Friday morning we got up, walked to the train station, and headed for 松島海岸 (Matsushima-kaigan), which is about 45 minutes north of Sendai, right along the coast. The train line we rode on, the 仙石線 (Senseki Line), was badly damaged in the tsunami in 2011, and just finally went back into service last year.
Matsushima Bay is known as one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. It's a large bay, dotted with 260 islands. The largest is over a mile across; the smallest, just a few feet. The name "Matsushima" means "pine tree island," and as you might guess, most of the islands were covered with pine trees.
Most of the islands were out in the bay; several were close enough to the shore to be connected by bridges, including these, which are so close you could probably jump across the gap.
We had lunch at a little mom-and-pop shop run by a nice lady and a kind of crotchety old guy, then headed out on a boat tour of the islands. The 50-minute tour took a big loop around the bay, past islands of every description.
The boat was two stories, with large seating areas with big glass windows. We also could go out onto a small open deck area at the stern.
We passed several areas with nets, that I think are used for farming squid, a local delicacy.
These "fenced" areas are for raising oysters, another local delicacy.
Islands of every shape and size!
1 comment:
i like it!
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