Weekend in Sendai ( ☀ it's so hot! 🔥)

Charles and I are attempting to make the most of our weekends. After all, three years may seem like a long time, but it can go by in a flash if you aren't making the most of it. For the last weekend in July, we made a plan to head off to Sendai literally the Monday before. I have the feeling this is going to happen a bunch. We are not great at planning ahead of time. This means we ended up traveling to Sendai on a weekend when the temperature was incredibly high, and the sun was out and ready to make you hate life. 

Sendai is the closest large city to us. It's about halfway between Hachinohe and Tokyo (which also means it was only an hour and a half on the Shinkansen). We got to Sendai around lunchtime. We ate on the train, so when we got there, we chucked our bag in a locker at the train station and started to explore. Sendai Station is massive and has a whole mall attached to it. Beyond that, there is a whole shopping area just outside of the station as well. The station and the mall were decorated for the Tanabata festival already, even though the following weekend was when the festival would be celebrated. It was kind of cool, as I knew that I wouldn't be able to come down and see anything the next weekend. 

The adjoining mall called SPal was multiple floors, and the floor plan was so strange. Every time we turned a corner, there was more mall. We wandered around the mall for a bit and then headed over to our hotel to cool off and relax until dinner. For dinner, we wanted to get a staple of the region called Gyutan. Beef Tounge. We didn't end up at a restaurant for it but found a Yakiniku restaurant instead. Still so delicious. Afterward, we found ourselves at a Zunda store (edamame), which I know sounds gross but was surprisingly not terrible. I liked it in desserts and shakes that were a bit sweeter. When heading out to explore more of the city, we found yet another Pokemon Center, so of course, we had to go in and look around. It actually had some stuff that Tokyo didn't have. I don't know if this was because of a new release or store-specific merchandise. Afterward, we did end up at a stationary store, so we could both be nerdy. 

Eventually, we walked around for a bit and ended up at a three story arcade (games, claw machines, Gachapon Capsule machines). We played games and looked around. Across the street, there was a five-story Don Quixote, which, if you don't know, is kinda a catch-all store. It had food, drinks, toys, and more expensive things like watches, makeup, and colored contacts?. It was nuts. They also had hilarious music playing over the store speakers. 

On day two, we decided to get a Loople Pass. This is the sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus in Sendai. Waiting in line for the bus, we were already sweating. It wasn't even 10 am. The kind older gentleman who was working at the main bus stop talked to us for a little bit about where we were planning on going and warned us about a few stops that were more intense exercise-wise, with little shade. He told us to drink a lot of water. We actually took off one of the stops off our list because we knew it would be too much for today with the weather and the number of stairs. After all, our traveling is supposed to be fun. 

Our first stop was the Zuihoden Mausoleum. This is where five of Sendai's feudal lords, including their most famous and most powerful, the first lord, Date Masamune. It was really beautiful. The hike up the stairs was not great, but there was a little rest station at the top that was air-conditioned. I was grateful for it. The mausoleums themselves were quite beautiful. They were colored in gold and red and blue, and other colors with depictions of various symbols on them. None of the buildings that were there were the original buildings; however, since Sendai was actually bombed in WWII and most of the city was destroyed and rebuilt. On the way down the hill, we stopped by a temple and a children's graveyard (children of the lords who died in childhood). 

The second stop was Sendai Castle. There wasn't actually still a castle built, but the foundation was laid out with stones, and there was a beautiful view of the city next to a statue of Date Masamune riding a horse. We also got some lunch here and got a rice bowl with gyutan. It was so delicious. 

After skipping a few things for next time, we visited the Sankyzawa 100-year Electrical Historical Center, which features a Hydroelectric Power Staton from the Meiji Era that is still in use today. This wasn't too interesting, but since Charles is an electrical engineer, he found this place very interesting. 

At our last stop, we got off at Jozenji-Dori Ave, which is a street lined with trees (Sendai is the city of trees), where they host many festivals. We walked from here through the Ichibancho district (a large shopping district) and made our way back to the station. We hung out there until it was time to go. Very long day with a bunch of steps. I was really grateful I got to go, and I can't wait to head back. Hopefully, it will be cooler next time.