More Sightseeing: Matsushima

One of the attractions of the Sendai region is Matsushima Bay. It is one of the Nihon Sankei (日本三景), the three most scenic spots in Japan. These spots were those that appealed most to the Confucian scholar Hayashi Shunsai who traveled Japan on foot in the 17th century. These sights have since become canonical places of pilgrimage, a very typical example of the Japanese way of doing sightseeing.

Matsushima (松島), a bay full of (more than 200) small islands overgrown by pines (松, matsu), is definitely a very particular place, with its own character, which can’t be found anywhere else. But if it is really that much better than all the rest…?

The tourist industry, in any case, is thriving. The train leaves you off right in front of the beach, the tourist information is two steps away, and another two steps further, they are happy to sell you tickets for a boat cruise. I have never seen a bay so overcrowded with cruise boats of all sizes.

A Pine Island of Matsushima

Of course we immediately went on such a cruise, which took us in 40 min around the oddly shaped islands.

Our next stations were the Kanrantei (”a place to view ripples on the water”) tea house and Zuiganji (the most famous Zen temple of the Tohoku region, currently unfortunately under reconstruction).

The typical food of Matsushima are oysters. The oyster fields can be seen everywhere between the islands. The water quality makes you think a bit, though… Since I don’t enjoy eating filters shellfish, I did not join the endeavor, but the others duly took it upon themselves to try the fried oysters (after all, tourism in Japan is just as much about trying the local foods as it is about seeing the sights).

Shaped by the waves

Some of the islands are joined to the bay by a bridge. There is in particular Fukuurajima, the biggest island, which can be reached via a 252 m wide bridge. It features a number of lovely paths through the woods and views of the bay. The only thing to detract slightly from our Matsushima experience was having to stand up packed like herrings on the train back to Sendai. Turns out we were not the only ones returning in the late afternoon…

Welcome to Matsushima!