2 nights miyajima or 1:1 with hiroshima?

Hi all. So our Japan/S Korea college graduation trip with daughter in May/June is happening. At the end of our 2.5 week Japan portion we have 2 nights before our final night in Fukuoka when we fly to Busan. I am trying to figure out if we do both nights Miyajima or split 1:1 with HIroshima.
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I hear horror stories about the crowds in Miyajima (and we will be there Fri-Sunday) so thiniking we stay here both nights so we can tour early or later in day when crowds have left. I was not able to get 2 nights at Miyajima Seaside Hotel, but did get one night. Love their shuttle service, public baths, bike rentals and seaside location. Half board too. Booked Yamaichi Bekkan for second night. Room seems much smaller but location right near ferry and half board also with fantastic food. It seems there is plenty to see on Miyajima and we'd love to bike ride and kayak too so think 2 nights there is good. Just hate that we have to split our lodging.

Or do we stay one night Hiroshima? How do we split our time in each location? We are coming from Kyoto (might stop at HImeji castle on way but not sure.) thanks all.

Miyajima is busy, but "horror stories" - sounds like people being overly dramatic.
How you split your time depends on what you want to do in Hiroshima city versus time on Miyajima. By the sounds of it you could easily fill your fill day on the island doing things during the day when things are open (shops/restaurants/ropeway between two nights on the island. And then in the evening, takes until later for all the crowds to leave, but it does get quieter.
You would have your time arriving from Kyoto/Himeji in Hiroshima city for the things you want to do there.
Personally I am not a fan of splitting one/one between the two locations as it takes time to change hotels, but I know a lot of people do that.

Tough choice.
If you intend to skip Hiroshima completely, stay 2 nights in Miyajima to have a second morning there, it is the best moment to be on the island.

I've been many times in Hiroshima and Miyajima but never overnight in Miyajima, this summer I will do 1 night in Miyajima and 1 night in Hiroshima.

From my previous trips Miyajima usually is full of tourists, but it is not that you can not even walk, I would not say is a nightmare , that's why this time I will stay at least 1 night there to be able to enjoy it during next morning or late afternoon/evening.

From my point of view, I'd split 1 in Miyajima and 1 for Hiroshima so you can enjoy also Hiroshima downtown area and shotengai area which is also nice.

It all depends on what you want to do in Hiroshima City vs. what you want to do on Miyajima.
I have stayed on Miyajima for total of 3 nights, and that gave me enough time to hike and see all I wanted to on Miyajima. In the city, all I did was to visit the Peace Memorial Park. For someone like me, 2 nights on Miyajima make sense, even with change of hotel. The island is packed during the day, but not so at night.

Agreed with nonn bay. It has been quite a few years but Miyajima is nice and quiet at night, also the hikes are relatively quiet. I far preferred it to Hiroshima, but I dont like cities.

The Tori looks awful at low tide, prepare yourself for disappointment there.

I would do one night at each, for a more well rounded experience. Staying on Miyajima can be nice - almost everyone else is a day tripper and after they leave, the place is totally quiet. Take some time in the evening or early morning and just go for a walk if you can. But staying on Miyajima is not really cheap, and you won't get anything new with a 2nd night there. Be sure to see the shrine both at low and high tides. They are quite different. At low tide, you can walk out on the beach right up the giant torii. Some people try to throw coins for good luck.
Hiroshima City doesn't have a huge nightlife scene, but you might see what you can of it anyway.
https://goo.gl/fAz4ax

Thanks all. I am thinking we will stay 2 nights Miyajima. Will stop at Himeji on way from Kyoto. On departure day, we will tour Hiroshima and then take train to Fukuoka for our final night in Japan. Will just need to make sure we use luggage service to get luggage from Miyajima to Fukuoka. Does this sound ok?

Question-is there any risk sending our luggage to Fukuoka when we fly to S Korea the next day. Is it very dependable?

If you want to get your luggage delivered at the airport, you will need to send it at least 3 days before your flight. It states 2 days on their website, but they want it at the airport 1 day before your flight. When I shipped my luggage (which was a cardboard box, actually) from Kyoto to Haneda, for a Saturday fight, the cutoff date was Wednesday 6pm (from a Yamato office).

In other scenarios, they *can* deliver it the next day if you send it in the morning. But I think they only guarantee a delivery time of 2 days. I would play it safe and schedule it on the day before your arrival in Fukuoka.