Nov 6 - Chusonji Temple and Matsushima

Today itinerary calls for visiting the Chusonji Temple(中尊寺) in Hiraizumi (平泉). Chusonji (中尊寺, Chūsonji) was established in 850 as a temple of the Tendai (a religious group) of Buddhism. The temple came to prominence when the northern branch of the Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏) clan moved their base to Hiraizumi. At its peak, the temple consisted of a large network of dozens of buildings. With the fall of the Fujiwara at the end of the 12th century, Chusonji suffered likewise so that now only two buildings from that era remain intact. Luckily, among these is the most spectacular, the Konjikido (金色堂 or 'Golden Hall') which is a hall completely covered in gold. It dates back to 1124 and stands inside another building for protection. In June 2011, Chūson-ji was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a part of the "Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi". 

After lunch, we drove to Matsushima (松島) to have a boat ride to see Matsushima Bay.   Matsushima (松島) is famous for its bay, which is dotted by many pine clad islets and has been ranked one of Japan's three most scenic views for centuries. Matsushima was hit by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, but escaped major damage thanks to its protected location inside the island dotted bay.

Then we visited Kanrantei (觀瀾亭) which is a Momoyama style tea house originally built in Kyoto by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who gave it to Date Masamune for his service.  Date's son eventually moved it to its current location overlooking Matsushima Bay.  Kanrantei means "place to view ripples on water", due to its beautiful view over the water and surround islands. We visited the small Matsushima Museum behind the tea house first.  It  houses armor, weapons, tools and other relics of the feudal times. Then we had a chance to enjoy the Matsushima tea in the tea house looking out the beautiful view of Matsushima Bay.  

Then we had some free time.  We visited the Godaido (五大堂) and the friendship bridge donated by Republic of China (Taiwan) between Matsushima and Fukuura Island (福浦島).  The old bridge was damaged by March 11, 2011 tsunami and Taiwan donated this new bridge to Japan to show their friendship.  Unfortunately, they made it a fee access bridge now.  Therefore, we did not walk on it.

Later, we checked into Hotel Matsushima Taikanso (松島大観荘 ).  Our room in this hotel has a large picture window facing the Matsushima Bay.  It shall be the best spot to see the sunrise.  However, we were so busy in enjoying other facility in this hotel and totally forgot about it.

This hotel also provided free kids Yukata robes, therefore we got 3 of them for Benjy, Talia and Lucy.  It was just for fun!