Iwaso Ryokan Miyajima: Rooms, Cottages, Onsen and Booking Tips

Iwaso is the historic ryokan in the Momijidani maple valley, directly behind Itsukushima Shrine: founded in 1854, 300 metres (three minutes on foot) from the shrine, with its own natural hot spring, Wakamiya Onsen, and four detached wooden cottages built between 1924 and 1952. Rates with dinner and breakfast run from about 34,100 to 89,100 yen per person per night (booking-site range, October 2026). If you want the classic Miyajima stay, the stream, the maples and the deer outside the bath, this is the one to book.

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So, is Iwaso worth staying at? It depends less on the inn than on which of its three buildings you book, and on whether you are happy with a traditional ryokan’s rules: Japanese-style rooms only, dinner in the restaurant at a set time, and arrival by 19:00. We have not stayed at Iwaso and this is not a review. What follows is what the inn states on its English website, checked in October 2026, set out so you can choose a room and avoid surprises.

Iwaso at a glance

An inn that began as a teahouse in the valley

Iwaso’s name is a contraction of its founder’s, Iwakuniya Sobei. According to the inn, he watched the crowds at the Kangensai festival for a month, then asked the local magistrate for permission to open up the Momijidani valley behind the shrine. He built a bridge over the Momiji river and teahouses where visitors could rest by the water, and the inn grew from those. After the Meiji era it was rebuilt as a Japanese-style hotel, and the valley it opened became today’s Momijidani Park, famous for its autumn leaves. The inn still sits at the park’s gate: the shrine is 300 metres one way, the stream and the path up to the Mount Misen ropeway the other. The history of Momijidani is a page of its own.

Which building to book

This is the real decision, because the three buildings are very different.

The four Hanare cottages are what make Iwaso famous. Kimpu-tei is the one the inn says many well-known guests have chosen. Shukin-tei (1928) has a ten-mat and an eight-mat room and its own indoor bath. Ryumon-tei was named by Asano Nagakoto, one of the last lords of the Hiroshima domain. Senshin-tei, a tea-house-style building of 1949 renovated in 2018, stands in the deepest and quietest part of the grounds; the novelist Eiji Yoshikawa wrote part of his modern retelling of The Heike Story there in 1952, fitting for an island whose shrine was built by the Taira, the clan at the heart of that story.

Two things in the table catch people out. No room at Iwaso has a private onsen; the inn says so plainly. And the Honkan rooms have no bath or shower at all, so guests there use the shared hot-spring baths. That is normal for an old ryokan, but worth knowing before you book the cheaper rooms.

Wakamiya Onsen, the hot spring

Iwaso has one of the island’s two natural hot springs (the other is Kinsuikan’s), and the only one in the valley. The inn tells the story: it had used water from its well since 1885, and a former landlady used to say it made her skin smooth. When the inn finally had the water tested, it turned out to be a weakly radioactive cold mineral spring rising from only five metres down. It was named Wakamiya Onsen after the old place name of the spot, Wakamiyagahara.

There are two bathhouses, Hinode-yu for women and Tsuki-no-yu for men, each with an indoor bath and an open-air bath for up to 30 people. Both are open 15:00–0:00 and 6:00–9:30. The open-air baths face a path the deer use, so you may see them from the water, and at night the primeval forest of the national park is lit up beyond them. The baths are in the basement and reached only by stairs. They are for staying guests only: there is no day-use bathing, and no private (reservable) bath. The inn’s website says nothing about tattoos, so ask before you book if that applies to you. How the island’s three hot springs compare is in our Miyajima onsen guide.

Dinner and breakfast

The chef trained for years in Kyoto-style kaiseki, and dinner is a seasonal course of fish and mountain produce, with oysters and conger eel among the local ingredients. In winter, when Miyajima oysters are at their best (the inn says February is the peak), they appear grilled, vinegared and deep-fried. Breakfast is Japanese, with Koshihikari rice from Hiroshima prefecture, miso soup, rolled omelette and grilled fish, starting between 8:00 and 8:30.

Both meals are served in the restaurant, Momidi, on the first floor of the Shinkan, or in the Kangen banquet room above it; meals are not served in your room. The kitchen can prepare vegetarian, gluten-free and allergy-aware meals if asked at least seven days before arrival, though it cannot promise allergen-free food or cook without kelp or mushroom stock. Bed-and-breakfast plans exist, but the inn itself warns that very few places on the island are open in the evening, so read our oyster and anago rice guides with the closing times in mind.

Before you book: the rules that matter

• Arrive by 19:00. The last dinner sitting is at 19:00. Call if you will be later; if the inn hears nothing by 20:00, the reservation is cancelled automatically.
• Phone for the shuttle. The free minibus from the pier runs 8:00–20:00 on request, not to a timetable. Call on the day with your ferry time; the inn does not accept pick-up requests by email. Without a Japanese phone, the tourist information office at the pier (9:00–17:30) will call for you.
• Luggage. The inn keeps bags from any time on arrival day and after check-out, and will take them to the pier.
• Beds. All rooms are tatami. Folding beds exist but are few, one per room, and must be requested when you book.
• Booking and cancelling. Direct bookings open ten months ahead. Cancellation costs 30% three and two days before, 50% the day before and 100% on the day.
• Children up to 11 sharing with two or more adults: 2,200 yen for ages 0–1 (no meals or bedding), half price for 2–6, 30% off for 7–11.
• Access. No room is barrier-free; the inn recommends the Shinkan, which has a lift and private baths, for guests who find stairs difficult.
• Not offered: a bar (the lounge does not serve drinks), massage, bicycles, laundry. Wi-Fi is free. Night cruise bookings can be made at the front desk.

Iwaso, Kinsuikan or Arimoto?

Most people looking at Iwaso are also looking at the island’s two other hot-spring inns. Kinsuikan is on the waterfront, ten minutes from the pier, with a natural seawater spring and six rooms with private semi-open-air baths. Miyajima Grand Hotel Arimoto is three minutes from the shrine, with Western-style and Japanese rooms, private open-air baths in some rooms and an artificial mineral-stone bath. Iwaso is the one in the valley, the most traditional in feel, with the radon spring and no private baths. For the sea and convenience, Kinsuikan; for beds and a private bath, Arimoto; for maples, quiet and an old wooden building, Iwaso. The full picture, including Miyajimaguchi and Hiroshima, is in where to stay in Miyajima.

Getting there

The train and ferry to the island are covered in our day trip guide. Once you land, call Iwaso from the pier for the shuttle, or walk 15 minutes: along the waterfront past the shrine, then up into the park. The shopping street and the shrine approach are closed to cars from 10:00 to 17:30, so drivers should leave the car in Miyajimaguchi (see parking); the inn has five free spaces for anyone who does bring a car across, and asks you to call first so it can guide you through the narrow lanes. Coming from further away, see Osaka to Miyajima.

Frequently asked questions

Is Iwaso a worthwhile place to stay?

For the setting, yes: no other inn on the island is in the maple valley, has a natural hot spring with open-air baths by the stream, and has detached wooden cottages from the 1920s to 1950s. Whether it is worth it for you depends on the room. If you need a bed, a private bath or a lift, book the Shinkan and say so when booking.

Do any rooms at Iwaso have a private onsen?

No. Two cottages and the Shinkan rooms have private baths, but with ordinary water. The hot spring is in the two shared bathhouses.

Can I use Iwaso’s onsen without staying?

No, the baths are for overnight guests only. No inn on Miyajima offers day-use bathing; the nearest is on the mainland, explained in our onsen guide.

How do I get from the ferry to Iwaso?

Walk 15 minutes, or phone the inn on arrival day with your ferry time and its free shuttle will meet you (8:00–20:00). Requests by email are not accepted.

Can I eat dinner in my room at Iwaso?

No. Dinner and breakfast are served in the restaurant. The last dinner sitting is 19:00, so plan to arrive before then.

Is Iwaso good for families?

It offers child rates for children up to 11 sharing with two or more adults, and the Shinkan rooms have private baths and a lift. Older buildings involve stairs, and the baths are reached by stairs only.

What is near Iwaso?

Momijidani Park is outside the door, Itsukushima Shrine three minutes away, and Daisho-in temple and the ropeway up Mount Misen a short walk uphill. For planning the rest of the day, see our Miyajima day trip guide.

Sources: Iwaso (English website: history, rooms and buildings, hot spring and bath hours, cuisine and breakfast time, facilities overview, access and shuttle, FAQ on booking, cancellation, children, beds, meals, accessibility and services); Selected Ryokan (price range); Hiroshima Prefecture (accommodation tax). Checked October 2026. This page is a factual summary, not a review of a stay.