Hiroshima Summer Top 5 by our Travel Angel

Between beaches, fireworks, traditional dances and other festivals, Hiroshima and Miyajima are top destinations to spend the summer in Japan. Here are our Travel Angel's suggestions.

• The beaches of Saka and Katsuraga
   

The first, very easy to reach, is a 15-minute train ride from Hiroshima station. Get off at Mizushiri station and you'll discover a long beach, ideal for strolling on the sand between two swims. For the more sporty, there are volleyball nets where you can play a few matches. Katsuraga beach is a little further south, on Kurahashi Island in the Seto Inland Sea archipelago. Katsuraga-hama is famous for its white sand and pine forest.

• Miyajima fireworks display
   

This fireworks display, with the sea and Itsukushima Shrine in the background, is the most famous in Japan, attracting some 40,000 visitors every year! Join us on August 26 between 7.40 and 8.40 p.m. to admire this colorful fireworks display, spread over seven different stages around the floating torii (Shinto gate). No fewer than 5,000 rockets are launched during a magical evening for all spectators. And don't forget to visit the island of Miyajima!

• Miyajima Dance Night
   

Another opportunity to discover the "island of the gods", theOdori-no-yube takes place on the evenings of August 17 and 18, on the way to Itsukushima Shrine and on Mikasa-hama beach, right next to the torii. This festival has its origins in the Sengoku period, 500 years ago. The Miyajima dance is a traditional dance designed to appease evil spirits. The steps are very simple: three forwards and one backwards, alternately raising the left and right arms.

• Ichitate and Kangensai festivals
   

Also at Itsukushima Shrine, two other not-to-be-missed events. First, the Kangensai festival, on July 17 from afternoon to late evening. This is one of Japan's three largest matsuri, featuring boats and traditional music. What one wouldn't do to honor the gods in Japan, and in Miyajima in particular! And ten days later, on July 27, discover the Ichitate-sai (Ichitate festival), featuring a ceremony and Bugaku dance performance.

• Tanabata Festival at Shukkei-en Garden
   

One of the most popular festivals in one of Japan's most beautiful gardens. Like the rest of the archipelago, Hiroshima celebrates Tanabata, the meeting of two stars in love, from July 1 to 7. For the occasion, the famous Shukkei-en garden is decked out innight-time illuminations dotted around the site. Here, everyone can express their wishes on colorful paper, which is hung on bamboo branches. Here too, take the opportunity to visit the garden during the day, before soaking up the dreamlike atmosphere of the festival.

Join our Travel Angel for a tour of Hiroshima and Miyajima.

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