PhotoMiyajima · Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture

Couple photoshoot in Miyajima

In short

A couple photoshoot on Miyajima costs $220 for 30 minutes, timed to low tide so you can walk out to the great torii. You receive 15 edited photos within 3 days. We send the tide times for your date when you book. The ferry from Miyajimaguchi takes 10 minutes, and the island’s ¥100 visitor tax is paid with the fare.

Starting from: $220
Duration: 30 min
Edited photos: 15

Why here

Why choose Couple photoshoot in Miyajima?

Most visitors see the Otorii from the shore. At low tide a couple can walk out across the wet sand and stand at its base, with the shrine behind and the torii’s legs rising sixteen metres above them, a frame that only exists for a few hours a day. We pick the hour from the Itsukushima tide table for your date and build the session around it.

How the shoot is planned

How a session in Miyajima is planned

The route

We meet at the Miyajima ferry pier and walk ten minutes along the waterfront, past the deer, to the stone lantern line in front of the shrine. The first frames are from the shore with the torii small in the bay. Then we step down onto the sand — wet, with shallow pools that mirror the torii on a still day — and walk out together; the photographer goes ahead and turns, so you are walking towards the camera with the shrine behind. At the base we shoot close portraits under the crossbeam, which closes the base thirty minutes. With an extra hour, we walk back into town and up the lane off Omotesando to the five-storey pagoda, where the roofs below and the pagoda above give a calmer, drier finish.

The timing

The sand is walkable for about two hours either side of low water, when the local tide table reads below roughly 100 cm, and the low falls at a different time each day. Spring tides around the new and full moon give the lowest water and the widest sand. Mornings are calmer than afternoons, since the day-trippers arrive from about 10:00. Late March to early April and mid to late November are the busiest weeks; in July and August a low tide at 07:00 is worth the early ferry.

What’s included

What Couple photoshoot in Miyajima includes

In the package

15 edited photos
One area, with the frames planned before the day
Direction for couples who have never been photographed together
Private online gallery within 3 days

Fees and permits on the route

Itsukushima Shrine corridors: About ¥300 per adult; no tripods
Mt Misen via the Miyajima Ropeway: Ropeway about ¥2,000 return; 20–30 minute walk to the summit
Five-storey pagoda and Senjokaku: Pagoda exterior free; Senjokaku hall a small fee

Book online

Inspiration

Couple photoshoot: ideas for your shoot

Frames by photographers on Unsplash, credited below — the mood to plan your own shoot against, not our portfolio.

Photos: Jezael Melgoza, Jakob Owens, Elist Nguyen, HANVIN CHEONG on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Couple photoshoot in Miyajima

What shoes should we wear to walk out to the torii?

Something you do not mind getting wet: the sand holds water and there are small pools and shells. A good approach is to carry the good shoes and walk out in sandals, changing at the base for the close frames.

Can we touch the torii or put a coin on it?

Do not climb or lean on it, and do not push coins into the cracks of the pillars — the shrine has asked visitors to stop since the restoration finished in 2022. Standing close is fine.

What if low tide falls at an awkward time?

Then we either shoot the high-tide version from the shore and the shrine, or suggest staying on the island overnight so the low tide falls inside your visit. The price is the same either way: $220 for 30 minutes and 15 photos.

Same shoot elsewhere