Where I last left off
I have excuses this time! There was cupcakes. And stuff. It's 4 & it's slow. So...
Hmmm. Beds: fluffy & warm. Pillows: Buckwheat type, comfortable in their own way. The room overall at the Kinugawa Gyoen was really nice, in its own way. Because it's not a Western hotel, it has its own thing going. And Western toilet in the traditional inn, whee, big plus.
The only bad part was getting woken up at 3am, hearing a *BANGBANGCRASH*, had more to do with the typhoon & the wind tearing shit up outside. My uncle looked outside & said he saw a tree snap in half. There was that. O_o
And his watch alarm didn't go off again. We'd having problems getting alarms to work during the course of the trip, the first three days in Kyoto, he couldn't figure out how to get the hotel clock to work, he used his own watch instead. That didn't go off. Although the first few days, we weren't acclimated to Japan time, & woke up early. I used my iPod alarm last night as back up, in case I couldn't hear his watch go off.
It doesn't matter that much... except Mr. I Miss My Dogs is driving me nuts. NUTS, I say. And there's more bus time. I think the bad part of this trip, either than the fucking typhoon, is that we spend tons of time on the bus, & not seeing things. The "seeing things" would work better if we stayed in one place, but we're not. I guess it's a toss-up, either way you could look at it.
Did catch some typhoon updates before we checked out. To give you an idea of how big this thing is, they showed images of the largest bridge in Japan, with no cars on it. NONE. Ghost town, hi.
Looks like the sea (AHAHAHA) cruise in Matsushima Bay is out of the question. I believe there were a few other sights on the schedule, but the cruise was the big thing. I had mixed feelings about going. Because motion sickness & me don't mix.
Matsushima Bay is located in Sendai, its name translated means "pine islands". Makes sense because the bay is dotted with 140 tiny islands with pine trees. It's very beautiful, from what I saw when the bus drove past it.
The other places we saw instead were Kanrantei Villa (ceremonial tea house), Godaido Hall, & Zuiganji Shrine. They were nearby the area that had the cruise. Man, that town was dead. The port was completely blocked up. Everyone was GONE.
Considering the typhoon was scheduled to hit our exact area in a little over an hour, yeah, I'd GTFO too. How did I know this? Our tour guide informed us, we have a little over an hour to tour three locations, you can come if you want to, it may rain, & oh btw we have to hurry because the typhoon will be here soon. -_-
I got off the bus kinda slow, digging for my umbrella, & most of the group was already gone. Followed the stragglers to Godaido Hall, had this small bridge over the water, huge gaps, I see why there is wood planks, you could totally fall in. Walked up to Kanrantei Villa & saw the outside, didn't get to go in (forgot why). Did a quick run through Zuiganji Shrine, where my camera decided to crap out on me, I didn't get too many photos in there. Gorgeous place. Huge gate, walkway down through tall pines(?), several shrines against a cliff/rock face. I wish my camera hadn't decided to die on me there. GRR.
Run indeed we did. I went ahead most of the group back to the bus, who got distracted by a store selling kamaboko (steamed fishcake). *rolls eyes* I'm running back to the bus, & it turns from a sprinkle to a torrential downpour, & I forget where the bus was parked. I recall leaping across a large puddle, lots of wind, run to bus. My pants from the knees down were soaked.
Board bus, go to hotel. Tonight we stayed in Hotel Sendai Plaza. Ended up being able to go out & find something to eat even though the news claimed the typhoon would be at its strongest from 3-9 pm that day. Not so. Was quite clear when we went out. Found soba place around mall area.
Tomorrow we'll spend the next 2-3 days in Kitakami, getting to know the town & its people, some of us are doing homestays, some people aren't. My uncle & I will be participating in a homestay. I barely had time to read the profile before I left Japan, I know there's a wife & husband with one kid that lives with them. Don't even remember names. Hah. I am bad.
Will be wrapping gifts for the host family tonight, don't want to deal with it tomorrow.
My uncle is practicing his Japanese, certain phrases like, Hajimemashite, dozo yoroshiku do not sound right...auuuugh.
Hmmm. Beds: fluffy & warm. Pillows: Buckwheat type, comfortable in their own way. The room overall at the Kinugawa Gyoen was really nice, in its own way. Because it's not a Western hotel, it has its own thing going. And Western toilet in the traditional inn, whee, big plus.
The only bad part was getting woken up at 3am, hearing a *BANGBANGCRASH*, had more to do with the typhoon & the wind tearing shit up outside. My uncle looked outside & said he saw a tree snap in half. There was that. O_o
And his watch alarm didn't go off again. We'd having problems getting alarms to work during the course of the trip, the first three days in Kyoto, he couldn't figure out how to get the hotel clock to work, he used his own watch instead. That didn't go off. Although the first few days, we weren't acclimated to Japan time, & woke up early. I used my iPod alarm last night as back up, in case I couldn't hear his watch go off.
It doesn't matter that much... except Mr. I Miss My Dogs is driving me nuts. NUTS, I say. And there's more bus time. I think the bad part of this trip, either than the fucking typhoon, is that we spend tons of time on the bus, & not seeing things. The "seeing things" would work better if we stayed in one place, but we're not. I guess it's a toss-up, either way you could look at it.
Did catch some typhoon updates before we checked out. To give you an idea of how big this thing is, they showed images of the largest bridge in Japan, with no cars on it. NONE. Ghost town, hi.
Looks like the sea (AHAHAHA) cruise in Matsushima Bay is out of the question. I believe there were a few other sights on the schedule, but the cruise was the big thing. I had mixed feelings about going. Because motion sickness & me don't mix.
Matsushima Bay is located in Sendai, its name translated means "pine islands". Makes sense because the bay is dotted with 140 tiny islands with pine trees. It's very beautiful, from what I saw when the bus drove past it.
The other places we saw instead were Kanrantei Villa (ceremonial tea house), Godaido Hall, & Zuiganji Shrine. They were nearby the area that had the cruise. Man, that town was dead. The port was completely blocked up. Everyone was GONE.
Considering the typhoon was scheduled to hit our exact area in a little over an hour, yeah, I'd GTFO too. How did I know this? Our tour guide informed us, we have a little over an hour to tour three locations, you can come if you want to, it may rain, & oh btw we have to hurry because the typhoon will be here soon. -_-
I got off the bus kinda slow, digging for my umbrella, & most of the group was already gone. Followed the stragglers to Godaido Hall, had this small bridge over the water, huge gaps, I see why there is wood planks, you could totally fall in. Walked up to Kanrantei Villa & saw the outside, didn't get to go in (forgot why). Did a quick run through Zuiganji Shrine, where my camera decided to crap out on me, I didn't get too many photos in there. Gorgeous place. Huge gate, walkway down through tall pines(?), several shrines against a cliff/rock face. I wish my camera hadn't decided to die on me there. GRR.
Run indeed we did. I went ahead most of the group back to the bus, who got distracted by a store selling kamaboko (steamed fishcake). *rolls eyes* I'm running back to the bus, & it turns from a sprinkle to a torrential downpour, & I forget where the bus was parked. I recall leaping across a large puddle, lots of wind, run to bus. My pants from the knees down were soaked.
Board bus, go to hotel. Tonight we stayed in Hotel Sendai Plaza. Ended up being able to go out & find something to eat even though the news claimed the typhoon would be at its strongest from 3-9 pm that day. Not so. Was quite clear when we went out. Found soba place around mall area.
Tomorrow we'll spend the next 2-3 days in Kitakami, getting to know the town & its people, some of us are doing homestays, some people aren't. My uncle & I will be participating in a homestay. I barely had time to read the profile before I left Japan, I know there's a wife & husband with one kid that lives with them. Don't even remember names. Hah. I am bad.
Will be wrapping gifts for the host family tonight, don't want to deal with it tomorrow.
My uncle is practicing his Japanese, certain phrases like, Hajimemashite, dozo yoroshiku do not sound right...auuuugh.