Boat Race Miyajima

Getting there: seven minutes from Miyajimaguchi Station

Boat Race Miyajima sits at Miyajimaguchi, the strip of Hiroshima waterfront where the ferries leave for Miyajima Island. The venue is a quick seven-minute walk from Miyajimaguchi Station, so you do not need a taxi or a bus once you arrive¹. If you are coming from the island, you walk off the ferry, cross to the station side and keep going for about seven minutes.

That location is the whole appeal for a first visit. You can pair a morning at Itsukushima Shrine with an afternoon at the races, or the other way around, without a long transfer in between. The track is on the coast, and the water the boats race on is the same stretch of the Seto Inland Sea you just crossed.

For a sense of how the other tracks compare, Boat Race Heiwajima is about 15 minutes by train or shuttle bus from Haneda Airport and very close to Tokyo and Shinagawa stations, while Boat Race Suminoe in Osaka puts its general admission seats very close to the water's edge⁶. Miyajima's advantage is the walk from the station and the view.

If you are new to the sport entirely, the mechanics are simple. Six boats race at a time, and you buy a bet on which one finishes where⁶. Before every race there is a Starting Exhibition, where the racers test the water and show off their boat and motor conditions, which is worth watching even if you have not placed a bet yet⁵.

Seating by floor: general, family and reserved rooms

The venue is stacked, and each floor does something different.

The third floor is the main general seating area. It has individual chairs, and it also has sofas set up for groups, so a family or a group of friends can sit together without booking anything¹. This is where most first-timers end up, and it costs nothing beyond your bets.

The fourth floor is the premium end: reserved upscale seating for people visiting alone, and private rooms for groups¹. If you want a guaranteed seat and a quieter space, this is the floor to ask about at the service counter.

The Kutsurogi Room, which translates as Relaxation Room, is the family option. It has tatami flooring, and it opens only on big race days and only for families with children up to junior high school age¹. If you are traveling with young kids on an ordinary race day, plan on the third-floor general seating and the Wanpaku Room instead.

For comparison, Boat Race Heiwajima splits its seating into outdoor general seating on the first floor, indoor general seating on the third floor and reserved seating on the fourth floor, and its two-seater pair seating on the fourth floor costs 2,000 yen for one day with complimentary drinks included⁶. Miyajima's layout follows the same general idea, with the free seats indoors and the paid rooms up top.

Facilities and services on site

The venue lists a full set of practical facilities: elevator, escalator and stairs, toilets including a multipurpose toilet, a dining area, a smoking corner, a baggage check, a service corner for sales, the Wanpaku Room, security, first aid and a Happy Room¹.

That list answers most of the questions a first-timer has. There is somewhere to leave a bag, so you are not carrying luggage from the ferry through the stands. There is a designated smoking corner rather than smoking throughout. There is a first aid room and staff on site. And there is a service corner where you can ask about tickets, seating and how the betting works.

The Wanpaku Room is the standout for anyone with children. It is described as a spacious area, newly renovated, sparkling clean and free of charge¹. That combination is unusual enough to be worth planning around: you can bring the kids, use the room when they need a break from the noise, and still watch the races from the general seating.

One thing to know about behavior inside the venue: at least one boat race ticket shop in Japan asks visitors to keep loud voices and cheering during races to a minimum⁸. That is a ticket shop rather than Miyajima itself, but it is a useful signal about the atmosphere at these venues. They are calm, orderly places, not stadium crowds.

Where to eat: eight food and drink spots from udon to café

Miyajima lists eight food and drink spots across the building¹:

• Fukuchan
• Genki Udon (Vendor #10)
• Café Vessel (East Wing 1F)
• Dining Area #1
• Café Vessel II
• Café Vessel (East Wing 3F)
• Katsu Kaishu
• Café Vessel (East Wing 4F)

The spread runs from udon to a sit-down café, and the Café Vessel outlets are repeated on the first, third and fourth floors, so you are never far from a coffee wherever you are sitting¹. Genki Udon is the noodle option, and Katsu Kaishu and Fukuchan cover the heavier meals.

Across the wider Boat Race network, venues generally offer restaurants, food stalls and souvenir shops, with local specialties and classic Japanese dishes on the menus⁵. At Miyajima, that means Hiroshima-area food rather than a generic menu, and it is one of the reasons to eat at the track rather than before you arrive.

If you are coming from the ferry side, note that the walk from Miyajimaguchi Station is short enough that you can eat at the track, watch a few races and still be back at the station in time for an afternoon train.

What you can see besides the races

The view is the thing. Every floor of the venue provides views of Itsukushima Shrine, the World Heritage Site across the water¹. That is not a marketing line about a distant glimpse; the building faces the island, and the shrine's famous torii is part of the backdrop to the racing.

Beyond the view, there is the racing itself. Boat race venues in Japan are built so you can watch powerful races up close, and Miyajima is no exception⁹. The boats run on the water directly in front of the stands, so the noise and spray carry.

Before each race, the Starting Exhibition gives you something to watch even if you have not bet. The racers take the boats out, test the water and show off their boat and motor conditions, and regulars use it to judge form⁵. For a first-timer it is simply a good few minutes of close-up action.

The venue also runs events around big race days. Past programs at Miyajima have included prediction events in the East building event hall, talk shows, giveaways at the main entrance and lottery draws near the main entrance¹⁰. These are scheduled per meeting, so check what is on for the day you plan to visit rather than assuming.

If you want to see how other tracks handle entertainment, Boat Race Heiwajima puts on pop idol talk shows or live comedy on the stage during big races⁶. Miyajima's version leans on the setting and the shrine view.

Opening hours and race-day schedule

Gate opening is set per meeting, and the recent pattern is a morning start. Miyajima has opened its gates at 9:40, at 9:45 and at 9:55 on different race days, with the first race betting sales starting around 10:12². The venue stays active until late afternoon on race days¹.

A typical race day at Miyajima runs roughly like this:

Events during the day are timed to the race schedule rather than to the clock. Past Miyajima programs have run from gate opening, from the first race, during the fourth to twelfth races, during the sixth race sales around 12:41, during the seventh race sales around 13:02 and during the eighth race sales around 13:32¹¹. Lottery draws have run from the start of betting on the eighth race, around 14:02, until betting closed on the tenth race, around 15:29¹².

The practical takeaway: arrive at or just after gate opening if you want to settle in, eat and learn the betting before the first race. Arrive in the early afternoon if you only want a few hours of racing and the view.

What it costs and who can play

Entry to the venue is free, and the Wanpaku Room is free of charge¹. Your only real spending is food, drinks and your bets, plus the paid reserved seating on the fourth floor if you want it.

Boat racing in Japan is open to adults 20 and over⁵. That applies to everyone, whether you live in Japan or are visiting from abroad. There is no separate visitor price and no membership needed to walk in and place a bet.

For the wider picture of how boat racing fits with the rest of Japanese gambling, see Betting on Boat Racing (Kyotei) in Japan and Can I Gamble in Japan?. If you are also interested in the horse racing side of a Hiroshima trip, Betting on Horse Racing in Japan and Local Horse Racing in Japan: Chiho Keiba and Ban'ei cover the tracks and the bet types.

There are 24 boat race venues across Japan, running from Kiryu in Gunma down to Omura in Nagasaki, and Miyajima is the Hiroshima entry on that list⁹. Seven of the venues host night races, so if you want racing under lights, check which ones before you plan⁵. Miyajima is a daytime track.

If you are building a trip around several tracks, Boat Race Marugame and Boat Race Kojima are the other two in the Chugoku and Shikoku area, and Boat Race Heiwajima and Boat Race Suminoe cover Tokyo and Osaka¹⁷. Off-course betting is also available around the country if you cannot make it to a track on race day, which Off-Course Betting in Japan: WINS, J-PLACE and Ticket Shops explains.