Sendai & Matsushima Customized Tour in 1 Day — Guide Riko

Title: Can You Do a Private 6-Hour Tour of Matsushima and Sendai? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were visiting Japan for the first time from North America. With the assignment coming just two days in advance, there was very little time to plan, and it was only after exchanging messages until late the night before that we finally settled on an itinerary. The request was: "cover as many places as possible, we love history, keep lunch to just a snack so we can spend more time sightseeing." Given that description, I thought that with only a snack for lunch we might be able to fit in Matsushima and Zuihoden as well, but during the tour requests kept coming one after another — "we want to go here too," "how do we get to that place?" — which made it quite challenging.

For the Matsushima sightseeing boat, we boarded Marubun Kisen again, following the previous day. As it happens, I am acquainted with the company president, and the fact that this was a second consecutive day of boarding was passed along to the staff at the ticket window. Amazingly, we were shown to a first-class cabin on the third floor at no additional charge. It is a high-grade cabin often used for private charter parties, and when I told the guests, they were delighted, saying, "That's amazing." Although it was raining, they seemed to enjoy going out freely onto the third-floor deck to take photos.

To cover the major spots of Matsushima, we visited Godaido and Zuiganji. On the way to Matsushima there was a shop belonging to a kokeshi craftsman, and I was asked, "We want to stop here before heading back to Sendai. Is this the only place for kokeshi?" I explained that they could not be bought in Tokyo. When I asked whether they would like to buy and eat something as a snack — suggesting the grilled skewer shops along the street or the fried oyster bread — they did not seem keen. They said, "We want to eat sushi," so I said, wouldn't that mean spending a whole hour in a sushi restaurant? You wouldn't be able to see other places. In the end we decided to head to Sendai. They really wanted sushi, wanted to take their time, and also wanted to see Zuihoden — requests that were difficult to fit into six hours.

I suggested that after the tour they could stop by the sushi street at Sendai Station and eat about an hour before boarding the Shinkansen. They said, "We don't know where it is, so we'd like you to show us," so before boarding the Loople Sendai bus I took them to confirm the location of the sushi street on the third floor of Sendai Station. This put us quite behind schedule, and the Loople was terribly crowded, so we ended up taking the bus one after the one we had planned. Having experienced it firsthand, they seemed to understand. Before the tour they had asked, "How should we spend the three hours between the tour ending at 3:30 and boarding the Shinkansen?" I said that if they were taking the Shinkansen they should not go too far out of the city. Considering travel time by bus and so on, three hours actually turns out to be not very much time. I suggested buying a Loople Sendai one-day pass and stopping by Sendai Castle ruins or Osaki Hachimangu until then.

We returned to the Zuihoden bus stop at 15:30. I proposed taking them to the Sendai Castle ruins and parting ways there, and I also explained that they should use the pass to ride the Loople when returning to Sendai Station. However, when they saw the long line at the bus stop in front of the Sendai Castle ruins, they said, "We won't get off, we'll just go straight back to Sendai Station," so I said, in that case I won't get off either and will ride with you as far as the subway station. It went over time, but we rode back together partway without getting off.

Even with six hours, four places is about the most you can cover. I asked many times, "Are you sure you're okay not eating lunch?" … though in the end it was my own stomach growling from skipping lunch. I do hope the guests managed to enjoy their sushi.

Click here for more details: Sendai & Matsushima Customized Tour in 1 Day with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Riko

Hello! I’m Riko, your local guide. During the week, I work at a local university, but on weekends, I love to guide visitors like you. This year(2024) marks my 6th year as a guide, and I’m thrilled to continue sharing the beauty of Japan with you.
I’m a certified Sake Navigator, so I have a wealth of knowledge about Japanese sake. Additionally, I’m well-versed in the gourmet scene of Sendai, Shiogama, and Matsushima, allowing me to tailor your tour to your culinary preferences!
I look forward to creating a memorable tour experience for you, full of fun and lasting memories of Japan. Thanks for choosing me as your guide!