Sendai & Matsushima: Unforgettable Private Bay Discovery

We had an amazing half day tour of the Matsushima/Sendai area with our tour guide Ichiro Kusaka aka Bob. He was very kind, informative, and funny. He “went the extra mile” to fit as much as we could into a half day. I definitely recommend this tour.

We only had a half day in Sendai and Yumi made the most of it for us. We visited a shrine, the castle remains, a museum and she still had time to take us for requested treats! Yumi was amazing and she made Sendai fun and interesting for us!

Riko my pvt guide was excellent very informative, very pleasant to talk to .Kept a tight schedule so that all itinerary could be seen. Would certainly recommend her. Great day out.

We hired Ichiro Kusaka, aka Bob, to take us on a half-day tour from our ship that was docked in Sendai port. He communicated before we arrived asking what our interests were, and based on our discussion, chose to take us to Matsushima Island. It was an excellent choice. What a fabulous place, and unlike everywhere else we’ve been, it wasn’t crowded at all. We could have spent two days there easily there was so much to do, but Bob expertly guided us through what he thought we should see in our half-day. We even had time to stop and do a bit of souvenir shopping and grab an ice cream. Bob is very knowledgeable and funny, and was a wonderful companion for the day. He also made sure we got back to our ship on time since they moved our departure time up on us. Thanks Bob!

We hired Ichiro Kusaka, aka Bob, to take us on a half-day tour from our ship that was docked in Sendai port. He communicated before we arrived asking what our interests were, and based on our discussion, chose to take us to Matsushima Island. It was an excellent choice. What a fabulous place, and unlike everywhere else we’ve been, it wasn’t crowded at all. We could have spent two days there easily there was so much to do, but Bob expertly guided us through what he thought we should see in our half-day. We even had time to stop and do a bit of souvenir shopping and grab an ice cream. Bob is very knowledgeable and funny, and was a wonderful companion for the day. He also made sure we got back to our ship on time since they moved our departure time up on us. Thanks Bob!

Riko made our visit to Sendai very memorable. Because we communicated via email many times months prior to our visit, she was able to create a very personalized experience for us. She arranged a car service to pick us up at our cruise ship and bring us to the meeting point. Riko’s enthusiasm and knowledge along with her friendly personality made our day. She had a well thought out itinerary that included history, amazing shrines, water views, parks, a tea room and stunning special cherry blossoms. She introduced us to local food options and showed us local souvenirs. We traveled by train and foot and laughed a lot. Riko was superb. And Japan is stunning.

We were kept inform on the whole journey. Very detailed itenary. Detail travelling time & expected cost throughout the tour. Very impressed.

We loved the mix of traditional temples and modern urban vibes. The food we tried, especially zunda mochi, was amazing. Great tour, Riko was friendly. Unforgettable memories!

Our guide Riko was great, the nature and the temples/shrines were quite beautiful and the history was very interesting.

We spent an excellent morning with our guide Riko when she picked us up at our hotel in Sendai and guided us to our first stop of a boat trip in Matsushima, unfortunately the weather was not the best but the views from the boat were still fantastic and Riko kept us informed of all we were seeing. Following that we visited Zuigan-ji temple which was just stunning and again we gained an insight into how the temple would have been used in bygone days , we also visited Entsu-in temple with more insight provided. We returned to Sendai via the train and we then had the pleasure of Riko joining us for lunch when we found out a bit more about her and her life in Japan . All in all a wonderful never to be forgotten morning. Riko was also extremely good at keeping in touch prior to our visit with lots of emails with suggestions of how best to spend our day to get the most out of our trip.