Thursday, October 14, 2010

Day 9 In Japan : Matsushima Bay

On Day 9 of our trip, we got on a shinkansen again, this time heading to Sendai, an hour and 40 minutes ride from Tokyo.

We checked-in at JAL City Hotel there and immediately head off to Matsushima; about half an hour's train trip from Sendai Station.
Setting off to Matsushima Bay, we got on a local train to Matsushima Station (that's the photo of Zaini at the station). This station is not the nearest station to the islands and we actually walked a couple of kilometers to get to the bay area but as always, we like to do things the hard way. Walking from Matsushima Station, we passed by the Belgium Orgel Museum but didn't stop there. If you are interested, there are 134 orgels (music boxes) acquired directly from the National Museum of Belgium exhibited at this gallery.

Returning afterwards after hours of sightseeing, we took the train on JR Senseki line at Matsushima-Kaigan Station (and me in the photo in front of the said station) which is nearer to the pier where sightseeing boats that cruises around the islets are docked.
We had fun walking around the bigger island (Oshima Island, if I'm not mistaken), which we got to by walking on the 250m vermillion-lacquered bridge. 
The view is indeed lovely, befitting its status as one of three Japan's scenic view. The other two are Miyajima; which we visited in 2008 and Amanohashidate. Just like Miyajima, you can find plenty of foreign tourists (and loud ones too!) here.
You can hike up into the wooded area, play at the beach (water wasn't exactly pristine clean, though) or explore the caves on this island so even though the island is small, we spent a few hours exploring there and meeting lots of fellow tourists.

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