Hey Everybody,
So I'm here at my hostel in Sendai. I'm here till about 4pm, then I'm going (early) to Sendai Station and getting two bus tickets. The first is to Sendai Ferry Terminal, because I'm taking a FERRY to Hokkaido, FROM HERE. The trip is about 300 miles and takes about 16 hours. The second bus ticket is from Tomakomai, Hokkaido, to Sapporo station. That trip is about 2 hours.
Yesterday when I got back from Matsushima bay (which was very nice) I went to JTB and got a ticket for an overnight ferry! First though, they wanted me to get buy a train ticket the whole way, then they thought I should get an airplane ticket, but when I started asking them about different combination of trains, buses, and ferries, I think they got the idea and found this itinerary for me. It's still costing about 120 dollars, but I was able to cancel my accommodation for tonight (I'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon) and the other possible itineraries were from 165 (train) to 315 (plane) dollars, so I think its a pretty good deal. I still don't know if it's actually a good deal, but I think traveling up to Hokkaido isn't necessarily cheap.
The day before yesterday I got kind of lost trying to find some destinations and accidentally ended up back at Sendai station, but there I finally got a good english map. So even though I had already left my hostel by 10, I actually didn't get anywhere in particular till about 12:30. I did end up seeing the local produce market, the Zuihoden (Masamune Date's mausoleum), and the ruins/ site of Sendai-jo. (really big stone walls and a big statue of Masamune Date) I skipped the Sendai Museum because I was kind of running out of time, and I think I've seen enough armor and paintings for a few more days, but I wanted to see some other things more unique to Sendai, and Callista had actually looked up a couple other places to go.
So I also visited the Sendai Mediatheque, which is a library / art gallery / art studio/ multimedia gathering place that features modern style architecture akin to the Seattle Library, and then The Museum of the Forest of the Depths of the Earth. I guess when they were excavating while preparing to make a school, they discovered an amazingly well preserved pine forest next to a field/ marsh area that also amazingly had evidence of human habitation, all from 20,000 years ago. So they built a museum around / over part of it. Ha, also, it was an hour till closing, so I was the only one there and had a private guide. It was really neat to see and at one point actually touch things that were alive that long ago and to think about the history between then and now. Also, the Mediatheque was really cool too. Very modern I suppose. It was metal and glass and very clean lines, but at the same time organic and comfortable. There was some sort of art show (stylized calligraphy and abstract painting and pottery and stuff) going on that I wandered through that I think I was supposed to have, or have bought, a ticket for but apparently I was okay cus they let me through when I was already half way. So that was neat too.
After that, I went to the Sendai Dai-Kannon, but by the time I got there it completely shut down. Earlier, I remember seeing this HUGE (factually 100 meters tall) white statue on the edge of the city so I asked the information booth at the train station. I hoped that something that visible and Huge would have something going on after 5, at least some floodlights and a donation box or something, so I went anyways, but nope. All it had were some flashing red lights so planes don't hit it. There was also a sort of shopping area and maybe a cafeteria and ticket booths and a fountain, as well as I think, a museum actually inside of the statue, but it was completely dark and put away. The only way I could get a picture was with the light from the flood lamps in the neighboring plant nursery.
So Then I remembered I had to still go to JTB to figure out how I was getting to Hokkaido, but by the time I got there, they were closed too. Soo, I got back to my hostel and planned for yesterday at Matsushima.
It was really nice. Pretty much a 5-stoplight-one-street-on-the-water tourist town, but then imagine its in Puget Sound and there are small islands, but then it's actually like the Oregon Coast, but not so tall. So yeah, it was pretty. I took an hour long ferry ride out into the bay, but it was a little overcast / hazy so my pictures didn't really turn out. I also hiked around two small wooded islands accessible by foot bridges and that was nice too. There is some species of HUMOUNGOUS web spiders around Japan too. like the kind you see on the Discovery Channel. I've tried to take pictures, but its really hard to capture how big they are. Like a yellow and black web spider thats a third the size of your pinky, and thats not including the legs. Anyways, in the afternoon I was going to go to a small place in my book and eat some Matsushima Oysters, but it had closed 15 minutes before I got there, so I was convinced to eat at the neighboring place by like, a woman hauker, (hawker? hocker?) outside. I ended up eating two huge raw oysters! It wasn't bad, and I want to try as many local specialties as I can, but I still think I like my oysters small to medium, and cooked. I'm still glad I didt it though! So I made it back to Sendai, then visited JTB (I think I've done okay, but in Sapporo I'll try planning ahead a little more so I don't have to cancel nights and such), and had some more convenience store dinner, and got to bed.
So today, I'm gonna go to Sendai station at about 4 to get my 5:41pm bus ticket to arrive at the ferry terminal at 6:23pm, then take the 7:40pm ferry to arrive in Tomakomai at 11am, then take the 11:47am bus to arrive in Sapporo at 1:35pm. Hopefully this time it will go smoothly. Looking at one of the pictures on the flyer of the ferry it looks to be maybe... 150 yards long? 250? I'm not sure, but really big. I don't think I'll need my sea bands. Also, it looks like I'm sleeping in one big room, with like, 14 on-the-floor-futons in it. Sooo, that might be a bit crowded with 13 other people. Also, I don't know where my stuff will be, so I'll just keep whatever I'll need in the backpack with me. Overall, I'm a little nervous about the ferry in general, but I think it'll be okay. And then I'll get to Sapporo and check in and relax for the evening.
So I'm good. I hope everyone else is still good too. Hope Owen is feeling better. Dad, I hope you're un-jetlagged by now. I'm assuming I'll not have any internet while at sea, so it'll be like, 2 days before I assuredly have internet again! So I love you everybody! I'll talk to you again when I have internet. At least something short to confirm I made it.
Getting some Gyutan at Rikkyu
Statue of Masamune Date
At the excavation site/ Museum of the Depths of the Earth
Matsushima
more Matsushima
The one on the left is Gyutan-chan. yes, cow-like character named after grilled beef tongue, and he is taunting you! The other is Masamune Date with a riceball head!
Me on the shore of one of the wooded islands
2 big raw oysters!
my bunk/ cubby in Sendai
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