What Are the Matsushima Bay Islands?

What is Matsushima famous for?

Matsushima is famous for its roughly 260 pine-clad islets in the bay, a scenery so celebrated that it ranks as one of the Three Views of Japan.

The name says it plainly. Matsushima means Pine Islands, a famous scenic site (meisho) near Sendai whose look inspired art such as the Waves at Matsushima screen. The poet Basho made the bay one of the goals of his journey north, Oku no Hosomichi. For your day, that fame comes down to three things: the boat loop through the islets, the temples beside the pier and the viewing hills around the bay. The bay cruise day tour from Sendai puts the boat loop into one 8-hour day from the city. Around the pier you find Zuiganji Zen temple, the Entsu-in mausoleum, the Godaido shrine hall and the Kanrantei tea house, all listed among the top attractions alongside the islets themselves.

Source: Matsushima Tourism Association.

How many islands are in Matsushima Bay?

The tourist association counts about 260 small pine-covered islands, and its Japanese page says more than 260.

The most common mistake is to picture one island called Matsushima. The name covers the whole group. The tourist association's English page rounds it to 260 small pine-covered islands, and its Japanese page says more than 260. Wikipedia uses the same figure of some 260 tiny islands covered in pines, which is where the name Pine Islands comes from. For a bay day the count matters less than the scale. The islets are small, and the only way to move among them is the 50-minute loop from the Central Pier. On the Scenic Bay Walk and Temple Discovery tour you see them from the shore side before deciding if you want the boat too.

Source: Matsushima Tourism Association.

What is the most beautiful island in Japan?

No official winner exists, but Matsushima Bay is one of the Three Views of Japan, the classic list of the country's most celebrated scenery.

Beauty contests in Japan end in lists rather than winners, and the Three Views of Japan is the classic one. Matsushima Bay sits on it. Inside the bay, the islet with a story is Senganjima, recorded as the favourite island of the feudal lord Masamune Date. The islands you can actually walk onto are Fukuurajima, reached over a long vermilion bridge, and Oshima, joined to the shore by the Togetsu Bridge. Both are covered in the section on visiting the islands below.

Source: Matsushima Tourism Association.

Where is the best place to see Matsushima Bay?

The classic answer is one of the four great viewpoints, Otakamori, Tomiyama, Ogitani or Tamonzan, but for most visitors the best first look comes from a boat on the bay itself.

Japanese tradition sorts the bay into four named views, each from a different hill. Wikipedia lists them as the Magnificent View from Otakamori, the Beautiful View from Tomiyama, the Enchanting View from Ogitani and the Grand View from Tamonzan. The tourist association adds the heights and access details, which turn the legend into a plan. For a single bay day, the honest ranking is this. The boat loop first, because it is the only way to be among the islands. Ogidani second, because it shows the whole bay and sits closest to the station. The far viewpoints third, since Otakamori and Tomiyama each need a separate train ride and a climb.

Can you visit any of the Matsushima Bay islands on foot?

Yes, two islands are walkable from town, Fukuurajima over a 252-meter bridge and Oshima over the Togetsu Bridge, while most of the 260 islets are viewed only from boats or shore.

The bay is not a place you hike across. Of the hundreds of islets, only a handful take visitors, and that shapes how you spend the day. Fukuurajima is the walking island. It covers roughly 6 hectares and is joined to the mainland by a 252-meter vermilion bridge. On it you find about 250 kinds of plants, a walking path, a shrine to Benzaiten and shell mounds. It is 15 minutes on foot from JR Matsushima-Kaigan Station. Crossing the Fukuura Bridge costs $1.91 (¥300) for adults and $0.64 (¥100) for students, according to the town of Matsushima, and the bridge is open 8:30 to 17:00 from April to October and 8:30 to 16:30 from November to March. Oshima sits nearer the pier. The vermilion Togetsu Bridge reaches it in a 6-minute walk from Matsushima-Kaigan Station near the Namiuchihama car park. The island is said to have held 108 rock caves, and the bridge itself has a story, since the 2011 tsunami washed it away and it reopened in 2013. No admission fee is listed for it. Senganjima, the favourite island of Masamune Date, has no listed bridge or landing, so treat it as a view.

Sources: Matsushima Town, Matsushima Tourism Association, Matsushima Tourism Association, Zuiganji Temple.

How do you see the Matsushima Bay islands by boat?

Two operators run a scheduled 50-minute loop from the pier area, and Marubun alone also runs a 50-minute scheduled cruise to Shiogama.

The boat is the point of the bay. Large sightseeing boats leave from the Central Sightseeing Pier, 7 minutes on foot from JR Matsushima-Kaigan Station, with ticket holders queuing at Boarding Gate 1. The tourist association lists two scheduled cruises. One is the bay loop, run by both Matsushima Shimameguri Kankosen and Marubun Matsushima Kisen. The other is the run to Shiogama, operated by Marubun only. Both take 50 minutes at $9.54 (¥1,500) for adults and $4.77 (¥750) for elementary pupils, with younger children free, per the association's fare page. Matsushima Shimameguri's large boats Nioumaru and Dai-san Nioumaru carry 400 seats each, with four mid-size boats of 84 to 100 seats alongside. Small boats have no toilets, large and mid-size boats do. Nioumaru departs hourly from 9:00 to 16:00 all year, with the 16:00 sailing cancelled in winter, when the last boat leaves at 15:00. Extra sailings run at Golden Week and Obon. No reservation is needed, booking ahead gives 10% off, and children under elementary age cannot ride alone or use the second floor. Marubun's loop from Matsushima takes about 50 minutes, or about 40 minutes on a mid-size boat, with departures from 10:00 to 15:00 hourly and 10% off for advance booking accepted up to 30 minutes before departure. Its boarding point is Window 2 of the Matsushima Kaigan Rest House, 5 minutes on foot from the station, and you should arrive 10 minutes before departure. If you would rather not juggle timetables, the 1-Day Tour from Sendai: Matsushima Bay & Scenic Boat Cruise is $168 per person for 8 hours and puts the loop into a full bay day from the city.

Sources: Matsushima Tourism Association, Matsushima Sightseeing Boats, Matsushima Sightseeing Boats, Matsushima Tourism Association.

How do I go to Matsushima Bay?

Take the train from Sendai, about thirty minutes and 14 km, to Matsushima-Kaigan Station, then walk 7 minutes to the cruise pier.

Matsushima is an easy day trip from Sendai. The town is about thirty minutes and roughly 14 km from the city, and Matsushima-Kaigan Station puts you within a 7-minute walk of the cruise pier. If you fly in, Sendai Airport is about 30 km from the Matsushima Ichinobo hotel and 28 km from Hotel Matsushima Taikanso, per the official tourism listing. Sleeping near the pier pays off for evening boats. Hotels around the bay include Komatsukan Kofu-tei, which runs a free shuttle from JR Matsushima Kaigan Station, along with Matsushima Ichinobo and Hotel Matsushima Taikanso. An alternative entry is from the other side of the bay. Marine Gate Shiogama, the Shiogama passenger terminal at Shiogama Port, is about 10 minutes on foot from JR Hon-Shiogama Station, and sightseeing cruises to Matsushima leave from it. From the same terminal, city ferries reach the Urato Islands, with one-way fares from Shiogama of $3.31 (¥520) to Katsurashima, $3.69 (¥580) to Nonoshima and Ishihama, and $4.01 (¥630) to Sabusawa and Hojima, and no service on Sundays, holidays, the turn of the year or mid-August.

Source: MLIT Japan.

Is the famous haiku really by Basho, and did the islands save the town?

The haiku is probably not Basho's, but the islands did shield the town from the worst of the 2011 tsunami.

Two stories follow the Matsushima Bay Islands everywhere, and one of them is not what it seems. Start with the haiku. The verse about being lost for words before the islands is often attributed to Matsuo Basho. The earliest known publication, in 1820, attributes it instead to Tawara-bo. What is certain is that Basho did make Matsushima one of the goals of his journey north, so the bay belongs to his story even if the famous line may not. Then the tsunami. In 2011 the islands protected the area, which suffered relatively little damage, and the tourist association says Matsushima was helped by the islands of the bay and miraculously escaped destruction, though boats, shops and facilities were damaged. You still see traces of that day on the shore. The Togetsu Bridge to Oshima was washed away and reopened only in 2013. One last mix-up to avoid when you search. There is a different Matsushima, a coal power station on Matsushima Island in Saikai, Nagasaki. It has nothing to do with this bay in Miyagi.

What to do in Matsushima besides the boat?

Pair the boat with the shore temples, the two walkable islands and, in autumn, the evening light-ups.

A bay day works well as boat plus shore. The temples come first: Zuiganji, whose main hall was designated a national treasure in 1953 and its Kuri living quarters in 1959, then Entsuin next door, then Kanrantei above the water and Godaido by the pier. Fukuurajima and Oshima cover the walkable islands. From 24 October to 23 November the shore lights up. Matsushima Light-Up runs along the Zuiganji approach and at Kanrantei in the evenings and is cancelled in bad weather, on a strong quake or a tsunami advisory. Entsuin holds its own autumn-leaf light-up with tickets at $9.54 (¥1,500) for junior high and older and free for elementary and under. Zuiganji's night visit runs at $8.27 (¥1,300) on the day or $7.63 (¥1,200) online, and the Matsushima Rikyu light-up charges $8.27 (¥1,300) at the door, all per the association's event page. If you want the shore part guided, the Matsushima: Scenic Bay Walk & Historic Temple Discovery tour covers it in 2 to 3 hours at $78 per person. For food and stories with a local host, the Matsushima Private Tour: Samurai, Oysters & Hotel Transfer runs 6.5 hours at $222 per person. Every bay day is listed on matsushima bay tours.

Sources: Matsushima Tourism Association, Matsushima Tourism Association.