Sightseeing in Sendai

On Sunday afternoon, Karin, our Real Fukushima tour guide, dropped us off at Namie Station and helped us purchase our train tickets. (If you are wondering who Karin is, click here to read about our first two days down in Fukushima.) Having just made the journey on the JR Joban Line in the opposite direction the night before, we knew exactly what stations we needed to switch trains at to make it back to Sendai. At this point, we think we are experts at public transit, but as you will learn later in this post, that is false. After the hour and fifteen-minute train ride up to Sendai Station, we made our way, conveniently, across the street to the Daiwa Roynet Hotel where we would be staying the next three nights. After spending the day traveling and exposing ourselves to minimal amounts of radiation, we decided it would be a chill night. We hit the 7/11 on the corner by our hotel for some dinner and headed upstairs to unwind and head to bed early. I know you’re probably thinking, “7/11…what the heck? Like the gas station?” In Japan, 7/11 is still a convenient store, but 1000 times better than in the states. They serve a lot of snacks and drinks like in an American convenient store, but they also sell more traditional Japanese meals that they’ll even heat up for you. It’s essentially Japan’s version of a fancy Sheetz and they can be found on nearly every corner of every town in the country.

Monday, September 20

The great thing about this trip is that Katie did all of the planning, I just had to go along for the ride and figure out the train/bus/subway systems. No big deal, because Google and Apple Maps made everything pretty easy. So, on Monday morning, Katie planned for us to go back to Sendai Station to purchase the Sendai Tourist Two-Day Pass. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option on the touch-screen ticket booth when you select English as your language. We had to seek assistance from a station clerk who didn't speak English. With the help of Google, we were able to show him the website for the pass we wanted, and he was able to help us purchase the passes through the Japanese side of the ticket machine. This two-day pass gave us full access to the Japan Rail (JR for short), the Sendai subway, and the Sendai Loople Bus, a sight-seeing tour bus that made a loop around Sendai.

Once we bought our tickets at the train station, we had to run down to the bus station to find the Loople Bus. This sounds easier than it was, because we had no clue which of the 10 buses at the bus station was our bus. After watching Katie ask several bus drivers "is this my bus?" we were eventually pointed in the right direction and made it just in time! Imagine the "Are You My Mother?" children's book, and you have a great mental image of Katie asking for help!

Can you read the stress on our faces?!

Our first stop of the day was at the Zuihoden Mausoleum, the final resting place of Date Masamune, the leader of the Date clan and founder of Sendai. The Mausoleum is famous for its intricate woodwork and bright colors, and it was built on top of, what felt like, a mountain. Seriously, it sits on top of a crazy hill, but the lush trees at least provided a cool shaded hike!

The Zuihoden Mausoleum was designated as a national treasure by the Japanese government in 1931; unfortunately, the original mausoleum was destroyed by firebombs towards the end of WWII in 1945. Don’t worry, we did not forget that the mausoleum was destroyed by the allies, because every single plaque around the complex reminded readers that this place was firebombed in 1945. All-in-all, we probably read that statement around 30 times during our visit, so much so that we couldn't help but chuckle at each sign- hey, don't forget, this place was decimated by the Americans during WWII.

There are also two other mausoleums there, Kansenden & Zennoden, the final resting places of Date Masamune’s son and grandson. If you were wondering, they were also destroyed by firebombs in 1945. Fortunately, a group of businesses in Sendai decided to rebuild the mausoleums in the late 1970s. They built historically accurate replicas with similar woodworking and colors, so that people today can enjoy their splendor and pay their respects to the founder of Sendai. We also visited a museum at the mausoleum that showcased relics that were uncovered during the (you guessed it) firebombing destruction.

On our hike back down the massive mausoleum hill, we ran into a smaller temple, Zuiho Temple. The pamphlets and few signs around the complex were all in Japanese, so all we know is this temple has a daycare on sight (see the snow white and seven dwarf figurines), a giant bell and some dragon stautes. Cool. Moving along!

After leaving the mausoleums, we headed over to the site of Sendai Castle, which stands on a plateau overlooking downtown Sendai. It was completed in 1637 by Date Tadamune, son of Date Masamune (the guy who is buried at Zuihoden Mausoleum). Well…the castle used to stand there, but unfortunately, most of it burned down in 1882. (At least it wasn't destroyed by firebombs in 1945.)

There used to be two large structures, a large gate and tower, both established as national treasures by the Japanese government in 1931. BUT the Americans also firebombed it in 1945, so really all that’s left is the foundation of the castle, a great view of downtown and some cool statues that we took pictures of. The Aoba Castle Ruins weren't anything special, I mean it's just a cement base with little plaques that say "this was the bedroom of so-and-so," and "you are standing in what used to be the entryway," but the view of Sendai was amazing! We would have stopped by just to see the city from up high!

Following our trip to Sendai Castle, we jumped back on the bus and headed to Osaki Hachimangu Shrine, a Shinto Shrine constructed in 1607 by Date Masamune (seems this guy was pretty important in the area). The shrine’s deity is Hachiman, the Shinto god of war and is believed to be a guardian and protector of the city. When we got off the bus, there was a large gate leading to a set of stairs up another huge hill, where the shrine presided at the top. It is a Shinto custom to wash your hands and mouth to purify yourself before entering any shrine. Katie and I participated, partially, but due to COVID-19 mitigations, you couldn’t drink from the water ladle. The shrine was beautiful and had very similar architecture to the mausoleum; some of the fine woodworking and colors were quite similar to that of Zuihoden.

We timed this visit perfectly; we were able to watch part of a Shinto ceremony occur. As we walked up towards the shrine, we heard drums. It was interesting to stand and watch as the shrine's priest sang-read some text from a scroll and then he took a large-looking feather duster and shook it around the shrine's temple. We aren't sure exactly what we witnessed, but it was memorable!

Following our last planned stop of the day, Katie and I decided to walk around downtown Sendai before calling it for the night. On our bus ride back to Sendai station, we saw a covered outdoor shopping strip, called the Sunmall Ichibancho, that we decided to walk down. As we walked that way from the Sendai bus station, we realized it was 3 pm and we hadn't eaten lunch, so we dug out some cheese bread we had bought the night before at 7/11. Once we made it to the plaza, we decided to stop at a Starbucks and get a Pineapple Frappuccino. Katie really enjoyed the pineapple, while I really enjoyed the whip cream topping. Nothing like a good hearty lunch of bread & sugar!

We also passed by a woman carrying a reusable Disney bag- you know Katie spotted it right away- so after searching Google, we found a Disney store just a few blocks away! Woohoo! It was so cool to be able to walk through a Disney store and everything be in a different language. They even sold things that we had never seen in American Disney stores- like reusable oversized washcloths (that you carry with you to dry your hands at public bathrooms,) adult makeup sets inspired by different princesses and even Japanese versions of some of our favorite movies! At least the music was still in English, so Katie and I were humming right along. We didn’t buy anything, even though Katie tried to convince me to buy a plush Mickey in a Kimono for the pups, but I told her it wasn’t worth $30 just for Reynolds to destroy it in a day.

Along the way, we found a pet store, so Katie and I decided to stop in and take a look. We saw several dogs for sale, and one even looked like Dixie, Mom and Dad’s dog. The thing that blew my mind was how much they were selling cats for; some of them were going for over $2,000 dollars. For a cat! I'm pretty sure Mrs. Cindy bottle-fed orphan cats that looked like these- they weren't special breeds of cats. Just good 'ole ally cats! I told Katie that we need to start having our family catch strays back in the states, ship them over here, and then we can sell them for a big profit! I think this plan is full-proof.

After walking through the outdoor mall for a couple of hours, Katie and I happened across a McDonald’s, so we decided we wanted a quick and easy dinner! Katie got a burger, while I enjoyed chicken nuggets and fries for dinner. It was nice getting some American fast food while in a foreign country, even if they didn't have ketchup for Katie! After our meal, we decided to head back to the hotel and call it early for the night, because we knew Tuesday would be a longer day.

Tuesday, September 21

We started our Tuesday morning by jumping on the train (included with our Two-Day Sendai Pass) and heading north to Matsushima. After a few stops along our route, all of the passengers exited the train, and we, being the dumb Americans that we are, didn’t think anything of it. Well, after the train started going backward, we understood why everyone disembarked. I guess they said something on the PA system notifying everyone that they would be heading back to Sendai, but we don’t understand Japanese, so we also went backward with the train. Fortunately, we were able to get off at the next stop and jump on a train heading back north, and this one took us all the way to Matsushima. Nothing like starting your day with some train excitement!

Once we arrived in Matsushima, we headed to the Zuiganji Temple. The Temple was originally founded in 828 and was converted to a Zen Buddhist Temple in the 1200s. The coolest thing about this temple is that the entire thing is open to the outdoors. The main building has one main worship area at the center that is surrounded by multiple waiting areas where people are separated by their profession and their social standing. There were separate rooms for the feudal lords, the samurai and there was even a special room for physicians. The sliding doors that separated all of the rooms were beautifully painted with gold leaf and each room depicted different scenes. One room told an old Japanese legend, one room was covered in golden lilies, while another room was painted full of various birds. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the paintings were breathtaking. There was also a room inside the temple where the Emperor of Japan decided to stay the night while touring the country, back in 1876.

When you exit the temple and turn towards Matsushima bay, there is a long path lined with many small, newly planted trees. This path used to be lined with tons of large cedar trees that were killed by saltwater during the tsunami in 2011; the trees had to be cut down and new trees were planted. It's shocking how far inland the tsunami waters reached, as we were at least 3/4 a mile inland. You can even see the old tree stumps that line the path in the photos below. In the temple's public bathrooms, there was a sign that says the bathhouse was constructed from the cedar trees that died due to the tsunami as a way to honor the trees' thousand-year protection of the temple.

After leaving the temple, we headed down to the bay and got our tickets for the Matsushima Bay Island Cruise. Since we had 40 minutes before our cruise left, we decided to eat a quick snack on the pier and then walk to the Godaido right next door. A Godaido is a small temple; this one was located high on a cliff! The Godaido of Zuiganji Temple had a beautiful red bridge leading to it, where you could look down between the planks and see the ocean 20 feet below! While it was a tiny building, had a great view of the bay!

At noon, we jumped on our sightseeing boat and took a cruise around Matsushima Bay! Matshushima Bay is known as "one of Japan's three most scenic views," because it is dotted with over 200 small islands covered by pine trees. During the hour cruise, we got close enough for Katie to take photos of many of the islands within the bay. Some of the islands had some really cool shapes, and even cooler names (if only I could remember them). We were lucky that some of the loudspeaker recordings were in English, and Katie was in her element with the awesome weather; she said it reminded her of our last year in Southern California.

The Bay Cruise dropped us off in Shiogama, a town south of Matsushima and a little closer to Sendai. While there, we decided to stop by Urakasumi Sake Brewery, where we purchased some of their award-winning Sake Katie had read about online. They usually offer tours of their brewery, but due to the current quasi-state of emergency in the prefecture, they have stopped this service until further notice. Don't worry, Katie had emailed them at least three times during the trip-planning process to see if they were opening up their tours...no luck though.

After purchasing some sake, we headed over to Shiogama Shrine on our way back to the train station. After traveling up 200 stone steps, we made it to the shrine. (No wonder the Japanese are all so skinny, the trek up to these temples is always a haul!)

The Shiogama Shrine is believed to have been built over 1200 years ago and over 300 cherry blossom trees are planted there. I know this area has to be stunning when the trees are in full bloom because it was beautiful during our visit!

Along our walk to the train station, we ran into 7/11 for a coffee and an ice cream. The train ride to the airport took around 45 minutes, and then we walked over to Nippon Rentals and picked up our Nissan Note rental car. We even rented an ETC card, which is basically a card that allows you to go through expressways without having to stop and pay each toll in cash. We figured with all the driving we had planned, it would make going through the tollbooths way quicker!

We parked our rental car in the public lot behind our hotel, where we were told that parking would be ￥1000 (approx. $10) for 24 hours since we were staying at the hotel. Fast forward to the next morning, where we had an early morning surprise when it charged us an hourly rate instead and ended up costing nearly $30 for our 10 hours of overnight parking. Oh well, the downfalls to the language barrier!

After parking the car for the night, we decided to go out to a local restaurant for dinner. According to Google Maps, we needed to get on a train and head up a few blocks to get to the place we wanted to eat. Katie found that Sendai is really well known for its Gyutan (beef tongue), so we thought we’d give it a shot and try one of the more well-known Gyutan places in Sendai. So we ran over to Sendai station, to platform 2, just like Google Maps told us to do. Once the train started moving, I knew something wasn’t right. We should’ve stopped by this point. I pulled out my phone and found out we were on the wrong train; we were on an express train Ishinomaki, a town about 45 minutes, by train, northeast of Sendai. I was pissed. We were going to waste an hour and a half going to this town, out in the middle of nowhere. At this point, it was already 6:45 and most places close at 8:00 because of the quasi-state of emergency.

Fortunately, the train stopped in Shiogama, the town where we got off our bay cruise a few hours earlier, and we were able to get on another train back to Sendai. Come to find out, Google Maps was telling us to go to Platform 2 of the subway station, not platform 2 of the train station; they happen to be right next door to one another, so you can understand why I made the mistake. We were able to get on the subway and we made it up to our restaurant by 7pm.

What was really awesome, is when we got there, the restaurant was closed. We made this trip up there for the sole purpose of getting Gyutan, took the wrong train which added 30 extra minutes to our trip, all so this restaurant could be closed. What the heck…so Katie and I looked on Google Maps for other Gyutan restaurants in the area and we found one just a two-minute walk down the road.

When we got to Rikyu Gyutan, we took an elevator to the second floor and received our Japanese menus. After some quick Google translating on our phones, we ordered a single order of a Gyutan meal, which came with 2 different cuts of Gyutan, 2 bowls of sticky rice, soup, cabbage salad, and some really weird dough ball dessert. The Gyutan had a really good flavor; it tasted just like a steak, but the texture was strange. It was very chewy, but it was edible- even if Katie couldn't get past the fact that it was cow tongue. The oxtail soup was also really good, but when I found the oxtail with the bone in the soup, Katie decided she no longer liked it. I guess she thought it was just named oxtail soup for the fun of it.

After we paid our bill and began our trek home, I decided it was time for dessert, and nothing better than a McDonald’s McFlurry (I am well aware there are probably better options, but there was a McDonald’s right next door). I decided to order the Tsukimi McFlurry, which happened to be the only McFlurry option. I'm not in America anymore. The dessert had these starch dumplings which had a jelly-like consistency (didn’t like those), brown sugar syrup, and crushed cone bits. It was delicious, except for those weird jelly ball things, which I did not eat. After finishing our McFlurry, we got back on the subway and headed back to our hotel.

We greatly enjoyed our two days in Sendai and we feel like we learned a lot about traveling and communicating in Japan, even with all the public transportation hiccups along the way! We feel like we are ready and prepared to explore more of this beautiful country! Bring on the last three days of our trip!

-Bryan