Matsushima or following the traces of poet Matsuo Bashō

A reference in haiku, this 17th century poet apparently was amazed at the beauty of the bay in Matsushima-Kaigan station.  The weather forecast was surprisingly gloom, with clouds and even rain, but I decided nonetheless to head out on my trip north, along the east cost of Honshu island. I had to change at Sendai and take a local train for another hour. It was a bit chilly but by early afternoon I was at my destination, armed with an umbrella and a starving stomach.

Outside the train station, the lady at the tourism office gave me a map in English and marveled at my being from Madagascar. She even knew where it is and gave me a pretty hairpin made locally as a welcome present. She pinpointed on the map the must see landmarks and sent me off to my fate. I originally intended to take cruise from the harbor to view the many islands scattered in the bay, but the rain and cold put me off. Instead I visited all the souvenir shops, looking at heavy and cute teapots, seafood snacks, cakes and green tea kit kat.

Eventually, the small island on which is perched the temple of Godaido.

 

 

Just taking a picture without anyone on it was a major challenge as the bridge itself felt like a highway. I waited more than 15minutes to let all the groups of Japanese tourists circle around the building before managing to take a picture of the building only.

After that, I continued toward the long vermillion bridge of Fuukurajima, passing by the playful sea next to the fishermen.

 

 

 

After paying 200Yen, I was allowed to cross the bridge and wander around the island, which is fully a botanical garden. It was a nice walk and the autumn foliage was adding to its beauty. The view on the bay was limited by the fog but was still very pretty and peaceful. The traffic of tourist boats was not dense and disruptive and allowed for a quiet contemplation. 

 

because I still hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, my feet took me back to the mainland and to the nearest shop selling "melon pan": those are stuffed bread really, and I had one regular one and a oyster curry bread. They were hot from the oven so it was very comforting. I also had a regular oyster bun while waiting for them to bake.

On the way back to the train station, I was reminded of the fate of this area, and the natural events that are pretty common in this country when I saw this sign:

 As indicated, the shelter was a budhist temple which is on one of the highest hill of the town.

My trip back to Tokyo was uneventful, with loads of salarymen snoozing in the silence cars of the Shinkansen. Back in my room, I washed another load of clothes and kept warm as I was starting to sneeze and feel woozy. I was also probably still digesting the breads and the clean open air...