Matsushima Bay Cruise Tour From Sendai

Included and Not Included

The listing includes an English speaking guide, the train fare to and from Matsushima Bay, the entry fee at all locations, and a matcha and sweets set at Kanrantei Tea House. It then lists lunch, accommodation, and transportation to and from Sendai Station before and after the tour as excluded, so budget for your own meal during the 1 hour fish market break and your own way to the 9:00 AM meeting point.

The listing states the entry fee at all locations is included and names no extra payments. Read the inclusions once more at checkout.

No entry fees are paid on top for this route as stated. Godaido is in fact free to enter anyway, per the tourist association. The cruise is included in the tour price, while the standalone fare is $9.54 (¥1,500).

Footwear, Bags and Weather

The day involves several hours of walking outdoors, so wear shoes with socks and clothes easy to walk in. Bring no luggage or large bags. Store them at the coin lockers at Sendai Station or ask your hotel to hold them, and arrive a bit early at the meeting point if you do.

Check the forecast before you leave and pack an umbrella or raincoat if rain is likely. No season is stated for the tour and no winter changes are stated for it. Drone flying and bare feet are not allowed.

Money, Lunch and Who It Suits

Bring cash for the fish market lunch and any snacks, since no card rule is stated for this tour. The matcha set at Kanrantei is covered. The tour is not suitable for wheelchair users, people prone to seasickness, people over 95 years or people over 70 years, and no minimum age is stated.

If you get queasy on water, remember the cruise enters open ocean about 24 minutes in, so take an inside seat. For a slower paced private alternative, the Matsushima Private Guided Tour runs 6-7 hours with its own route.

By Train to Matsushima-Kaigan

From JR Sendai take the Senseki Line to Matsushima-Kaigan Station, then walk about 5-10 minutes to the pier, per Japan Guide. The Matsushima Tourist Association puts the same ride at about 40 minutes and says the Central Pier, where the islands tour boat leaves, is 7 minutes on foot from the station. This tour uses exactly that route, with the 40 minute train and the walk to the waterfront built into the day, so you never have to find the pier yourself.

If you are not taking this tour, the Tohoku Main Line is a second option, about 25 minutes from Sendai to Matsushima Station, but that station sits about 20 minutes on foot from the centre. Factor the walk in before choosing it over the Senseki Line.

You can also reach the bay by water. The regular cruise runs one way to Shiogama in the same 50 minutes, so some travellers ride the train out and sail back from a different pier. The association's fare is $9.54 (¥1,500) for adults on both courses.

From the Stained Glass Window to the Boat

Your guide waits in front of the stained glass window (Morinosanka) near the west side exit of the main concourse on floor 2 of Sendai Station, under a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS sign. The group takes a 40 minute train to Matsushima, then works through the temples on foot. After the cruise the same train ride returns you to Sendai Station around 16:51.

Because the tour uses public transportation, timings can change if traffic is poor or the day is busy. Only the 9:00 AM start and the around 16:51 finish are fixed clock times. The walking and visit lengths below are the durations the listing gives, not a timed schedule. Coin lockers at the station hold luggage, and the listing asks you to arrive a bit early if you use one.

Round Trip and Shiogama One Way

The regular sightseeing cruise comes in two shapes: a round trip of the bay, or a one way sailing to Shiogama. Both cost $9.54 (¥1,500) for adults, and both take about 50 minutes. Boats leave on the hour from 9:00 to 16:00 daily, with the last departure pulled back to 15:00 in winter, per Discover Sendai. This tour's cruise is the round the bay version, booked for the group as the final stop of the day.

The 50 minutes covers about 260 pine-covered islands, the count the Matsushima Tourist Association gives for the bay. About 24 minutes in, the route enters open ocean, which can get rocky, and the listing recommends sitting inside if that worries you.

• Round the bay course: about 50 minutes, $9.54 (¥1,500) adult
• One way to Shiogama: about 50 minutes, $9.54 (¥1,500) adult
• Departures on the hour 9:00-16:00, last boat 15:00 in winter
• Saga Kei Cliffs course: April to October only

The Seasonal Saga Kei Course

A third course runs to the Saga Kei Cliffs April to October only, so it is not an option in the colder months. The ferry uses the same pier area by Matsushima-Kaigan.

Entsuin, Zuiganji and Godaido

Entsuin gets 30 minutes with the guide. You walk the cedar meditation grove, the rose garden and the rock garden, and hear the story of the Date Clan property, a National Important Cultural Property. On your own the temple charges $3.18 (¥500) for adults and $1.91 (¥300) for elementary and junior high students, and opens 9:00-16:00. It sits 7 minutes on foot from Matsushima-Kaigan Station, next to Zuiganji.

Zuiganji Temple takes 40 minutes, including the gold leaf paneled doors of the main building and the Zuiganji Museum with its 211 original Edo paintings and about 30,000 artifacts. The main hall was named a national treasure in 1953. Standalone entry is $6.36 (¥1,000) for adults and $3.18 (¥500) for children. The gate opens at 8:30 am year round, closing between 5:00 pm in summer and 3:30 pm in midwinter. Photography is banned inside the main building and museum. Godaido, the oldest Momoyama-style building in northeastern Japan, rebuilt in 1604, gets 15 minutes and is free to enter, closing at dusk.

Market, Retro Museum and Kanrantei

The Matsushima Fish Market is a 1 hour break for lunch, free time and shopping, all at your own cost. Restaurants, food stands and shops line the main street. From there it is about an 8 minute walk to the Matsushima Retro Museum, 30 minutes of memorabilia from decades past with a guide on hand.

Kanrantei Tea House closes the sightseeing on land with 30 minutes by the waterfront and a matcha and sweets set in the price. Alone, admission is $1.91 (¥300) for adults and $0.64 (¥100) for students, with tea from $3.82 (¥600) extra. Then the 50 minute Matsushima Sightseeing Cruise goes out among the islands before the train home.

Doing It on Your Own by Train

The same route works without a guide. Take the Senseki Line about 40 minutes from Sendai to Matsushima-Kaigan, or the Tohoku Main Line about 25 minutes to Matsushima Station plus a 20 minute walk. Your paid entries would be Zuiganji at $6.36 (¥1,000), Entsuin at $3.18 (¥500), Kanrantei at $1.91 (¥300), the Fukuura Bridge at $1.91 (¥300) if you add the island, Godaido free, and the 50 minute bay cruise at $9.54 (¥1,500) from the Central Pier, 7 minutes from the station.

What the train does not give you is the licensed guide's context at each temple, the handled schedule that one reviewer says avoids the big crowds, and a group capped at 5. What the tour does not give you is flexibility: one fixed 9:00 AM start, no hotel pickup, and lunch at your own cost either way. Independent travellers happy to self-guide should compare the cheaper Matsushima Private Guided Tour, which covers guide fees only. If you want the cruise plus lunch and a bridge walk handled, the Matsushima Private Tour with Samurai and Oysters includes an oyster lunch and Fukuurajima. For other directions, browse more Sendai day trips or the Ginzan Onsen, Zao Ropeway and Okama Crater Tour for a mountain day.

Buying Tickets

Online bookings get a discount, while tickets bought at the ticket office on the day sell at the regular price, per the cruise operator. On this tour you do not deal with any of that, since the cruise is included in the $168 and the guide handles the group. Independent travellers should book ahead online for the lower figure.

On the standard round the bay course that fare is $9.54 (¥1,500) for adults at the office. Combine it with the $3.18 (¥500) Entsuin entry and the $6.36 (¥1,000) Zuiganji ticket and the costs add up quickly for a self-guided day, which is worth weighing against a guided option.

Getting a Good Seat

Passengers board in the order they line up on the pier, so queue early for a window seat. The listing's advice for nervous sailors is to sit inside rather than out, because the open water section from about 24 minutes in can rock the boat. On this tour the cruise is the 50 minute final stop of the day.