is the ferry route between Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima

Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima

is a city of some 120,000 people located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a market traditionally held on the 20th of each month with hatsuka meaning "20th day" and ichi translating to "market"...

 and Miyajima

Itsukushima

is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , the Shrine Island. The island is one of . Itsukushima is part of the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture...

 (Itsukushima).

JR Miyajima Ferries are operated by , a wholly owned subsidiary of West Japan Railway Company

West Japan Railway Company

, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...

 (JR West).

There are three ferries called Miyajima-maru, Nanaura-maru and Misen-maru.

Between Miyajima-guchi and Miyajima, it takes ten minutes.

History

• The private boat route was founded in 1897.
• The ferry route was placed to the public company in 1899.
• The ferry route was bought by Sanyo Railway
  Sanyo Railway
  The was established in 1887 and served as a major railroad company during the Meiji period in Japan. The railroad was headquartered in Kobe, and Nakamigawa Hikojirō served as head of the railroad.-Rail lines:...
  
   in 1903.
• Sanyo Railway was nationalized as part of the Japanese Government Railways
  Japanese Government Railways
  The Japanese Government Railways was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.- Name :...
  
   in 1906.
• Japanese National Railways
  Japanese National Railways
  , abbreviated or "JNR", was the national railway network of Japan from 1949 to 1987.-History:The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by nationalized companies under the control of the Railway Institute following the nationalization...
  
  (reorganized from government railways in 1949) were privatized in 1987. Operation in Hiroshima area was assigned to JR West.
• JR West transferred the ferry business to its new subsidiary JR West Miyajima Ferry Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2009.

The route, commonly called Miyajima Renrakusen (宮島連絡船), was one of those classified as tetsudō renrakusen (鉄道連絡船), ferry routes as a part of railway network. All other JR renrakusen routes were closed by 1990 and the JR Miyajima Ferry was the last one of that kind until its separation in 2009.

External links

• JR Miyajima Ferry