Koyo Chasing in Tohoku Japan (#9) and some last minute shenanigans

[rbjhan]

Dinner was at a restaurant called "Japanese cuisine e."
It was recommended by a friend, but he speaks a bit Japanese...I didn't think too much of it until I realised no one in the restaurant could speak English

So yeah, it was delicious, but don't ask me what exactly I ate....



Sashimi. No salmon!


Rice and miso soup! ha ha.

 

[rbjhan]

End of Day 5.

 

[drron]

Even this old fellow could walk from the JR station to the Westin.It's all flat.And the concierge at the Westin was just Fantastic

 

[rbjhan]

Even this old fellow could walk from the JR station to the Westin.It's all flat.And the concierge at the Westin was just Fantastic

I don't need a concierge. I want to be connected to train station!
Seriously, see the next day you'll know why...I will only pick the Westin if it's significantly cheaper.

 

[rbjhan]

Speaking of connected to major JR stations, I've stayed at Tokyo Station Hotel, JR Metropolitan Morioka, Via Inn Kanazawa...so yeah, that's my thing
Especially in smaller cities, you'll find everything you need in and around the station, whilst other areas could be quite dead after sunset...

 

[rbjhan]

Another day, another typhoon! Luckily this one was a lot weaker than #19...
Still, rain forecasted for the whole day

After a quick Chazuke breakfast, I decided to try my luck and went out to Zuihoden.


Bought a one day pass for Sendai's Loople bus.


Zuihoden 瑞鳳殿 is the mausoleum of Date Masamune.
Stairs leading up to the entrance was surrounded by massive cedar trees...


The original Zuihoden was destroyed during WWII. This one was rebuilt in 1979.


These towers represented the followers who committed JUNSHI when Data Masamune died.

 

[rbjhan]

Next stop, Aoba Castle. Well, what's left of it...
As you can see not much!


And of course the statue of Date Masamune!
There is no escaping him in Sendai...


Great view of downtown Sendai though.

 

[rbjhan]

Sendai City Museum was not far from the castle site, but the sky was really dark already at 2pm...I decided to head back.
Wise decision as it turned out, it started raining when I got back to Sendai station, and it kept getting heavier and heavier...
I was so glad that I stayed in Metropolitan Sendai East! Within the JR Station complex there is a department store (S-PAL), a supermarket, many restaurants & Konbinis (including a place called Gyutan Street with 4 different specialty restaurants!) ....If my hotel was somewhere else, I'd probably spend the whole afternoon and evening in my room.

Just to give you an idea about the rain, remember Yodobashi?
That one


I wanted to go, but 5 seconds in the rain, quickly gave up and back to safety!

Even the papers were wondering about the weather.

 

[rbjhan]

Dinner was Yakiniku downstairs.

 

[rbjhan]

In the evening I took my camera wondering about in Sendai Station






Yodobashi, so close yet so far away...

 

[rbjhan]

Good night.


End of Day 6.

 

[rbjhan]

Did I mention I am a trian lover? No?
I AM A TRAIN LOVER.

JR East runs a number of touristy trains, one of them is called Toreiyu Tsubasa とれいゆ つばさ. First time I heard about it I could hardly contain my excitement! It is the combination of two of my favourite things in Japan, train and onsen!!! Okay it's not really onsen, but hot water foot bath, but you get the idea.

のってたのしい列車｜JR東日本

The train makes one round trip per day between Fukushima and Shinjo, operates on weekends and public holidays only. I worked it into my itinerary, then made my seat reservation on Ekinet one month in advance (bookable with a JR Pass). However reservations made this way do not come with foot bath tickets - you can get foot bath tickets onboard, subject to availability of course (View Travel sells packages with foot bath and bento included I think).

 

[rbjhan]

So I took a morning Shinkansen from Sendai to Fukushima.

Then ran to Toreiyu Tsubasa Car 15, got my foot bath ticket! Only 450 Yen on top of the seat reservation.
Toreiyu Tsubasa is made up of 6 carriages. Car 11 has normal seats (trust me, you don't want them). Car 12-14 have Japanese style seats.
Beautiful, no?


Tatami seats!


Car 15 is the bar and service counter.


And finally, the all important Car 16, foot bath! There are two foot bath pools, each can sit up to 4 adults.


For 15 mins, you can sit there and indulge in a moment of luxury together with great scenary of Yamagata countryside passing by.


I didn't go all the way to Shinjo, got off at Yamagata Station as my next stop was Yamadera. What an unforgetable experience!

 

[rbjhan]

Yamadera
Yamadera 山寺 literally means Mountain Temple, is a temple located in the mountains not far from Yamagata.
The famous haiku master Matsuo Basho visited here during his Oku no Hosomichi trips and wrote
閑さや 巖にしみ入る 蝉の声
Translation (not by me): such stillness, the cries of the cicadas, sink into the rocks
And the rest is history...as they say.

Statue of Basho at the base of the mountain.


Then the hike!


Up and up...

 

[rbjhan]

Finally arrived at Godaido.


Great views! But a bit too early for autumn colours methinks...


A closer look.

 

[rbjhan]

Beyond Godaido there's Oku no In.


Just want to prove I climbed 1000 steps

Checking the pictures, I think it took me about 1 hour. With many photo stops in between of course.
Actual climbing probably took 30 mins?

 

[rbjhan]

Back down to the base near JR station. Had lunch in a restaurant with great river views.
Soba again!


That was the restaurant...


Yamadera station.


Waiting area

 

[rbjhan]

Saturday night hotel prices were quite ridiculous in Sendai, so I decamped to Matsushima.
The hotel was not much but it did look out towards the bay (just ignore the car park!)


The next morning weather improved slightly...

 

[rbjhan]

to be continued...

 

[craven morehead]

Saturday night hotel prices were quite ridiculous in Sendai, so I decamped to Matsushima.
The hotel was not much but it did look out towards the bay (just ignore the car park!)
View attachment 196625

The next morning weather improved slightly...
View attachment 196626

You may have a contender for @OZDUCK's thread : Car Parks of the World