The next morning, we went downstairs to get breakfast at
Ikeuo no Yado Inn in Matsushima. We had
a table right next to the outdoor fish tank that overlooked
Matsushima Bay. Here was our breakfast:
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| Breakfast at Ikeuo no Yado |
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| The sashimi was the best part of breakfast |
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| Breakfast also came with bacon and sausage |
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| View of the outdoor fish tank from our table |
After eating we went on a walk back to Fukuura Bridge. When we went the night before, the gate to
the bridge was open, but this time it was closed. We realized that we had to pay 200 yen to
cross the bridge (whoops). We crossed
the bridge and arrived at Fukuura
Island. We really enjoyed walking around and seeing
some of the other islands from Fukuura
Island.
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| Walking around Fukuura Island |
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| Fukuura Bridge |
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| View of other islands |
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"Oh my God, is he dead?"
Turns out he was alive |
We left Fukuura
Island and checked out of
our hotel. We found a parking spot
nearby and made our way to buy our tickets for the ferry ride around Matsushima Bay. My friend picked up a discount coupon for the
ferry ride at the hotel before we left, so it only cost us 1,350 yen (as
opposed to 1,500 yen).
We had some free time before the next ferry left, so we
walked across the street to the
Zuiganji Temple.
Zuiganji
Temple is one of the most
famous Zen temples in Tohoku, but when we went it was under construction. We were able to see the grounds around the
temple, but we couldn’t go in. The caves
that we passed along the way were absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed that they hadn’t collapsed due
to the way that they were formed/ constructed.
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| Caves on the temple grounds |
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| At Zuiganji Temple Grounds |
After walking around the Zuiganji
Temple grounds we went to catch our
ferry around Matsushima
Bay. It was nice seeing some of the other islands
from the boat.
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| Islands in Matsushima Bay |
Once we got back to the mainland, we went to get lunch at
Matsushima Sakana Ichiba. Many kinds of
souvenirs are sold here, and there are also many restaurants. We both wanted to try the famous Matsushima Fried
Oyster Burger (350 yen), so we each got one and split a cooked scallop skewer. The burger was very delicious!
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| Matsushima Fried Oyster Burger and Scallop Skewer |
Next was dessert. We
went to a nearby shop that sold Zunda
Mochi, or rice cakes covered in sweetened mashed green soybeans. I’m not a bean fan, but decided to try it
anyway. I would suggest it to people who
really enjoy Japanese soybeans, or edamame.
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| Zunda Mochi |
After we had eaten we decided to make a quick stop at
Godaido Temple before we left Matsushima. It was a lot smaller than we both thought but
it was still very beautiful.
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| Godaido Temple |
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| Godaido Temple Bridge |
The small, quiet town of Ginzan was about a 2-hour drive by car from
Matsushima. There are bridges across a
river running underneath the town that connects each side of the town. As we walked past the hotels and further away
from civilization, we found a beautiful waterfall!
The area behind Ginzan was green and beautiful. Walking through the forest was very relaxing.
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| Ginzan Hot Spring Town |
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| Foot baths in Ginzan |
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| Shirogane Waterfall in Ginzan |
After spending about two hours in Ginzan, we made our way to
Yamagata! We stayed at
Hotel View Kuroda in Tendo,
Yamagata. When we checked in, the
receptionist said that our room would be a smoking room, but my friend and I
don’t smoke, so we requested a non-smoking room (which we had originally requested
when we made the reservation weeks before). They kindly let us stay in a premium non-smoking
room without charging us extra.
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| Premium non-smoking room at Hotel View Kuroda |
We were pretty exhausted by then, so we decided to get
dinner at the hotel. They were serving
duck hot pot that night, which was pretty good.
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| Dinner at Hotel View Kuroda |
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| Duck Hot Pot |
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