The jet lag I thought I avoided this trip kicked in last night. I woke up several times and 4:45AM, was about as late as I could sleep. I got at least 7 hours, so that was good. I spent some time messing with the janky WiFi again (much better at 4:45AM when no one else is on) and reading email. My goal was to get to the JR Rail Pass office before they opened and get on an early train to Sendai. I took a shower, packed up, and went around the corner to the convenience store (a Mini Stop) and picked up a quick breakfast.

I was the first one in line! I quickly filled out the paperwork so I wouldn’t lose my spot and got my Rail Pass before 8:35!

But the next train out was full and the following train stopped at ever station. The first fast train to Sendai wasn’t scheduled until 10:10AM so I had time to kill. I bought a newspaper and found a coffee shop inside the train gates. Since I was planning on sitting there for over and hour and a half I bought a second breakfast, which was as tasty as the first.

The train ride was uneventful and incredibly fast. The Wi-Fi on the train was less janky than the hotel, but still janky, and I ended up using my cell phone as a hot spot. The trip consisted of me killing the batteries in my laptop and my phone so I could check my email for whatever reason. Got to Sendai around 11:40AM.

I dropped off my bags at the hotel (check in wasn’t until the afternoon) and at noon I was ready to go exploring. I guess there’s only three big things to see in Sendai and you can to them with a one-day bus pass. I got to the bus right as they were leaving so I hopped on without the pass. I missed all the discounts the bus pass would’ve given me.

Sendai was a castle town built by a daimyo, Date Masamune. I don’t have to tell you this because everything in this area is about Date Masamune. The first stop was a 45-year-old re-creation of his mausoleum, which was bombed to bits during WWII. Like most re-creations, it’s not quite as interesting as the real thing.

There’s a whole lot more I didn’t take pictures of because: re-creation.

The second stop is where the castle was, which was also bombed to bits. It’s on top of a hill, as was the mausoleum, which meant there’s a lot of walking up hills here. The bus will drop you off at the bottom of the hill. There was a great view, but the castle is just a bunch of blocks in the ground where the foundation should’ve been.

The third stop I made was the shrine that Masamune Date built. I really like shrines, but this was just a shrine and preparations were being made for a festival that won’t happen until after I leave. I found out the shrine honors the deity of warfare as well. Woof.

I got back to the hotel and my room is very nice. Now this is what a hotel should be like. There’s a big public bath on the second floor and I absolutely love soaking in a giant pool of hot water. For dinner I went out to get a Sendai specialty, Maboyakisoba (which was ok at best), and that food plus the lack of sleep and I’m too tired to leave the room again. It’s all I can do to finish this post.

The “free” dessert (and the one small beer) didn’t help with my sleepiness.

So there you have it. I took a shower in the room instead of hitting the bath, and tomorrow I either have a big day climbing up to Yamadera in Yamagata (the mountain temple) or I’m heading to the seashore of Matsushima. The temperature in the mountains of Yamagata is supposed to be ~85°F (29.5°C) tomorrow, and ~95°F (35°C) the next day, so I probably have to do all the mountain stuff tomorrow or just not do it at all. We’ll see how I feel in the morning.