Miyajima Grand Hotel Arimoto Reviews

I first visited Miyijima in 2011, as a day trip from Hiroshima (like most people). This time I knew I wanted to stay for a couple of nights on the island - which proved to be a great decision as the island is so enchanting in the evening once most of the tourists have gone back to the mainland. Most of the accommodations on the island are Japanese in style, and so it’s an obvious place to get the full Japanese experience. Unfortunately I struggled a bit to find somewhere to book, as many traditional-style places don’t accept solo travellers, however the Miyajima Grand Hotel Arimoto did and so I booked it. I booked a Japanese/western style room, which had twin beds plus a large tatami mat area where additional guests could sleep on futons. The room was large, although the bathroom was very small. My room came with a large outside balcony area (by the looks of it only a couple of rooms get this - it’s not the norm) with a swing seat overlooking a side view to the Tori gate. This was a really lovely place to sit in the evenings. The staff were very helpful, and I had a lovely personal and detailed introduction to the room, which can’t have been easy for them to do in English! One of the main features of a ryokan-style stay is the food, which is plentiful, extravagant, intricate and (to us westerners) very unusual. They accommodated my request for no shellfish with no issues. You have to be a bit of an adventurous eater (by western standards) as many of the flavours and textures are very unusual. Not all were to my taste, which is to be expected, but regardless the meal was a fantastic experience that I will never forget. The second night was a completely different menu, which they tailored to my request to include more meat (the Hiroshima beef was delicious). I was served by some lovely ladies who explained each of the 12 courses to me. The Japanese breakfast is similarly extravagant, although I did opt for the western breakfast on my second day which was lovely. All in all I would highly recommend this hotel if you want a traditional ryokan-style experience on the island. I would certainly return to it.