Matsushima Food Tour: From Tea to Sake
Explore Matsushima and its products, from fine tea to local sake, enjoy a tea ceremony at a special location, and explore the local attractions. (Includes Shinkansen Ticket from Tokyo to Sendai).
Highlights
Enjoy a one-way Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from Tokyo to Sendai, on us!
Have a taste of the finest green tea and try a sake-based tea drink
Learn about sake during a sake brewery tour with sake tasting
Enter one of Japan's cultural properties for an exclusive tea ceremony
Stroll through Matsushima, led by a local English speaking guide
Experience Details
This food tour in Miyagi will secure you an amazing afternoon stuffed with cultural insights about regional history and lip-smacking local delicacies. Starting from green tea and moving forward to sake, you will get a comprehensive grasp of Matsushima’s local beverages and beyond.
With scenic views of the area's natural landscape, you’ll head to your first stop: a tea tasting at a renowned tea store. This refined tasting experience includes some high-quality tea varieties served at luxurious ryokan inns and high-end hotels. Don’t miss out on the specialty cocktail, a sake-based green tea drink.
Moving on to beverages of higher alcoholic content, your guide will lead you to a local sake brewery. You will learn a ton about this nationally famous brewery, its history, brewing methods, and brewed types of sake. A few of such varieties are offered during the must-try sake tasting.
It’s now lunchtime and your stomach is growling for some hearty food. This all-round private tour can meet your needs and satisfy your cravings. In fact, there are several options you can choose from, from sushi to shojin ryori, oysters or izakaya food, and more! Your guide will take you to the restaurant that most suits your fancy.
To fully restore your energy there is a tea ceremony waiting for you at stunning Kanrantei teahouse. The establishment is one of Miyagi Prefecture’s cultural properties and participants to the tour can enjoy the exceptional view of Goza-no-ma room, usually closed to the public to preserve historical paintings. Attend a tea ceremony to the view of islands-studded Matsushima Bay.
To wrap up this tour, your guide will show you around Matsushima City, visiting numerous historical buildings and teaching you about the culture of the ancient Date clan. The day, packed with fun activities and steeped with culture, ends at Matsushima-Kaigan Station.
Inclusions
Tea tasting
Sake brewery tour with sake tasting
English speaking local guide
Tea ceremony held at a special location
Bullet train (Shinkansen) ticket from Tokyo to Sendai
Exclusions
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Return ticket to Tokyo
Lunch
Any additional food and beverages
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
Meet your guide at Honshiogama Station, about a 30-minute train ride from JR Sendai Station.
Remarks
Please note that the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years and older
Please be reminded to wear comfortable shoes
Photos are not allowed at the Goza-no-ma room of Kanrantei Tea House to preserve the historical wall paintings
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 2 days before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
Located just half an hour northeast from Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Matsushima is a rural town on the east coast of Japan in the Tohoku region. Literally translating to “pine islands,” Matsushima is famous for its scenic bay dotted with over 260 pine-clad islets, a group of tiny islands which have long been considered as one of Japan’s 3 most beautiful views, or Nihon Sankei. Renowned for high-quality local oysters from Matsushima Bay, Matsushima is also known for being home to one of the most important Zen Buddhist temples in the Tohoku region, Zuiganji.
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