Eureka Matsushima Memorabilia

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Japan has a nifty list called the Three Views of Japan. It is (supposedly) the country's three most celebrated scenic sites. We happen to live really quite close to one of them - Matsushima - which means that visiting it at least once while we were in Sendai was almost a requirement. A few weekends ago we did just that; just hopped on a train and went to see a bay full of tiny pine-covered islands, our excitement running high. To be honest it has a nice reputation: a famous haiku about the area consists of the poet just saying "matsushima" followed by "ah", apparently indicating a loss of words at the beauty. Or lazy poetry. Follow us after the jump to learn more!

Kelsey ready to go, equipped with both a coffee and a backup coffee.

Matsushima Town: not a fan of earthquakes.

Deciding to be trail blazers instead of just another group of tourists, we decided to head into a nearby forest instead of following the crowd and going on a tour boat ride around the bay. Like most of Matsushima the forest was tranquil; still rather quiet despite being a major tourist destination. We picked a rather nice day to go in November so we had a great time walking the paths and taking a look at the various temple caves built into the surrounding hills. The area has religious significance (I think) but most of the tourist information was in Japanese so we can't be entirely sure.

Pretty forests. Japan's favourite use of space.

This rock is probably older than you.

Kelsey, enjoying the caves and carvings and cool lighting situation.

We had to lie in wait and ambush the next group of tourists to get this shot!

Likely significant!

The caves were constructed in the 1100's. Old!

Tourism to Matsushima took a hit after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster back in March, and things still haven't picked up. Not only were we by ourselves most of the time, but we were also probably the only foreigners visiting the tourist site that day. That fact, along with our loud and incessant chattering in English, made us stick out like sore thumbs amongst the others. As things tend to go in Japan in such situations, it wouldn't be long before someone asked to take our photo.

Gaijin support Shizuka Arakawa's quest for ice skating perfection.
That's our best guess. 

Still contuining our trail blazing, we decided to fork over 300 yen to visit a nearby shrine and garden complex. We had no idea what we were looking at 95% of the time, but it certainly looked very nice. The whole area had a very carefully cared-for feel; well worth the money, although we can't recommend the guided tour since we had no idea what the man was saying.

"Wanna go this way?"  /  "Sure!"

Tour guide.

The walls of the building back there are covered in gold. 

A large number of spider webs makes travel in the forest treacherous. 

Gardens. Japan's second favourite use of space.

A flower dedicated to Princess Aiko?  Our Japanese really needs some work.

There's a lot more to our garden escapade, so be sure to check out our full album if you're interested.

After the garden we figured it was time to buckle down and actually do the one thing tourists in Matsushima do - go on a boat ride to view the islands! We headed over to the coast, ate our packed snacks, and bought tickets. We were still the only foreigners/English-speakers in sight, so the fact that we ended up on the correct boat after all of this is nothing short of a miracle. 

Pre-boat ride snacks!

The Japanese like to be literal.

Kelsey waiting in front of what we think is our boat!

Before long we cast off, on our way to gaze upon the beautiful tree-covered islands that make Matsushima famous. We managed to snag some pretty good seats on the first floor (the second floor is reserved for first class customers) and were soon listening to the pre-recorded speeches describing each island. Don't get us wrong - they were nice looking islands - but after the twenty or thirtieth one you start to wonder just how many more tree covered islands you have to look at before reaching land again. Luckily the boat ride has an attraction aside from the islands - one sure to keep the antsy passengers entertained after they decide that looking at islands isn't for them! Two words: seagull swarm.

Tourists...

Island #45 - The Kinda Humpy Tree One

Kelsey attempting to appease the seagull swarm with food.

We traded someone a bag of seagull snacks to get them to take this picture.

Nico both entertained by the spectacle and relieved
 that the seagulls didn't bite his finger off.

"CAAAW FEED MEEE"

After the boat ride was over and the seagulls dispersed, we figured that the time had come to find some food. Not an easy task when all the menus are written in a language you are illiterate in. Our search for food inadvertently turned into a shop sight-seeing tour, as we walked into literally any building that appeared to contain food. By the end we did find a place to eat - aided by employees of the restaurant waving us down and beckoning us toward human food.

Samurai-warrior Hello Kitty!

I can't explain it, but I want all of these.

Nico-san, Champion of Fighting and Stuff!

Kelsey-san, lover of flames and being adorable!

Samurai-warrior ice cream?

The lunch we ended up having was nothing less than something you'd find in a picture book concerning native Japanese food. Neither of us were quite sure of what we were eating - some of it was yummy, some smelly, some not so yummy. We're pretty sure we had some of the oysters that make Matsushima famous, but again; not sure. We were also the only people in the restaurant who seemed to be having a conversation or talking at all, something that quickly became apparent but didn't end up deterring us much.

Kelsey considers which fish is to die so she can eat.

Japanese food and Canadian Kelsey

Nico trying to channel Miyagi prefecture's deep love for eye-patches.

Our bellies full it was time for the final leg of our journey - a trip to Fukuura Island! This island is special, both because it is rather large but also because it is close enough to the mainland for a bridge to connect it. The island is its own nature park, criss-crossed with pathways both paved and overgrown. The bridge itself is very long and very red, and apparently there is a local superstition that crossing the bridge with your significant other will cause a breakup. Not the most whimsical of superstitions.

Fukuura Island and the Bridge.

Kelsey preparing herself for our inevitable emotional falling out as a result of crossing together.

Nico appreciates the bridge's colour choice.

Seagulls attacking those who don't cross quickly enough.

Creepy ticket guy implores you to join him on a magical journey to Fukuura Island.

Once there and after recovering from our breakup, we were happy to find that the island actually was scenic and beautiful. The weather was perfect for walking, the paths were easy to follow, and trees and awesome views were plenty. We arrived just as the sun was beginning to set, and the effect of the sun streaming through all of those trees was really something. To our great surprise and immense pleasure there was also a small restaurant on the island that served ice cream just as we were starting to wonder if there was any place nearby that served ice cream. What are the odds? Once the paved pathway stopped and the semi-designated overgrown ways began things got interesting from a navigational point of view, but we were able to eventually find our way back. 

The bridge changed Kelsey.

Nico too.

Kelsey takes a short break to contemplate how wonderful she looks.

Trees? Check. Light streaming? Check. Hints of autumnal colours? Check.
Nice place for a walk? Yup. 

Kelsey appreciates the ice cream but is not satisfied with the craftsmanship.

We only had enough money for one so we had to improvise.

Scary carvings. 

Matsushima!

After our walk on the island we decided that we had seen enough and that it was time to head back to Sendai. The trip back wasn't terribly exciting - although we ran into some kind of police convention and had 30-40 officers in uniform walking behind us at one point, which was cool.

Oh, we also saw this tree. It's really old.

As you can probably guess, we took a lot of pictures. You can take a look at the album here!

Until next time!