Day 30: 30 April 2009 (Sendai)

LOCATION: SENDAI
MOOD: RESTIVE
LISTENING TO: 50 CENT – HIGH ALL THE TIME

SPLIT PERSONALITY:

As relaxing as Fukushima is, there's really only so much you can do in a small town like Sukagawa. Henry advised that I shake off my boredom by taking a kousoku bus up to Sendai, the largest city in the north eastern part of Japan. It takes around two and a half hours to get there from Sukagawa, and of course two and a half hours back. Luckily for me, although the services between Sukagawa and Sendai are sporadic there was one early in the morning and one late at night.

Downtown Sendai.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Sendai. I knew it was a major city, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect – Kyoto's a major hub but it still manages to eschew the big city feel. Furthermore, Sendai is in the middle of the Touhoku (north eastern) region of Japan, one not exactly renowned for its metropolises. As it turns out, Sendai is a part big city, part country town. And the demarcation is sharp.

When you first get off the bus in central Sendai it almost feels like you're back in Tokyo again. Sendai enjoys the same skyscrapers and wide paths, with the same clean and organised feel that central Tokyo possesses. Perhaps a shared history of Allied carpet bombing has something to do with it.

I resisted the temptation to look at the shops around the CBD, instead opting to head out to Sendai castle. I'd learned from experience that you should hit up the tourist attractions during the day and do your shopping/eating at night after all the tourist spots close.

Of course you should never let your hectic schedule deter you from enjoying a nice park.

THE CASTLE THAT WASN'T THERE:

The strong Tokyo vibe that I felt when I disembarked was only strengthened by a stroll through Sendai. However once you get cross the border of the city area, which is marked by a river, you're immediately thrust into the countryside. The transition is swift and quite jarring.

This bridge marks the end of the city and the beginning of the inaka (countryside).

On one side of the river there's a modern city.

And on the other? Well...

After crossing the river it was a matter of heading uphill to Sendai castle. It's quite a steep climb, but you'll be treated to a couple of nice gardens and a museum (which I skipped in the interests of brevity). Most tourists normally take a bus up the winding hill but I decided to get a little exercise and walk. To be honest I was pretty worn out by the end, but the views were worth it.

After climbing the steps I decided that I could skip my Tae-Bo class for the week.

Once you see the giant stone torii you know you've made it. Doesn't quite give the same sense of satisfaction as breaking through that tape at the end of a marathon, but it's not too bad. Not that I've ever run a marathon.

Downtown Sendai viewed from the grounds of Sendai Castle.

I took some shots of the city skyline and the statues around the castle grounds, grabbed a drink and then started looking around for the actual castle. It was then that I realised that although I was standing on the battlements there actually wasn't a castle. It had been razed during WWII and, unlike many other historical buildings that were destroyed in similar fashion, hadn't been rebuilt. The only things that had been built were a bunch of tacky faux-medieval gift shops and restaurants. It was a little bit of a letdown, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment at having climbed all the way up and taken a photo at the famous statue of Masamune Date, a warlord who founded Sendai and is a favourite son of the region.

Masamune was apparently a real go-getter who climbed the ladders of society quickly and transformed Sendai into a mercantile and cultural hub. His is a classic rise-and-fall story, but it was hot and I couldn't be bothered reading all the signboards.

I was much more interested in more visceral delights like this random falcon monument.

The rest of the day was spent in the city, variously eating, shopping and watching the world go by. I managed to pick up a few more CDs, but I didn't pick up any books as the two Sendai bookstores I visited only had a paltry selection of Japanese language textbooks. I'm guessing that only cities with a sizable foreign population would stock such books.

Not to labour the point, but this really could be Tokyo if you filled in the skyline with a couple more skyscrapers.

I'm not exactly sure how this works in practice, but it made for a nice photo opportunity.

Unfortunately I had to wait until around 8PM to get a bus that actually stopped in Sukagawa, but at least I got my weekly dose of neon.