Day 6 (Part 2): From Hakodate to Sendai

For Day 6 (Part 1): Goryokaku, click here.

For Day 6 (Part 3): Anpan-man Museum and Jozenji-dori, click here.

From Hakodate Station 函館駅から

This is a quick update, namely to provide information for those travelling southwards from Hokkaido. It also allows me to focus on a special interest on mine when I travel, which would be the bentos you can get in the different prefectures and also on the different train types. First up, Hakodate has a famous bento shop, Mikado Ekiben, which is easily accessible at the station so remember to buy your bento before boarding! I took the 11.19 am Hakucho 28 limited express train which takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes to reach Shin-Aomori where I changed trains to get to Sendai. For those who are interested, the Shinkansen is being extended from Shin-Aomori into Hokkaido, with the Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate leg set to open by March 2016 which would allow you to travel by train from Tokyo to Hakodate in less than 4 hours.

Mikado Ekiben みかど駅弁販売店
The kind obaa-chans even recommended me a few of their signatures bentos for me to choose from. ^^

Lucky to be on the newer models. ^^

Always loved the packaging differentiation that ekibens had

The beef slices (top left) and minced beef (bottom right) was absolutely heavenly with the right amount of chewiness and flavour. The egg running through the middle does a nice job of balancing the sweet saltiness of the beef together with the rice.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

First time being checked on this trip... they actually check the reserved carriages quite frequently so don't risk sitting here if you don't have a proper ticket!

One last lovely view of Hakodate and Hokkaido as the train prepares to enter the Seikan Tunnel into Aomori Prefecture

Had some snacks from earlier visits to convenience stores where I usually had to buy 2 of these to get a free item... if I'm not wrong this packet of honey chocolates got me a my melody iphone earpiece holder ^^;

Transfer at Shin-Aomori station 新青森駅での乗り換え

I had about an hour to while away at Shin-Aomori station and was actually looking around for the train girl-related goods for the Aomori railway company, Tokie Hachinohe (八戸ときえ). Sadly enough I was transferring at a JR station and the nearest subway station for the Aomori railway company was a stop away at Aomori JR station. T_T

There were quite a lot of interesting art exhibits at the station

Ah yes, found the place to buy the ekibens only sold in Tohoku!~

The more familiar green Hayabusa trains that run from Shin-Aomori to Tokyo, the journey to Sendai would take another hour and 40 minutes

Witnessing the last vestiges of snow on the ground as the weather gets warmer southwards

Didn't appreciate this bento at all despite it boasting to have the freshest and most varied catch representing the Tohoku region. Really disliked the uni on the rice and the saving grace were the two well marinated hotate on the top
Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

A cute Snoopy x Pocky collaboration serving station on the train ^^

The coffee was quite an excellent pick me up after feeling sleepy on the trains, but the waffle turned out to be rock solid

From Sendai station to the hotel 仙台駅からホテルまで

If I thought Sapporo station was big, Sendai station is an absolute monster with 5 floors and 3 dedicated to boarding of different types of trains. Incidentally, the 5th floor housed many fantastic restaurants that one should not miss if you happen to stop by or transit here. To answer the common query of why I decided to visit Sendai which is quite near to Fukushima, the primary reason was to catch up with friends and also catch the cherry blossoms which were in full bloom here at the time I was visiting. As for radiation concerns, the ground radiation in Japan is negligibly higher than that elsewhere and you would actually get a higher dosage of environmental radiation while travelling on the plane than you would in Miyagi Prefecture. In fact, the radiation in Singapore is actually on par with that of Sendai and much higher than many areas of Japan. For more info, click here.

The start of my crowded Japanese experience which I grew to really dislike after spending time in Hokkaido

A view of the first to third floors from the escalators

Sendai station's not very pretty looking from the outside ^^;

First time I've seen so many taxis in my life.

I chose to stay at Hotel Green Pacific as it was conveniently located near the station but the problem was in navigating the overhead passageways and the staircases with my luggage to get there. It was not too difficult to navigate given the GPS but it's important to note that there are a number of Hotel Green ____ in and around the Sendai station area so make sure you head for the right one if you do book the chain in Sendai.

Sadly enough no free upgrade to twin room here, Sendai being more crowded and hotels more occupied I supposed.
Stayed here for 2 nights for 5,500 yen per night (about 69 SGD)

For fond childhood memories of a bread man superhero, click here.