A happy ending to the day

It was dark by the time I finished my delicious meal. More than satisfied I walked to the station at Matsushima Kaigan passing various booths offering a variety of barbecued shellfish to the passer-by.




I sincerely hope to be back again in this charming place.

Language problems...

The further away from the major cities the more you feel lost no to understand Japanese. My experience was however that this is never a real problem, the Japanese are very kind and try their utmost to help.
At the fish-restaurant in Matsushima kaigan I was given a menu card, the letters were Japanese and Romaji but the language was still Japanese! There were pictures to help, but I wanted a dinner with Sasakamaboko as one course so I had to order a la carte...
To order a Miso soup seemed simple enough until the waitress tried to find out what kind of soup I wanted, She pointed out the different ingredients, which did not mean anything to me, still she wanted me to make a choice although I would have tried with pleasure any of them. Once she saw that the written words did not mean anything to me she started to make drawings of at least 3 different types of shellfish but I was just as much puzzled. Now the Chef entered and tried his very restricted English on me. I am sure they would have thought of other means to help me understand, but I decided to put an end to it, I knew I would enjoy any of them. I pointed to the first name on the menu, and this is what I got:

Fish dinner

Travelling to Matsushima kaigan for the sunset maybe extravagant but this was topped by an excellent fish dinner by the sea.
The oyster-season had just started in Japan:



But I was looking for something different: Matsushima is known for the best fishing grounds around Japan and one of the specialties of the Miyagi prefecture is Sasakamaboko, a fish paste made with high-grade fish, processed into paste and then roasted in the shape of a bamboo leaf.

Matsushima Kaigan

Matsushima Kaigan is definitely one of the 3 most scenic places of Japan, a port by the sea looking out towards a bay dotted with more than 200 pine covered islands.
I arrived about an hour before sunset and walking by the shore I crossed the bridge to Godaido, a small islet not far from the pier. The tranquility of the Shinto shrine was by far more to my liking than the celebrated Temples of Nikko.

Short trip North

I always wanted to see as much as I could of Japan but you are restricted where you can go during a 15 days' visit. I was curious to go North but the most northerly place I visited so far was Nikko. Therefore Nikko which did not come up to my expectations was the starting point for my travelling extravanganza. With my JR travelpass I changed at Utsunomiya to the Shinkansen line and passing by a more hilly countryside I reached Sendai within the hour. From there I took a local train to Matsushima Kaigan.

Eki

Since I had no idea where the bus would stop, I walked back the straight road to the station which is only about 20 Minutes away.
The station itself deserves some attention as its elegant wooden building is noted to preserve the Romanesque atmosphere of the Meiji period. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1915 and remains the oldest operating station of JR East.

Shin-kyo

Down at the bottom of the hill is the Shin-kyo which spans vermilion lacquered gracefully across the River Daiya. According to legend a hermit was helped by two snakes to cross the high waters of the river.
The "Snake Bridge" is considered one of the 3 finest bridges of Japan, its simple elegance contrasts with the wildness of the river gorge, the tumbling waters and the multicoloured autumn foliage of the wooded hills in the background.
In feudal times only the emperor was allowed to use it. Nowadays you pay an admission fee for the sacred bridge if you wish to cross rather than by the modern bridge nearby.

Nikko...

My trip to Nikko the following day was disappointing...
To begin with it was a rather dull day and choosing a Saturday in early November was a big mistake. Many Japanese families celebrate "shichi-go-san", by visiting famous Shrines with their children of the appropriate age to thank for their good health and pray for their safe future. The place was crowded...
As soon as I arrived at the station I was pushed into a bus not knowing were it would take me. Nikko, a World cultural heritage is certainly a beautiful and highly artistic ensemble of Shrines and Temples but I felt like when in the Louvre the hustle and bustle around the Mona Lisa spoils the pleasure to view the famous painting.
Different to Himeji Nikko did not seem to care for Non-Japanese visitors and unless you consulted your guidebook you were lost among all the Japanese signs. Although I had bought a combination ticket for the various Temples having been among the crowds at the Toshu-go Shrine I turned my back on the other celebrated sites - I learned later, that it was quiet higher up the hills but I certainly had enough.