¥100 to go to the island and nothing to come back, so a same-day return costs ¥500 per adult in total including the two ¥200 ferry legs. Two separate island days means two payments of ¥100.
Is there a pass that includes the visitor tax?
One: Hiroden's ¥1,000 Streetcar & Ferry 1-day pass, which also covers the trams and the Matsudai ferry and cuts the ropeway round trip from ¥2,000 to ¥1,500. It does not cover JR, so you lose the 09:10–16:10 torii detour. The Visit Hiroshima Tourist Pass covers both ferries but explicitly not the tax.
Who is exempt from the Miyajima visitor tax?
Island residents, people who work on the island, students who commute there and preschool children. Everyone else pays the ¥100, including children of school age. Expect to show something if you are claiming an exemption; the documentation required is not clearly published.
How much is the ferry to Miyajima with the tax?
¥300 ($1.90) outbound — ¥200 for the crossing plus the ¥100 tax — and ¥200 coming back, so ¥500 per adult for a same-day return. Children are ¥100 each way. Budget ¥500 per adult and you will not be short.
Why does Miyajima charge a visitor tax?
The island receives several million visitors a year against a small resident population, and the levy funds the upkeep that follows — waste, facilities and conservation. It has been in force since 1 October 2023 at ¥100, which is a fraction of what comparable schemes charge elsewhere in Japan.