2026 Kangensai Festival: A Full One-Day Miyajima Course

This course lets you spend a full day enjoying Miyajima, a World Heritage island, centered on the Kangensai Festival, a maritime scroll painting that has continued since the Heian period. On Thursday, July 30, 2026, a mystical ritual takes place at Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, in which gozabune boats resounding with gagaku court music cross the nighttime sea. During the day, take the ferry to Miyajima and start your island walk with a view of the vermilion Great Torii Gate. Visit Daishoin Temple, the oldest temple on Miyajima, to explore its Five Hundred Rakan statues and stone-step approach, then ride the ropeway up Mt. Misen for a sweeping panorama of the Seto Inland Sea. At Omotesando Shopping Street, fill up early with a stroll of anago meshi (conger eel rice), grilled oysters, and momiji manju. Around 5:00 p.m., the sacred rites of the Kangensai Festival begin at Itsukushima Shrine, and until around 11:00 p.m. the sound of gagaku music and glowing bonfires envelop the sea. The moment the gozabune boat passes beneath the Great Torii Gate is a special sight seen only once a year. This course lets you experience history, nature, and a mystical ritual all in a single day, perfect for a family summer memory.