Embedded Files
That's the last of our adventures with friends. Since then we have been living and exploring around Sendai! When we first moved here it was still fall weather. If it was sunny you didn't need a coat, but it has been slowly getting colder and we finally got some snow the other day! Here are a few of the things we have done while in Sendai.
Tansu Museum
There's a small museum in Sendai that showcases some old Tansu, which are ornate chests of drawers. Often these Tansu have unique locking mechanisms on the drawers that mean you need to open drawers in a certain order for them to open.
Going to find this place was a bit of an adventure in itself. Walking up to the location on Google, we saw a furniture/knick-knack store. Like most buildings in Japan, there were multiple floors. Fortunately, they had a bit of a floor directory on the window that made it seem like the museum was on the fourth floor. So we went ahead and walked through this store to the opposite end where there was an elevator. It was free admission, so we just took the elevator up!
We didn't know what to expect, but it turns out that it was more of a display of the Tansu then a museum. Most of them were donated after the Tsunami in 2011 that struck the area, with refurbishments done. They did have a few videos that went into the making of Tansu which were super interesting. It takes around a year for an average Tansu to be built using traditional techniques. Three disciplines are required: Joinery, Blacksmithing, Lacquering. These are all combined to create the gorgeous pieces that we saw.
Aoba Castle Ruins
Nestled in the city, resting on top of a mountain, there are the ruins of a Castle from the 1600s. It was built by the Date clan who ruled in the Sendai area until 1868.
It's interesting, there's a particular Japanese ruler who comes up quite often in history: Tokugawa Ieyasu. We first encountered his name in Nagoya, and have since also come across his name in Kyoto, Tokyo, and now Sendai. He was the Shogun at the start of the Edo period of Japan (1603 – 1868), and one of the great unifiers of Japan. Pretty sure we'll see him come up again in other areas!
New buildings have been constructed on the site of the Castle Ruins, one of which is a museum. One interesting fact that we found out is that Japan has 2 types of Castles.
Hirajiro - Castles built on low grounds during peace-times, designed for ruling the surrounding area. It would contain many buildings and facilities useful for running the government.
Hirayamajiro - Castles built on hills/mountains with fortifications. These were built during wartime and designed to be defended and only host the critical buildings required to survive a siege and still run the area. Often there are tall buildings that are designed to be fought within.
Aoba Castle was an interesting mix of the two. It was built on a mountain, but also very spread out with many low buildings and designed to run the local government in times of peace.
Statue of Date Masamune on Aoba Castle. Head of the Clan at the time of castle construction.
View of Sendai from Aoba Castle
Our walk home from from the castle took us by this pond. The plaque reads: "Goshikiuma Pond: The Birthplace of Figure Skating in Japan". The main text says "In the mid-Meiji era, foreigners began figure skating on this pond. In 1909, Mr. Würfel, a German teacher, taught students at Daini High School how to skate, and they later spread the sport nationwide. Thus, this pond is said to be the birthplace of figure skating in Japan." For those who follow skating, two-time Olympic and World champion Yuzuru Hanyu was born in Sendai and there is a small monument nearby with his picture, signature, and a short description etched into glass.
Great Akiu Falls
Before the weather got truly chilly, Jesse and I planned a day trip to a waterfall not too far away. Most people who were there drove, but we were able to get there by taking two busses.
(above) The display by the driver showing the current trip cost depending on where you got on. The next stop is displayed in the top left corner. (directly below) The number I took when our last bus didn't have tap.
The busses we took in Nagoya worked like the busses at home where it is a single price to take the bus as far as you want, but for the busses here in Sendai, you pay based on the distance traveled. If you are using a digital bus pass, you simply tap twice, once when you get on and once when you get off. If you aren't tapping, you take a number when you get on. The number corresponds to the section of the route where you boarded. Up by the driver is a screen which displays the prices for each section. As the bus drives along the route, new sections are added and the amounts in previous sections increases.
The waterfall was a fair distance out of town, but thankfully there were a couple extra things nearby to fill the day.
We started by visiting the botanical gardens. Unfortunately none of the plants were blooming (because y'know, November) but it was lovely to be out of the city, among the trees and to breath the fresh air. Also there was absolutely no one else there so Jesse took the extra opportunity to fly his drone from the gardens since they backed onto the river near another waterfall.
After that we walked by a small café and farmers market (that was mostly deserted) to get to the temple that leads to a viewing platform for the main waterfall. After a good look there, we took a forest path around to the main bridge so we could cross the river and walk all the way down to the base of the waterfall. It was so steep! Camera's really can't capture it, but there were places where the steps were just huge!
Matsushima
Another day trip we took was to Matsushima, which is an area located in a bay with a number of small islands. We started the day with a Kyudo activity at the local tourist center. Kyudo is a Japanese martial art focused around archery and after a short lesson, we had an hour to practice. Jesse was much better than I was! I don't know exactly how many times he hit his target, but looking at the photos I can count at least 10 punctures. At the end of the hour there was a contest where we each had 3 shots to win some prizes. Unfortunately we both missed our chances but it was a fun time! Both our right hands were super sore for the rest of the day from holding the arrow while drawing the bow. (clockwise from right: a drone shot of some of the islands, Marlena practicing, both of us with our bows, and Jesse practicing)
(above) We stopped to try these. They are fish cakes you grill yourself called "kamaboko". (right) photos of the nature reserve island and the bridge to get there (below) the islands from above and Marlena leaning on a very large tree
After the archery we walked through a nature reserve on one of the nearby islands. Unfortunately it was a very windy day which meant unless you were sheltered from the wind it was uncomfortably chilly and it was soon too windy for the drone.
It was still a nice place to go, and we tried a new food there too! As we were walking back through town I saw this shop with these grill-your-own-somethings. So we tried it! As my snaps said, do not be fooled, it was not marshmallow. It's a batter made of various types of ground up shellfish called kamaboko. I have since seen it in a few places around Sendai as well. The grills meant it was lovely and warm in the store which was especially nice since it was chilly outside, but I can't imagine what it must be like in the summer.
Google Sites
Report abuse