Hello friends, today we would like to introduce to you our trips to 3 awesome places in Japan!
大家好，今天我们将介绍我们在日本到过的三个很棒的地方！
There are many Top list of destinations in Japan. There are top three gardens, top three night views, top ten temples, top three snow festivals, and etc. But the most famous of them all, is probably the Top Three Views of Japan, known as the 日本三景 Nihon Sankei, which was selected many centuries ago.
The 3 destinations are not located close together, and it takes considerate planning to visit each place. A JR pass (discount train tickets for tourists) is highly recommended if you intend to see all 3 in a single trip, with multiple rides on the Shinkansen (bullet train).
1. Matsushima Bay
Located near Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, Matsushima Bay is dotted by over 200 islands that creates a very scenic view when seen from the observation tower. A better way to get up close to the islands is by taking a ride on a sightseeing cruise.
We took the Marubun ferry which cost us 1500 Yen for each ticket, and paid additional 600 Yen for a 'First' class seating on the upper deck.
There were vending machines and even a stall selling beer and snacks. We bought some coffee, found a nice window table, and enjoyed the 50 minutes ferry ride, occasionally ventured to the open deck for some photos, but it was too cold to stay in the open for long.
In 2011, the great earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku region, where Matsushima Bay was. Fortunately, the area escaped with just slight damage, and the scenic landscape was preserved.
As the boat ride continued, explanations of each passing island was introduced on the ferry sound system. Names were given to almost all islands, usually describing the shape it resembles.
It's disappointing that we were unable to capture nicer photos due to the rainy and cloudy weather. Therefore, it is recommended to visit in the morning or afternoon.
Back on main land, we tried to find the observation tower where we could take photos of the entire landscape. But it was closed, for unknown reasons. What a disappointment.
This is what the landscape looks like. Photo not ours.
source
Our verdict
Out of the Three Views, Matsushima Bay was actually the last that we visited. Located in Miyagi, some 400KM away from Tokyo, it wasn't the most easily accessible places. And without access to the observation tower, we did not get a panoramic view of the landscape. Therefore, Matsushima Bay is placed last on our ranking for the Three Views of Japan.
2. Amanohashidate
A post had actually been posted on Amanohashidate, so we will just repeat here again, to complete the list.
Amanohashidate is located north of Kyoto, a 2 hours train ride from the city. On our trip, we rented a car to explore the Kyoto/Tottori/Hyogo areas. We parked our car at the foot of Kasamatsu park before heading to the observatory for an overlook of the pine tree cladded sand bar.
This photo taken atop the Kasamatsu Park has a beautiful view of the Amanohashidate sandbar. It is famous for the thin and long sand bar connecting the two bays. The land is covered with thousands of pine trees and visitors can walk or bike across it.
Amanohashidate is also known as “Hiryukan” since it looks like a “flying dragon” up into the heavens. A traditional way to view the "flying dragon" is by bending over and looking at it from between your legs.
A panoramic view of the area atop the Kasamatsu park.
To get to the top of Kasamatsu park, we have to take a cable car. It was fun but a little scary.
The park is rather small, with just a few simple rides and a small restaurant. Families with children can enjoy taking a ride on the ferris wheel and small cycle coaster.
Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to explore the sand bar. Apparently, a recommended activity is to rent a bicycle and ride along the sand bar.
Our verdict
Amanohashidate was the first Three Views that we know of, from a local TV program called Japan Hour. Ever since, we had made it a wish to visit all three destinations and Amanohashidate did not disappoint us. However, it is also not located near the popular tourists route and getting there needs careful planning. We recommend allocating at least a 2D1N trip, starting from Kyoto and visting nearby destinations such as Kinosaki Onsen.
3. Itsukushima Shrine
If you can only visit just one of the Three Views, then Itsukushima Shrine will be the choice. The huge Torii gate is found on Miyajima island, which is easily accessible by a ten minutes boat ride from the ferry pier. Your JR pass will be put to good use here as it pays for the Shinkansen, JR local train ride, as well as the boat ride to Miyajima.
Beside the famous Torii gate, Miyajima island is also home to wild deers, similar to Nara. You can get up close to the deer for photoshoot. Shops and restaurants lined the shopping street and we recommend to try out some local grilled oysters. Yummy~~
Itsukushima Shrine is one of the most popular attraction for international as well as domestic tourists. Thousands of posts had been written about it, even on Steemit. And so, we will not repeat much. Instead, just enjoy the photos!
Our verdict
A must to visit if you are touring the Kansai area with a JR pass. Hiroshima is just a one hour bullet train ride from Osaka, with all fares covered. Do not give this a miss.
日本人都喜欢把名胜地排名，其中有三大花园，三大夜景，十大寺庙，等等。但其中最有名的可能是被称为日本三景，在几个世纪前就被选出的最佳美景。
日本三景地点并不靠近。如果您打算在一次旅行中看到全部三个，我们建议使用JR PASS（为游客打折的火车票）。
1 松島湾
松島湾位于宫城县仙台附近，湾上点缀着200多个岛屿，从观景塔可以看到风景优美的景色。靠近岛屿的更好方式是乘坐观光邮轮。
我们购买了Marubun渡轮，每张票价为1500日元，并支付额外的600日元用于上层甲板的“头等舱”座位。
船上有自动售货机，甚至还有摊位卖啤酒和小吃。我们买了一些咖啡，找了一张靠窗的桌位，悠闲的享受了50分钟的渡轮时间。偶尔也会去露天甲板拍一些照片，但太冷了，不能呆太长时间。
2011年，日本大地震和海啸袭击了松岛湾所在的东北地区。幸运的是，该地区只有轻微的破坏，并保存了风景名胜。
每当经过一个岛屿，渡轮音响都会播出岛屿的介绍和解释，通常都是描述它类似的形状。
由于下雨和多云的天气，我们无法捕捉到漂亮的照片，这令人失望。
回到岸上，我们发现观景塔已经关了，没能拍摄整个景观的照片。失望。
在日本三景中，我们最后一个去的是松岛湾。位于距离东京400KM的宫城，并不是最容易到达的地方。没有进入观景塔，我们没有看到景观的全景。因此，松岛湾在我们日本三景中排名最后。
2 天橋立
其实之前已经发过天橋立的一个帖子，在这里重复一遍，完成列表。
天橋立位于京都北部，距离城市有2小时火车车程。在我们的旅行中，我们租了一辆车去探索京都/鸟取/兵库县。我们将车停在笠松公园脚下，然后前往天文台俯瞰松树覆盖的沙洲。
天橋立以连接两个海湾的细长沙坝而闻名。这片土地上覆盖着数千棵松树，游客可以步行或骑自行车穿过它。
天橋立也被称为“升龙”，因为它看起来像是一个“往天堂飞升的龙”。观看“升龙”的传统方式是从两腿之间弯腰俯视。
天橋立是我们从本地电视节目“Japan Hour”得知的。从那以后，我们就一直希望到这三个景点，而天橋立并没有让我们失望。然而，它也不是位于受欢迎的游客路线，到达那里需要谨慎计划。我们建议至少从京都开始分配至少2D1N行程，并游览附近的城崎温泉等目的地。
3 厳島神社
如果您只能参观三景之一，那么厳島神社将是您的选择。巨大的鸟居门位于宫岛，从渡轮码头乘船10分钟即可轻松抵达。JR PASS将在这里得到充分使用，因为它支付新干线，JR本地火车车程，以及乘船前往宫岛。
除了着名的鸟居门外，宫岛还有与奈良相似的野鹿。你可以靠近鹿拍摄照片。岛上的购物街也有许多商店和餐厅，我们建议尝试一些当地的烤牡蛎。非常好吃~~
厳島神社是国际和国内游客最受欢迎的景点之一。已经有数千篇关于它的文章，甚至在Steemit上也是如此。所以，我们不会重复太多。看照片好了！
!steemitworldmap 38.363062 lat 141.091582 long MATSUSHIMA BAY 松島湾, Miyagi, JAPAN. D3SCR
Want to know where else in Japan we had covered?
Check out the steemitworldmap http://steemitworldmap.com?author=jrvacation
想知道我们还到过日本哪里吗？
查看steemitworldmap http://steemitworldmap.com?author=jrvacation
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