5 things you may not know about Matsushima

By the Japan Travel Costs team · 8 November 2026. Every figure links to its source with the date we last checked it, and figures we cannot verify are left out. About us.

Matsushima is a bay of small pine-covered islands about 40 minutes by local train from Sendai. Like Miyajima, it is one of Japan's three classic scenic views, the Nihon Sankei. The Matsushima Tourism Association counts about 260 islands in the bay. Most visitors give it a few hours on a Sendai day trip. These five facts, each checked against official or reputable sources, are why we think it is worth more than a quick look.

1. Matsushima's most famous haiku is not by Basho

Ask people in Japan about Matsushima and many will quote "Matsushima ya, aa Matsushima ya, Matsushima ya" ("Matsushima, ah, Matsushima, Matsushima") and credit it to the poet Matsuo Basho. He did not write it. The National Diet Library's Collaborative Reference Database traces the line to Tawarabo, a little-known poet from Sagami (now Kanagawa). It was printed as "Matsushima ya, sate Matsushima ya, Matsushima ya" in a guidebook called Matsushima Zushi from the 1820s. The same book also told the story of Basho being too moved by the view to write a verse, and the two seem to have merged over time.

Basho did visit, on the journey he wrote up as Oku no Hosomichi. The tourism association's own English welcome page says the bay "initially left famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho at a loss for words". He did write one verse here, "Shimajima ya / chiji ni kudakite / natsu no umi" (islands, shattered into a thousand pieces, a summer sea), but left it out of the book, per the same NDL answer.

2. The islands helped protect the town in 2011

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami hit this coast hard. Matsushima's reconstruction plan, published by the town in December 2011, says 16 residents lost their lives and many homes were flooded or destroyed. It also says that while neighbouring towns suffered large-scale damage, the 260 or so islands of Matsushima helped prevent catastrophic damage. The same plan records that the 1,200 tourists in town that day all got home without a single injury. The tourism association also says the islands surrounding the bay kept tsunami damage relatively low.

The best way to see those islands is from the water. The Matsushima Shimameguri cruise's Niomaru course takes about 50 minutes and costs ¥1,500 for an adult (about US$9) and ¥750 for a primary school child, with preschool children free, per the operator's timetable page. The open upper deck costs ¥600 more for an adult. Boats leave hourly from 9:00, but in winter the 16:00 sailing does not run because of the early sunset. The operator also warns that fares could change at short notice because of fuel and material costs, so check on the day.

3. Godaido's statues are shown once every 33 years

Godaido is the little hall on a rock in the bay, the picture on most Matsushima postcards. Zuiganji, the temple that looks after it, says Date Masamune built the present hall in 1604, making it the oldest surviving Momoyama-period building in the Tohoku region. Carvings of the twelve zodiac animals run around the eaves, each facing its own compass direction.

Inside are statues of the Five Great Wisdom Kings, said to have been carved by the monk Jikaku Daishi. They are a hidden Buddha (hibutsu), shown to the public only once every 33 years, and Zuiganji gives 2039 as the next planned showing. Look up at the plaque too. It reads "Go-ta-do" rather than "Go-dai-do", which the temple puts down to the calligrapher's playful brushwork.

To reach the hall you cross short red bridges with gaps between the planks, so you can see the sea under your feet. The tourism association says that if you trip, you are not yet ready to reach the temple. Entry to Godaido is free.

4. A samurai mausoleum here is painted with European roses

Entsuin, next to Zuiganji, is the temple built in memory of Date Mitsumune, a grandson of Date Masamune who died at 19. His mausoleum, the Sankeiden, is a national Important Cultural Property. According to the temple's own history, the shrine cabinet inside is painted with Western roses and narcissus. Temple tradition says these stand for Rome and Florence, painted as a record of Hasekura Tsunenaga's mission to Europe, and that the inside also shows diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades. The tourism association says the rose is said to be the oldest Western-style rose painted in Japan.

Entry is ¥500 for an adult and ¥300 for a primary or junior high student, per Entsuin. It opens 9:00 to 16:00 from April to November and 9:00 to 15:30 from December to March. Until 23 November 2026 the temple's autumn light-up runs from 17:30 to 21:00 (last entry 20:45). A night ticket is ¥1,500 from junior high age, primary school children and younger go free, and tickets are not sold online, per the light-up page.

5. The all-you-can-eat oyster huts are open now

The tourism association says Matsushima oysters are in season from October to March. Its own oyster hut, or kaki-goya, opened for the season on 6 November. Per the association's 2026 to 2027 notice (dated 15 October 2026), you get 40 minutes of all-you-can-eat oysters grilled in the shell for ¥3,800 (about US$24), or ¥1,900 for a primary school child. Junior high students and older pay the adult price.

A few details matter before you go:

• Days. It runs until 15 March 2027 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, weekends and public holidays. It is closed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and from 29 December to 7 January.
• Booking. Bookings are online only, through the official booking page, and paid in advance by credit card. They open one month ahead. On-the-day places go once full.
• What you get. Only grilled oysters. No raw oysters, no outside food or seasonings, and no bringing your own oyster knife. Tables are shared.
• Weather and safety. It closes if shellfish toxins are detected or the weather is bad, sometimes without notice.

What a day in Matsushima costs

Matsushima-Kaigan is ¥440 from Sendai on the JR Senseki Line, 39 minutes on the trains we checked, and the Japan Rail Pass is valid, per NAVITIME. Trains leave from platform 10 at Sendai. Every Matsushima station takes IC cards such as Suica, per the tourism association. Some older guides still show ¥410 for this ride, and ¥700 for Zuiganji. Zuiganji raised its entry fee on 1 April 2026, per its fee notice.

Sources: NAVITIME (train), Zuiganji, Entsuin, Matsushima Town (Fukuura-bashi: ¥300 adult, ¥100 for students, 8:30 to 16:30 from November to March), Matsushima Shimameguri cruise, Matsushima Tourism Association oyster hut notice. Zuiganji is ¥500 for primary and junior high students. Food other than the oyster hut is not included. Converted at ¥158.18 per US$1 (ECB reference rate, 2026-11-10). Last checked 8 November 2026.

Getting there and fitting it into your budget

• From Tokyo. The Hayabusa to Sendai is ¥11,630 one way in a reserved seat. Our Tokyo to Sendai Shinkansen price breakdown covers cheaper seats, e-tickets and the JR EAST PASS, and the Tokyo to Sendai route page has the quick version.
• With a JR Pass. The Hayabusa and the Senseki Line are both covered. Run your full route through our JR Pass location planner to see whether a pass pays off.
• IC cards. Our IC card guide explains deposits and top-ups.
• Rooms. Most people sleep in Sendai. See Japan accommodation costs for typical prices.

Then add it all up in our trip budget calculator. Prices and opening times can change, so check the operator's page before you go. Earlier in this series: Miyajima, another of the three scenic views, and Kanazawa.