Matsushima, Sendai

The temple looks quite weathered sitting on this small island near the waters edge, but it is still well maintained.

Lots of pine trees help to make up a nice view of the bay.

Matsushima is one of the 3 famous Japanese scenery spots.

Inside the grounds. Wonderful tall tree coverage

Looking back to the entrance way through the line of trees.

One of the many restaurants in the temple grounds.

These old buildings in the temple grounds have been converted into restaurants and cafes. A very nice setting for a relaxing afternoon.

One of the older buildings acting as a Soba, Oden and Dango eating place

The area with all the temples has a nice set of paths that you can peacefully stroll down. There are not a lot of shops but the ones they have are well stocked with local gifts and plenty of charm.

The roofs of these buildings are in the traditional form. They must be on stand by in case a fire ever comes through this area. It would be a shame to see it all destroyed.

Lots of nice shade and relaxed atmosphere.

A number of nice scenes here in the temple grounds.

I liked this (mini temple?) depiction in the mossy grounds. The red against all of the shadowed green was a great scene. The Canon Powershot did not do a bad job, but I would like to see what the Nikon could have done here to get some better contrasts. I am sure that red would have jumped off the page and the greens in the foreground would have sat back a bit.

Very creative and skillful work to craft the stone wall in this way.

Looks like the character for unagi (eel) here.

The bay looked very calm on the day I visited.

One of the temples on a small island in the bay.

Red colored bridges are a beautiful feature of Japanese gardens.

Looking out at some of the islands in the bay.

Some of the hotels and restaurants surrounding the harbour

There are over 200 small islands in the bay all dotted with pine trees.

Station and temples withing easy walking distance of each other.

View back from the station platform over the bay.

Nice blue colors on this train as I waited at the platform to ride back to Sendai.

wikipedia has a good description of some scenery walkways:

Matsushima's seaside attractions are within walking distance of the train station and ferry pier, but the best views are from mountaintops not so easy to reach on foot. The most spectacular views are from Saigyo Modoshi no Matsu Park, a ¥660 cab ride up from the station. It is covered with cherry blossoms in the spring, but the food available there is nothing special. Other overlooks are Sōkanzan, a promontory that juts out into the bay, and Ōgitani, a hill across the coastal highway from Sokanzan.

11 comments

Comments are closed. These are from readers when the post was first published.

Neksus 4 March 2010
Nice place, looks ideal for some rest. Pics have a higher brightness or it's just me?
shibuya246 4 March 2010
yes, these are all taken with a Canon Powershot G10 not the Nikon D700. :)
Neksus 5 March 2010
The one you used before this had grrrrrrrreat colors. Hope you don't start going around with 3-4 cameras on your neck... and tripod in one hand. :))
whipcracker 5 March 2010
By counting the ringson that counting. You will know how old the tree is. by:whipcracker
shibuya246 5 March 2010
yes, I understand. These photos were taken last year before I bought the Nikon D700. After my hard drive broke I found these and thought it would be good to revisit the photos to show everyone more of the Sendai trip. irarely use the Canon Powershot G10 now and much prefer the Nikon. Weather is good in Tokyo today. Might be good day to go to Shibuya Crossing with Nikon in hand. Thanks :)
HELLOSHEENA 5 March 2010
Great pics. Beautiful. Makes me feel like I live there.
Bill Wellham 5 March 2010
Lovely Pictures... My Wifes family are from Sendai. I have visited Matsushima. I enjoyed the walk around the Island the most. I can't remember the name , although iy is the one across the long red bridge. Your pictures have a lot more interesting content than my own set. But is you would like to see my perspective, then try these: http://www.flickr.com/photos/game1980/sets/72157606222951871/
shibuya246 5 March 2010
Thanks for sharing. I liked the seagulls :)
whipcracker 6 March 2010
via @Shibuya246: Matsushima, Sendai, Japan Photo-Post http://bt.io/EbwT Sure am glad you were able to recover these photos from the disk. It really would have been a shame if you couldn't. I really like pine trees, especially the long needle variety, for my tree during christmas holiday. If I ever make it over there, I'll have to bring alot of memory cards for the camera, and you'll have to give me pointers on how to take a proper photograph. A great story to be told from your photos. And a tribute to the areas of which you take them
Kesenaitsumi 8 March 2010
Wow... Great views you took there. My friends also planned to go there this march.
jilliwill 31 August 2010
Just the most brilliant photos. I am visiting Sendai from Australia and went to the island for a quick visit today and hope to return. Thanks for sharing these because this is how it is

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11 comments