Third Time's a Charm - The Idiot Returns to Japan

[rbjhan]

There's a Yonezawa beef restaurant in Tokyo Station. I've been a few times, very good!

 

[Noel Mugavin]

More wandering





There's a row of about 6 or 7 Samurai Houses, a couple are open to the public. unfortunately, not today





Bit more wandering , before being able to check in at the ryokan.


Arimakan

Cherry Mochi as a welcome sweet

View from the room

 

[Noel Mugavin]

First time experiencing the kaiseki meal, and first time eating sashimi. Won over by the tuna, white fish and ocotopus wasn't game enough to have a crack at the squid and roe. Yonezawa beef sukiyaki was sensational.


Finished the night with a soak in the rooftop onsen, which again my photo doesn't do justice to.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Breakfast, more sashimi and yonezawa beef. Also natto, heard a lot about it, first time trying it. Didn't mind it at all.

Checked out at about 8. Ryokan form the outside, and rooftop onsen where the tree is




Short shinkansen ride to Yamagata

When I booked in at the ryokan the previous day, had a conversation with the fella at the desk, he asked me where I'd been, where I was going. When I mentioned I was going to visit Yamagata he quickly told me Sakura would be in bloom, and where to go to see them. Of course, I completely forgot where he said to go. At Yamagata looked at the train station map, and assumed the biggest park would be the place to go. Off I went.

Bingo


In another chapter to add to my growing book of idiocy, in all the places I had seen the sakura, I assumed I was either too late or too early too seem the in their full, deep colour. It wasn't until I arrived back in Oz and was enlightened by reading rbjhan's trip report that the pale colour is that species colour. So I didn't really fully appreciate what I saw, and many thanks to rbjhan for the education.

 

[Quickstatus]

grab another spare when everyone sat down.

And what happens if no spare seat?

species colour.

Your one has a bit more pink.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Did you buy some Imabari towels?

And what happens if no spare seat?

Your one has a bit more pink.

I would've stood, no biggie. Yamagata line isn't all that busy, I would've been right. The carriage I was in would have been no more than a third full at any stage.

 

[Quickstatus]

I would've stood, no biggie.

Is there a Japanese etiquette re unreserved seating if no unreserved carriage?. Stand up each stop and wait for train to move?

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Caught a game of ground golf on the walk back to the station



JR Senzan line to Sendai, about an hour and 20 minutes. Once again, some stunning scenery, that I didn't get any decent photos of.
Wanted to get to the Sendai Castle ruins, and seemed the easiest way was to take the tourist bloop bus

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Is there a Japanese etiquette re unreserved seating if no unreserved carriage?. Stand up each stop and wait for train to move?

You're supposed to buy a reserved seat ticket, but with the JR Pass you can just put it through the entrance ticket machine and walk to the platform, so there's a bit of a loophole there. That was on me for not doing my due diligence and just assuming there would be an unreserved carriage. For my subsequent shinkansen rides in Tohoku, I reserved all my seats, which was a simple 2 minute process at the ticket machine. I was also always prepared to pull the dumb gaijin card.

 

[rbjhan]

Is there a Japanese etiquette re unreserved seating if no unreserved carriage?. Stand up each stop and wait for train to move?

All reservation cars?
Best to ask the conductor to find you an empty seat, if you have a pass it's free anyways.
Edit, he/she will make the reservation on the little machine they have.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

A crowded 20 minute journey to the castle ruins. Some nice views of Sendai.




That's one big Buddha



All that's left of the castle




Zunda Shake, made with edamame beans. Sensational.

The Loople bus
Washington Hotel, 5 minute walk from Sendai Station, and home, sort of, for the next 4 nights

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Dinner was a hamburg steak, chicken breast, salad and miso soup at one of the station restaurants

Did my thing and wandered, hoping to see lit up sukura. No luck.
This was going to be great shot once I crossed the road and got the moon behind the shrine. However, being the good citizen, waited for the little man to go green. Of course once that happened, and I crossed the road, cloud had covered the moon, and shot gone.

 

[rbjhan]

I loved Sendai!! Especially the gyutan...
Hmm need to plan another Tohoku trip soon-ish

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Another early start and an hour or so ride to Ishinomaki

Bit of a manga theme for Ishinomaki, however I wasn't here for that.
First time driving in Japan, and it was for a far more sombre reason



Did have an absolutely delightful interaction with the young lady at the hire car place; both of us trying to communicate with each other in respective broken English and Japanese and using google translate when required. Lots of laughs, sumimasens and sorries. In the end we sorted it out.
I've watched countless you tube videos, and read hundreds of articles and accounts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami, however one story has stood out as extremely heartbreaking. Multiple re-readings of the book 'Ghosts of the Tsunami', and I had to see the scene of this particular disaster for myself.
A half hour drive from Ishinomaki and toward the Katami RIver mouth, and I was there.
74 of 78 students evacuating from the school didn't survive, a tragedy in itself, but even more so when you see how easy it would have been to save everyone.


That's quite a big hill in the background

 

[Noel Mugavin]

There is a memorial hall on the ruins site.
Before and after pictures of the school, and of the town of Kamaya which surrounded the school



School is the red roof building, bottom right






Clock recovered from the school

 

[rbjhan]

Sigh, this was so sad
Recently I watched the movie Suzumeすずめの戸締まり, it also touched on the devastation left by tsunami and how it still affects people everyday...

 

[Noel Mugavin]

The route they took, also shows how close it was to get to the hill. They had 45 minutes to move between the tsunami warning and the time the tsunami hit.







Little hard to see, but there;s a small white rectangular marker just below the first level of the hill. That marker shows the level the water got to and how close to safety the school kids were.





The school survived the earthquake relatively intact, it was the force of the water that caused all the damage. The school was an evacuation centre for the village of Kamaya, which was contributed to the disaster. Old timers from the village influencing where to go, telling teachers no danger as a tsunami has never reached this far upstream. 204 of 496 of the population of Kamaya perished.

 

[SuePa]

I don't think I could go there, too sad.
Were they able to get access to the hill? It looks as though there is a cement wall along the edge of the playground.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

I don't think I could go there, too sad.
Were they able to get access to the hill? It looks as though there is a cement wall along the edge of the playground.

Easy access, in photos coming up there is a very gentle path that leads to higher ground. Classes had done lessons on the hill and had a coughake mushroom patch on the slope of the hill. They also only had to get to the height of the second row of cherry trees to be safe. I've circled, very badly the height the water got to on the hill.
Further to highlight the negligence of those in charge at Okawa, the tsunami claimed 75 lives of children that were under the control of schools at the time the tsunami hit. 74 of those were from Okawa. Apart from this one outlier, the Japanese school system was remarkably well prepared and drilled for tsunami evacuation.

 

[Noel Mugavin]