Originally Posted by
NewsBruin
We're going to have a relaxed breakfast in Miyajima and then jump on the shinkansen to Himeji. Should we try to travel from Miyajima to Himeji, then see the castle that afternoon (castle closes at 5p), then travel to Kyoto, or should we look for somewhere to stay in Miyajima?
Where are you staying the night before your "Miyajima breakfast"? If the answer is "Hiroshima", I recommend you spend that night on Miyajima instead, since the island is much nicer without the tour group hordes that rampage during the day. Tour Miyajima in the evening, get an early start the next day, reach Himeji before noon, and you can even zoom all the way to Tokyo in the evening while your pass is still valid.
IF we do stay in Miyajima, where would you reccommend we stay? JapaneseGuestHouses has one property in Miyajima area, but it's a 40-minute cab ride from the station to the ryokan hotel.
Miyajima is an island and has no station. 40 minutes by cab from Miyajima
guchi on the mainland will get you into Hiroshima. Don't limit yourself to JGH, there are many other options:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima
We'd arrive in Himeji around noon, but would it be too unpleasant to tour the castle in the afternoon? Should we wait until the next morning? Is the Himeji Central Park worth seeing?
Himeji is a one-sight town, an afternoon should be plenty. (Will be sweaty going in July though...)