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The Very Best Views in Scenic Japan

24th December 2020 / 25 Comments on The Very Best Views in Scenic Japan

Three is a Magic Number

Of the many, many beautiful places to visit in scenic Japan, there are three that have been officially designated to be the most celebrated. Hayashi Gahō, a philosopher and Confucian scholar, declared the Nihon Sankeiin, or Three Views of Japan, in 1643. These places were considered to be both beautiful and representative of Japan’s cultural heritage. The views are located in very different regions of the country and, as Japan is an island nation, they all have a setting by the sea. It is possible to visit them using public transport and they are emphatically worth travelling to see.

Scenic Japan View Number One: The Itsukushima Shrine

The Itsukushima Shrine is probably the best known of these views. Japanese tourist literature and guides often show a picture of the iconic red torii ‘floating’ in the Seto inland sea. It is located on the delightful island of Itsukushima, more commonly known as Miyajima, which means ‘shrine island’ and it is a UNESCO world heritage site.

It is a beautiful sight, especially when the sunlight catches the sparkling sea.

It’s less beautiful when the tide is out so it’s worth planning a visit for when the tide is high if you want to take that perfect Instagram snap.

The torii, in common with all Shinto temples, is actually the gateway to the shrine and it is possible to visit the shrine complex itself. These include Toyokuni Shrine, with its five-story pagoda, as well as the Daiganji Temple. The compound even has a noh stage – for traditional Japanese theatre.

The island is really easy to reach from Hiroshima. You can catch a train and then a ferry to the island on a journey that takes about an hour.

Miyajima is a lovely island, perfect to walk around, especially if you’ve arrived at low tide and need to wait in order to capture that perfect shot of the torii. There are forested walkways to explore and it’s possible to climb up to the island’s highest peak, Mount Misen. If you’re feeling less energetic, there’s a ropeway to take you up to the top.

There are also some friendly-ish deer who live on the island. They aren’t as bold as the ones at Nara and, unlike at Nara, you are not allowed to feed them.

Scenic Japan View Number Two: Matsushima

The next view is that of Matsushima on Japan’s north east coast, which is a short rail journey from the northern city of Sendai, easily accessible from Tokyo via the shinkansen (bullet train).

Matsushima comprises a series of hundreds of forested islands dotted through a bay. It was lucky not to have been too badly impacted by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the geography of the bay having some part in protecting the islands.

It is possible to visit some of the islands closest to the mainland by crossing traditional vermillion bridges from the shore.

But taking a boat trip across the bay is highly recommended as you will be able to see some of the more remote islands. Beware, though, bird food is available to buy prior to boarding the ship and the seagulls very much know this, so we were followed by flocks of gulls eager to feast upon a tasty snack.

It is reputed that Japan’s most famous poet, Basho, best known in western countries for his haiku, was reportedly so struck by the awesome beauty of Matsushima, that he was lost for words and could only utter, ‘Matsushima, Ah Matsushima, Matsushima,’ to describe his feelings about viewing the area. The story is likely to be apocryphal but the sentiments are appropriate.

The viewing point isn’t near the shore, it’s a walk across the railway tracks and up a hill to a park. The weather wasn’t really on our side on the day of our visit but we had come all this way to see one of Japan’s greatest views, so a rainy trudge wasn’t going to stop us.

In fact, a very kind lady was driving past in her car and stopped to offer us a lift, which we were happy to accept. She knew exactly where we were heading and we exchanged pleasantries about the weather. ‘O-ame,’ (big rain) we declared. She agreed. After she’d dropped us off in the car park we thanked her profusely and wandered through the park to look at the view. This probably isn’t the same view that Basho enjoyed but it was wonderful nevertheless, despite the rain.

The town is lovely to wander around and there are also some interesting temples to visit.

The local foodie specialty is gyu tan – beef tongue. It might not sound very appealing but in fact it’s delicious – it has a very soft texture and is packed full of beef flavour. It’s in the top right of the picture below which shows a set meal that also offered some sushi, miso soup and pickles.

Scenic Japan View Number Three: Amanohashidate

The third view of Japan is a little trickier to reach but it is definitely worth making the journey. You can reach Amanohashidate via a direct train from Kyoto but the journey may be a bit complicated – our train was scheduled to split at a station part way through the journey – fortunately we learned about this prior to the carriages parting and found our way to the right section of the train. The excellent and indispensable hyperdia site will help with journey planning.

Amanohashidate is a sand spit that spans the mouth of the delightful Miyazu bay. The name is a bit of a tongue twister but it translates to something akin to ‘bridge over heaven.’ It is a very pleasant walk from the railway station across the spit to the other side of the bay, a distance of about three and a half kilometres. The sand bar is covered with pine trees that provide shade in the heat of the sun.

Then you can then wander through the small town of Miyazu to catch a cable car to the viewing point. (This photo shows the downhill run, which obviously has a better view.)

The scenery is wonderful, especially if you are lucky enough to see it on a sunny day.

But it’s very important to know that there is a specific technique to maximise your viewing experience. You should bend over and look at the sand spit through your legs – there are special observation points to allow you to do this. The reason for this amusing way of viewing is that an upside-down perspective gives the impression of the bridge floating to heaven.

Actually it looks like this.

It’s great fun to watch other visitors enjoying themselves – everyone has a good laugh as they bend over to view.

There is a restaurant at the top of the viewing point area. As with most restaurants in Japan, the food is tasty and wholesome. We had chirashi sushi (a rice bowl with prawn, squid, salmon roe and shredded omelette) and udon noodles, accompanied with tempura and washed down with a nice cold beer. All enjoyed with the most delightful backdrop.

Three amazing places, three spectacular views. But these are the daytime views. Japan also has three night-time views. Actually, there are top three gardens, castles, mountains, sacred sites, hot springs, festivals and many, many more.

But that’s for another time.