JR Matsushimakaigan Station

The most convenient access point for the spectacular Matsushima Bay, Matsushimakaigan is a tiny station on the JR Senseki Line. The Bay was famously listed by intellectual Hayashi Gasho as one of the ‘Three Great Views of Japan’ (along with Miyajima and Amanohashidate) in 1643, an honor it bears with great pride to this day. That said, the eponymous Matsushima station is inconveniently far from the bay that makes the town famous, and as such it is much better to book your travel to this smaller and better-situated station.

If you’re coming from Sendai station, be sure to catch the semi-express, which only takes 40 minutes and runs every half hour. If you catch a local you could be in for a trip almost twice as long. The station itself is quaintly perched atop a rise that looks out onto the bay, with the town's many hills rising behind it. With only one platform, it is exposed to the open air, and as such can be chilly when not late spring or summer. The ocean breezes blow in off the bay, punishing anyone who decides to go up to the platform long before their train. If its chilly and you have some time to spare before your departure, you can wait immediately inside the station before the gates, or step inside one of the restaurants that cohabit the station’s parking lot.

Around the station is a miniature version of what you’ll find throughout the town: there’s a news kiosk, a small soba restaurant, a place specializing in Beef tongue, another in seafood, and a souvenir shop. A short walk away (maybe 2 minutes) is a stall that sells Oyster curry-pan and soy bean melon-pan -- two regional twists on Japanese classics so unique I had to try them.

The Senseki Line that takes passengers from Sendai station to Matsushimakaigan cuts an enjoyable course, passing through the rural beauty of Miyagi before running along the coast and giving great views of Matsushima Bay.

As a first stop in Matsushima I recommend walking to the top of the slope that the station sits on for a stunning vista before heading down to the waterfront to island hop and see the town's temples and shrines.