Matsushima

In 1643 a Confucian scholar, Shunsai Hayashi, published a list of Japan’s three most scenic locations. This list, called Nihon Sankei, drew on his years of travelling by foot around the nation. More than three hundred years later these idyllic beauty spots remain among the nation’s most popular tourist destinations.

I’ve visited the first of these, Miyajima, an island near Hiroshima on two occasions. Its floating crimson torii gate is one of Japan’s iconic postcard images. The second location, Matsushima, is a small bay in Northern Honshu ringed by pine-clad sandstone islands; while the third, Amanohashidate, is a narrow pine tree clad sand bar on the Western coast of Honshu. As of last weekend I can now tick Matsushima off my own list.


The name Matsushima literally means pine-clad islands – and this is exactly what you encounter. More than 260 picturesque pine-covered islands dot Matsushima Bay. Some are barely large enough to support a single mature tree; others are the size of a small village. Most are ringed by a rocky wall of white, sun-bleached sandstone, often carved into elegant shapes by relentless wind and wave action. Some even have small arches carved through their midst. All in all, as you walk along the shore or glide by in a boat, the changing perspectives are truly memorizing .


Everyone that visits Matsushima inevitably takes a boat cruise around some of the bay’s most famous islands. I followed the advice of several travel guides and caught a boat from Shiogama, at the southern end of the bay. From here a leisurely 50-minute route took us slowly past some of the most perfect little islets I’ve ever seen. At times the bay took on the appearance of a giant, landscaped pond. Needless to say my camera worked overtime.


Once ashore I spent the day visiting Zuiganji, the elegant tree-cluttered Zen temple, and several islands reached on foot via the most iconic red bridges you’ve ever seen. This included Godaido, a small island that’s home to a simple wooden Buddhist worship hall, and Oshima, an island dotted by decaying Buddhist memorial tablets. The most famous of these stone tablets sits in the middle of the island, inscribed with a poem by Basho, one Edo Japan’s most famous haiku poets. Legend has it that Matsushima’s beauty left him speechless, so much so that he simply wrote afterwards; “Matsushima, Ah! Matsushima! Matsushima!”


Perhaps the most memorable island I visited was Fukuurajima. A gently curving 252-metre long bridge connects this large island to the mainland, while the island itself is crossed by paths leading to numerous scenic lookouts. I spent more than an hour wandering the island soaking in the view. At times the unexpected sight of yet more picture-perfect islands was truly breath-taking.


Matsushima really is nature at its best. Even the persistent, distant buzz of cruise boat plying the bay couldn’t dampen the experience – and believe me – they are relentless in their pursuit of the tourist dollar. I was lucky enough to enjoy it all in hot, sunny weather, framed by a blue sky and the occassional fluffy, white cloud. Magic!