sendai, matsushima and shiogama

(check out more photos here on facebook)

i was in sendai about 1 month ago during the lull in school where students have tests and ALTs are not needed.

sendai is really cheap by night bus – i think i paid about 10900yen return with Willer Express. Unfortunately the journey is very long (12 hours) and the bus had no toilet – 4 breaks every 3 hours or so, which were necessary anyway to stretch the legs.

the first stop was Shiogama, a port town famous for its shrine and its port festival i think.

here’s the main entrance to the shrine – the steep steps were really scary walking down!

shiogama is really quiet – this is its Honmachi, a far cry from Osaka’s:

i didnt find there much to shiogama; perhaps i should have gone over to the port area but it was hot and i was more interested in getting to Matsushima.

Matsushima is considered one of the top 3 best views in Japan. The tourist office recommended this particular park and its observation platform about 20min walk from the station. I went along that route, and this is the “stunning and spectacular view” of the bay i got:

trees! and not even a panoramic view of the bay. please do NOT bother to climb all the way up. It’s steepish and hot and completely not worth it at all.

honestly matsushima bay wasnt that fantastic. it was pretty enough, but definitely nothing worthy of Top 3 status. The seafood there is expensive too! there are some famous red bridges linking 3 smaller islands to the shore:

and the main temple with its mossy undergrowth

it was tanabata season too, and the lanterns were beautiful:

i was told that people from miyagi prefecture – where sendai and matsushima are – like to take things easy, and can find osakans brusque and rude or too direct. my sendai friend, LS, confirmed that miyagi people and osaka people are kinda the two extremes of japanese people. it was interesting actually, because i noticed that schoolgirls on the train spoke softly, which is something you dont get at all in Osaka.

sendai was nice. it’s proper urban near the JR station, but its shotengais are wide and the area near the Sendai Castle ruins has some beautiful foliage.

i found this hilarious and somewhat ridiculous:

 

the shotengai – its double the width of that in shinsaibashi/namba!

Sendai has the Loople Bus, which is a rather convenient way to visit the main sights if you purchase the 1-day pass:

i didnt have much time for sightseeing as i was there for 2 nights only, so i went to the Tohoku University’s museum of natural history cos i wanted to see this:

it’s been a long time since i’ve seen dinosaur bones and fossils, and it was a good decision cos i really enjoyed the exhibits in this small but interesting museum:

sendai has lots of trees, which you dont really get in japan. it also has this really nice building which is a central location for information on the arts:

and of course, no visit to sendai would be complete without trying gyutan, or cow’s tongue. It’s pretty tasty and has a slightly chewy texture - the Rikyu chain of restaurants (there’s one on the 2nd floor of Sendai station) offers a set meal with gyutan, tasty oxtail soup and rice for 1500yen:

there are more photos on facebook here too!