For Day 6 (Part 2): From Hakodate to Sendai, click here.
For Day 7 (Part 1): Yamadera, click here.
Anpan-man Museum 仙台アンパンマンこどもミュージアム＆モール
Address: 宮城県仙台市宮城野区鉄砲町145
Sendai was not hot by Singapore's standard averaging at around 16-18 degrees but it felt hot coming from Hokkaido where I was used to an average of 5 degrees. Was a terrible idea wearing the thicker fur coat walking to my hotel, ended up sweating quite badly. The Anpan-museum is located about 10 minutes away from my hotel and might be a little hard to navigate so I provided the address. Interestingly, it is located on Teppo-cho which means cannon street. ^^
On the way to the museum, reminded me a bit of Motomachi in Hakodate
Greeted by the face of Anpan-man as you near the museum
Met Yumi-chan outside the museum and this time round I was on time as the train to Sendai earlier was not delayed. The museum touts itself to be an interactive participatory museum where children can enjoy the wonderful world of Anpanman, with a shopping mall full of goods featuring the original Anpanman characters and offering unique services. It comprises of only 2 storeys, with the museum located on the second floor and the shops on the first floor. Entrance fee was 1,080 yen (about 13 SGD) which was actually pretty steep for only 1 level of exhibits (although it was a pretty spacious level).
There was an exclusive cafe for museum-goers but we gave this a miss as the stage performance was starting soon
Cute and colourful interior of the cafe museum
Didn't know there were so many characters in the Anpan-man universe!~ I could only name like 5 while Yumi named only managed about 20 haha
We managed to catch the signature stage performance at the Yanasetakashi stage (やなせたかし劇場) and it was the last one of the day at 4 pm!~ At first we were all very paiseh to sing and dance along but amidst the infectious happiness of the parents and their kids surrounding us, we gave in. Felt like being a kid again with all the haiiiis and ikuyos replies but it was really fun. ^^
Yumi was like, "I'm never going to go down there but you should as you're a tourist... I'll help you take the photo!"
There was a meet-and-greet with Mr Skull here who kindly posed for me right after the stage performance
We also managed to catch a couple of the seasonal performances while grabbing some souvenirs and unique food from the first floor. There was the Spring Festa (メロンパンナのスプリングフェスタ) featuring one of Anpan-man's best friends, Melon-panna (roughly translated to Melon bread Anna, as she was a girl ^^). It took place at the plaza in the middle of the sprawling first floor and we managed to catch glimpses of it from the restaurant that we were in.
One of the many unique little stalls (in the foreground) alongside the bigger shops (in the background) selling Anpan-man goods you can't find elsewhere... I got myself a clear file and Yumi got a pen for her cousin
Wanted the popcorn because the bucket it came in was so cute but decided not to as there was no way we would finish this without stuffing out our tummies
Anpan-man onigiris ^^
So cute!~ But there were not cheap at 300 yen (about 4 SGD) a piece ^^;
There's a playground at the top left corner for kids to enjoy while their parents can take a break and get some food
I had the Anpan-man meat bun (nikuman) while Yumi had the Baikin-man red bean bun... wasn't cheap but it was fresh from the steamer and was piping hot and delicious ^^ Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Rikyu 利久 仙台駅店
Address: Sendai station 3F
We parted ways in the evening as Yumi already had a dinner appointment (一緒にとったの写真はメールで送ります！) so I decided to double back to Sendai station to try out one of Sendai's most famous specialties, gyutan or grilled beef tongue! Had a bit of a hard time finding the restaurant I wanted to go as the station was pretty big, but thankfully the station staff were all very familiar with the place. It's located round the corner of the Shinkansen ticket gates in the north exit's direction. The portion of gyutan served was extremely generous and the gyutan was grilled to perfection, retaining its chewiness yet not being overly rubbery.
Sendai at night with its many lights on is a much prettier sight than in the day
Must have been extremely hot in there, but the guy expertly and deftly flipped every piece of gyutan such that they were all evenly cooked. He did it at a rather amazing speed too, was a marvel watching him cook as I ate.
The shop boasted that the marinate for its gyutan was a secret recipe and it was really savoury and complement with the gyutan's taste really well. This set costs about 1,600 yen (about 20 SGD) and was totally worth it. Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Oosaki Hachiman-gu 大崎八幡宮
After a most hearty and filling dinner, I decided to head for the Oosaki Hachiman-gu first before returning back to Jozenji-dori for a late supper. You can take the Sendai shiei bus no. 10 or 15 from the bus terminal next to the JR station and it takes about 20 minutes and 220 yen (about 3 SGD) to get there. The Shinto shrine was constructed for Date Masamune between 1604 to 1607 and the main shrine building (社殿) has been designated as a national treasure of Japan as oldest extant ishi-no-ma-zukuri (石の間造) structure and an example of Azuchi-Momoyama architecture.
The station on the left, the taxi holding area on the bottom left and the bus terminal on the bottom middle and right
Arrived!~
Jozenji-dori 定禅寺通り
Was pretty underwhelmed when I got to Jozenji-dori but had expected to feel so because spring was not the season to visit this street. This street was a symbol of why Sendai had long been referred to as the city of trees or 森の都 with tall Zelkova trees lining the boulevard for about 700 metres. It is also home to the Jozenji Jazz Festival every September and is lit up with thousands of light during winter for the Pageant of Starlight. I was much more interested in the Seiryuu Manjushan Shanghai Ramen located nearby as Yumi told me that it served an excellent shoyu ramen for the cold weather. While I agreed very much with the light shoyu broth, the chashu slices were too porky in taste for me. But at 690 yen (about 9 SGD) this was one of the most afforadable ramen I had this trip.
The Zelkova trees were still bare so early in spring at Jozenji-dori
The boulevard were lined with interesting buildings along the sides, would have liked to dine and sip coffee on the higher floors overlooking the street during summer
Chen Long?! I asked, and there was no link to the famous movie star ^^; Address: 宮城県仙台市青葉区国分町3-6-10
Why is it that racial stereotypes are so prevalent everywhere in the world? Because this is a Chinese ramen shop so it must use the distinctively Chinese bowl with dragon and Xi engravings.
Kokubun-cho 国分町
Kokubun-cho is an area nestled between Higashi Niban-dori and Bansui-dori in Aoba Ward of Sendai City. It is a representative downtown district of the Tohoku region that developed along the Kokubuncho-dori where you can find more than 3,000 eating and drinking establishments standing next to each other. During the Sendai Tanabata Festival in August, elaborate and beautiful decorations deck the streets of Kokubun-cho which is the venue of this event. It reminded me a lot of Susukino in Sapporo, with a bustling night scene and those darn promoters/pushers who either want to drag you to a karaoke bar or some love motel. Didn't manage to take that many photos in the area as I went to join Yumi and her friends for a drink soon after.
Where we had our yakitori, robatayaki and another round of gyutan which was surprisingly good Amimoto Jou no Ie 網元 上の家 Address: 宮城県仙台市青葉区国分町2-2-28 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 裕美ちゃんたちへ：写真はここ
Wasn't sure if they sold real or fake disney stuff... some of the products seemed dodgy ^^;
That scary taxi pool near the station again
Some of the freebies I got from convenience stores such as the Attack on the Titan plate and the Rilakkuma clear file... many many thanks to Yumi for buying me the bread from the Anpan-man museum earlier despite it being so expensive!~ Felt damn bad as I only gave her a couple of polaroids we took at the museum and later at Jou no Ie. Will give you a huge present when you come to Singapore!~ ^^
Click here (coming soon) for the breathtaking view of Yamadera.
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.
