Visit Matsushima, Japan

Tohoku’s largest and most cosmopolitan city, Sendai, is the ideal staging post for exploration of the region’s more southerly highlights.

Nearby are the picturesque pine-clad islands of Matsushima Bay, designated one of Japan’s ‘Three Great Sights’, where a gentle boat trip allows visitors to experience first-hand the magical scenery that once is said to have struck dumb Japan’s foremost poet, Basho.