If you’re in Kochi, Fort Kochi is quite scenic and makes for a very easy day trip. It’s just a quick, cheap ferry ride away.
Matsushima Bay is a very quick train ride from Sendai (it’s about a half hour away), and the consensus is that it’s one of the most scenic spots in Japan. Obviously, if you’re in Sendai, you’ve gotta check it out.
The other day I plugged my destination into Google Maps, as I am wont to do (no joke: Google Maps single-handedly makes this trip possible, because my navigation skills are nonexistent). The public transit directions seemed to indicate that I take a boat, which seemed odd, but I went with it.
So here’s something interesting (at least I think it’s interesting, and since it’s my blog, you’re just going to have to deal with it): while on a bus from Germany to Sweden, the bus stopped at an area that kind of seemed like a border crossing.
It turned out that it was actually a line-up to board a ferry; the bus eventually drove inside the boat, and we all had 45 minutes before we had to come back.