Okunoshima (Rabbit Island) from Hiroshima

Hello,

We have 2.5 days in Hiroshima and 3 days in Osaka before heading to Kanazawa.

What is the best way to include a half day trip to Okunoshima (rabbit island)? I can either get train from Hiroshima to Tadanoumi (Takehara) return with individual tickets, or I understand there is a 3 day Visit Hiroshima Tourist pass (Middle Area) that includes buses to Takehara for 4,500 yen.

Alternately there is a free rabbit island tour from Hiroshima if you book a 5 day JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass for 17,000 yen [ I would probably just get value for my trip [ Hiroshima to Miyajima rt; Hiroshima to Takehara rt; Hiroshima to Osaka ow; Osaka to Kyoto - rt; Osaka to Kobe rt; and Osaka to Kanazawa ow.

If I just stick with buying individual tickets when arriving in Japan, would you buy return trip Hiroshima to Okunoshima on bullet train or by bus? Or would you visit Okunoshima on the way to Osaka by leaving bags in train station at Takehara and jumping on ferry to Okunoshima then continuing on journey to Osaka in late afternoon?

I would visit it on my way to Osaka, as my style of travel nowadays is to avoid backtracking as much as possible. I don't remember if there were coin lockers at Tadanoumi station, but the souvenir shop/ticket office at the ferry terminal can keep your luggage for a fee.

Just a warning: when I visited Okunoshima, the ferry was not on time. Be flexible for your return train (or you train onwards to Osaka).

I found timing to be very important in going to Bunny Island. In my case, I took the shinkansen to Mihara, got the train to Tadanoumi, and just made the ferry by rushing to the port. Otherwise, you could waste a lot of time waiting. If possible, going in the morning is much better - the rabbits in the afternoon were much more sleepy and languid. Some people brought carrots and cabbage to feed to them, but I found they greatly preferred the rabbit food you can buy at the ferry ticket office. They may try to snatch the bag and run off it with (it happened to me), so be careful.

We went to Ōkunoshima in 2014 on a day trip, when we were on our way from Onomichi to Osaka. There was a small bit of backtracking for us, but Ōkunoshima was the furthest west in our travel that trip, so it was ok. Btw, Onomichi is a great place to visit, more so than Ōkunoshima, in my opinion, even though we are all rabbit owners and lovers.

The bus isn't a great idea, because Tadanoumi station was very small (there wasn't even a ticket agent there to check our JR Pass) and I didn't see lockers. Lots of lockers at Mihara, so use them once you get off the Shinkansen from Hiroshima. There is a several block walk to the pier from Tadanoumi station. The short boat ride was the best part of the day. My wife insisted on being healthy to the rabbits and we purchased fresh produce somewhere that morning, but I don't think it really matters! The island itself was kind of depressing. It was a poison gas research facility during WW2 and there is a poison gas museum there. You do not need a tour of the island even if you don't speak Japanese. A couple of hours should be enough. Once off the island, take the Kure line back to Mihara, get your belongings from the locker and be on your way to Osaka. We all agreed that it was nice to go, but it isn't a place that we'd necessarily recommend to anyone.

I went 2 weeks ago.

Shinkansen to Mihara, then local train to Tadanomi was what I did.

As above. Make sure you get your timings right for trains and ferries.