Day Trips from Sendai

Place by Place: Train Time and What a Tour Adds

The times and fees below come from the temples and the local tourist associations. Trains and local buses cover most places in the table, but a few have a gap that only a car or a tour fills. Entry prices are the official gate prices in dollars first.

Where a Tour Saves the Day

Zao Fox Village has no train. The village sits about 20 minutes by car from Shiroishi-Zao station, and the Shiroishi Zao Sanroku loop bus is seasonal with no service on Wednesdays. Pairing it with Ginzan Onsen in one day is close to impossible on your own, which is what the fox village and Ginzan day tour and the version with hotel pickup solve. Both list the fox village entry, $9.54 (¥1,500) per adult, as not included.

The Okama crater sits at the end of the Zao Echo Line, a mountain road closed by snow from early November to late April. Outside winter a rental car works. A tour such as the Ginzan, Zao Ropeway and Okama day handles the drive and includes the ropeway ticket.

Ginzan Onsen in winter (19 December to 7 March) bans day visitors from walking in. You park at Taisho Roman-kan and ride a reserved shuttle, $6.36 (¥1,000), $4.45 (¥700) or $7.63 (¥1,200) round trip by departure time band, booked in advance, plus a $1.05 (¥165) system fee per booking. The Ginzan Onsen and Tohoku Highlights Tour and the Naruko Gorge and Ginzan Onsen Bus Tour include that shuttle in the price.

The snow monsters form for a few winter months only, and the night cruiser tour reaches them by ropeway after dark with the admission included. Note it gives no refund on cancellation, unlike every other listing on this page.

Where the Train Is Enough

Matsushima and Yamadera need no tour for access. The Senseki Line takes about 40 minutes to Matsushima-Kaigan, and the Senzan Line takes 50 minutes to Yamadera with a 7-minute walk to the temple gate. Zuiganji costs $6.36 (¥1,000) and the bay cruise $9.54 (¥1,500) for 50 minutes. Yamadera is $3.18 (¥500) at the gate, cash only, and the climb to the Okunoin takes about 1.5 hours round trip on more than 800 stone steps.

Book a tour there anyway if you want a licensed guide. The Matsushima private guided tour and the Yamadera private guided tour charge the guide fee only, from $88.67 per person, so you still pay your own trains, entries and the guide's lunch. If you would rather have every ticket and fare handled, the Matsushima bay day with boat cruise includes entry at all locations, and the Sendai Daikannon and Yamadera day includes entries plus all train and bus fares.

Matsushima

Matsushima is the easiest train day trip from Sendai. The tourist association gives about 40 minutes on the Senseki Line to Matsushima-Kaigan, or about 25 minutes on the Tohoku Main Line to Matsushima Station plus a 20 minute walk. The bay holds about 260 pine-covered islands and ranks as one of the Three Views of Japan. Zuiganji's main hall has been a national treasure since 1953. It opens at 8:30 all year and closes between 15:30 and 17:00 by season. Entry is $6.36 (¥1,000) for adults. Godaido is free and closes at dusk. The 50 minute bay cruise leaves the Central Pier, 7 minutes from Matsushima-Kaigan Station. A light-up runs 24 October to 23 November.

The table compares the paid entries around the bay, from the temple, the town office and the tourist association. A licensed-guide day tour, a private walk, a small-group day with the cruise and entries covered and a private samurai-and-oysters day all start here.

Yamadera

Yamadera (Risshakuji) sits 50 minutes from Sendai on the JR Senzan Line, then about 7 minutes on foot from the station. The temple association counts more than 800 stone steps to the Okunoin and allows about 1.5 hours for the round trip. Entry is $3.18 (¥500) for adults, cash only. Hours are 8:00-16:00 from April to November and 8:30-15:00 from December to March, with last entry at 15:30 in October and November. Winter closing can come earlier with the weather. Basho wrote his cicada haiku here in 1689.

Going by train is simple, so a tour buys you a guide and handled entries, not access. The small-group day tour adds the Sendai Daikannon statue and covers entries and fares. The private guided tour is the cheapest guided option at $88.67. The full-day combination adds Ginzan Onsen over 12 hours 40 minutes.

Zao Fox Village

Zao Fox Village has no useful train link. Shiroishi-Zao Station is 13 minutes from Sendai by Shinkansen, then about 20 minutes by car. A seasonal Shiroishi Zao Sanroku loop bus serves the village but does not run on Wednesdays, and the Miyagi Zao Sanroku Access Line is a limited-period service. Village staff can arrange a taxi for the return.

Hours are 9:00-16:30 in summer and 9:00-16:00 from 15 October, with the village closed on Wednesdays except during the May holidays and Obon. Admission is $9.54 (¥1,500) for adults, junior high and up. Children of primary school age and younger enter free, but one adult may not bring two or more children. Strollers and pets are not allowed, baby carriers are recommended.

Day tours solve the access gap: the Crystal Japan day and the Innoturn day with hotel pickup both pair the foxes with Ginzan Onsen over 10 hours, with the fox village fee extra on the Innoturn listing.

Ginzan Onsen

Ginzan Onsen is a street of wooden inns lit by gas lamps beside a river. The free Warashiyu foot bath opens 6:00-22:00 year-round in the centre of the street. The Shirogane-yu public bath costs $3.18 (¥500) for adults. Obanazawa City lists Ginkodo, the silver mine site about 15 minutes' walk away, as closed for safety checks, so check before you walk up.

In winter, from 19 December to 7 March, day visitors cannot drive or walk in. You park at Taisho Roman-kan and ride a reserved shuttle. The association's fares are $6.36 (¥1,000) for departures 9:00-11:00, $4.45 (¥700) for 11:00-14:00 and $7.63 (¥1,200) for 14:00-18:00, booked in advance with a $1.05 (¥165) system fee per booking. Shuttles leave every 20 minutes from 9:00 to 18:00. Guests with an accommodation booking are exempt with proof.

Two tours include the shuttle: the Ginzan Onsen and Tohoku Highlights Tour, with lunch, and the Naruko Gorge and Ginzan Onsen Bus Tour. On the fox village and Ginzan day the shuttle fee is extra if required.

Zao Onsen, the Ropeway and the Okama Crater

Zao Onsen bills a 1,900 year history and Tohoku's most strongly acidic spring, pH 1.25-1.6. Three public baths, Kamiyu, Shimoyu and Kawarayu, open 6:00-22:00 year-round at $1.91 (¥300) for adults. Yamako Bus runs the service from Yamagata.

The Zao Ropeway runs winter hours from 11 December to 31 March: the Sanroku Line 8:15-16:45 and the Sancho Line 8:30-16:30, weather permitting. The Sancho Line to the summit costs $27.98 (¥4,400) return for adults. Near the Okama viewpoint, the Karita lift costs $6.36 (¥1,000) return. The Echo Line road to Okama closes under snow from early November to late April, so the crater is a warm-season goal.

The pick covers the ropeway ticket and lunch at $164 over 11 hours, and the private winter version adds the snow monsters per group up to 5.

Hiraizumi and Geibikei Gorge

Hiraizumi is a UNESCO World Heritage site, inscribed in 2011. Rail access is easy: 32 minutes by Tohoku Shinkansen from Sendai to Ichinoseki, then 9 minutes on the Tohoku Main Line. At Chusonji, the ordinary Konjikido and Sankozo ticket is $6.36 (¥1,000) for adults. Ticket hours are 8:30-17:00 to 3 November, then 8:30-16:30. Motsuji costs $4.45 (¥700) for adults, open 8:30-17:00 and 8:30-16:30 from 5 November to 4 March.

Geibikei Gorge adds a boat: about 90 minutes on a flat-bottomed boat on the Satetsu River, $12.72 (¥2,000) for adults.

The Geibikei and Chusonji day trip covers the cruise, the temple and the Konjikido Golden Hall, with lunch included, at $155 over 10 hours.

Naruko Gorge and Akiu Onsen

Naruko Gorge runs up to 100 m deep and colours red and yellow from mid-October to mid-November, per Osaki City. The Ofukazawa trail is a 2.2 km loop from the Rest House, open 28 April to late November. The gorge promenade opens 9:00-16:00, about 350 m one way to Kaiko Bridge. A special autumn shuttle bus runs 26 October to 8 November. By train, Naruko Onsen is about 15 minutes by Shinkansen to Furukawa then about 45 minutes on the Rikuu East Line. The H.I.S. bus tour pairs the gorge with Ginzan Onsen in 9 hours, shuttle included, for $107.18.

Closer to Sendai, Akiu Great Falls drops 55 m and ranks among Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls, with autumn colour from mid-October. No tour from Sendai currently sells Akiu, so go by car or local bus on your own.

Season by Season

Ropeway hours, road openings and shuttle periods shift with the seasons. The table lines them up from the ropeway, Ginzan Onsen, the Matsushima tourist association, Osaki City and the tour listings.

The Echo Line to the Okama crater opens in late April and closes in early November. Ginzan Onsen switches to a reserved winter shuttle from 19 December to 7 March, with round-trip fares of $6.36 (¥1,000), $4.45 (¥700) or $7.63 (¥1,200) by departure time, booked in advance plus a $1.05 (¥165) system fee. Naruko Gorge colours from mid-October to mid-November, and the snow monsters appear in the coldest months on the ropeway's winter timetable.

Winter Days Out

Daylight ends early. Yamadera closes at 15:00 from December to March, and the gate may close earlier in bad weather. Zuiganji closes at 15:30 in December and January.

The Zao Ropeway can suspend service in bad weather, so check the operating status before setting out. If the ropeway is suspended on the Ginzan Onsen, Zao Ropeway and Okama Crater Tour, the itinerary changes to a footbath at Zao Onsen Street with a refund of ¥3,000 for the ropeway. Note that the Zao Snow Monsters Night Cruiser Tour gives no refund for cancellations, and snow monsters are a natural phenomenon the tour cannot guarantee.

• Book the Ginzan winter shuttle ahead, sales open 1 November and booking closes 17:00 the day before riding
• Wear snow boots or shoes that protect against snow at Ginzan in winter
• The snow monster light-up and night events from the past season have ended, so confirm what runs before booking