This entry was posted on 2001-04-06
Sendai
First off, there's big news brewing here in Japan. In a nutshell, Prime Minister Mori said himself that he plans to resign! That's excellent since his approval rating is so low. I hope it happens while I'm here! Oh, the nationalists must be disappointed. Their man is leaving. But for the majoity of the Japanese, they won't miss him. Maybe the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party, don't let the name fool you, this party is not libearl) will lose some power. Anyway, onto my travels...
I didn't come all the way up here to see the city. In fact tomorrow I'm heading to Matsushima Bay (supposedly one of the three most beautiful sites in Japan). After that I was planning on using Sendai as a base for trekking through Tohoku, but I changed my mind.
In fact I go back to Tokyo on Sunday afternoon.
I am getting bad vibes. For one, I am not understanding any Tohoku-ben. Therefore I am having an impossible time communicating. Since I know Japanese, I feel like I should be using it. But today at the travel agency I almost had to resort to English because I was not understanding the woman's thick Tohoku accent and she sure as hell didn't understand my standard Gaijin (foreigner) Japanese.
I'm also finding Tohoku to have both cold weather and cold people. I think I'd find myself going crazy here for more than a few days. And from what I saw, the scenery isn't that beautiful. Sure I love the take (bamboo) groves and the mountainous landscape, but the sakura front hasn't made it up here yet. I was really hoping to hike in the sakura dotted countryside. It ain't going to happen.
As soon as the Shinkansen got further north and as soon as the sakura disappeared, I began to long for those little pink flowers. I swear, they're addicting. And as soon as I heard Tohoku-ben and realized that I really couldn't understand it, I wished I were somewhere where I could know what the hell is going on (Even when I'm in southern Kyushu, I can understand everything much better. In fact, everywhere else I've been in Japan, I've at least been able to understand the majority of what was said to me. Not here.) And as soon as I began exploring Sendai on foot I realized that it's basically the same as any other mid-sized Japanese city.
So I decided to go back to Tokyo. I can base myself out of there for a while and go to Nikko, Kamakura (where I've actually never been), Chichibu, and (yes) Disneyland. I booked five nights in Tokyo starting on Sunday.
I'll probably go down to Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe/Nara) next weekend and visit some friends and work on my research (a lot of my research is down there: the abortion clinic where I did a lot of firsthand research last year, a professor who I've worked with, a bunch of Buddhist temples with jizu etc). Besides, Northern Kyoto is beautiful at this time of the year. I need to go back to Arashiyama and see the colors of Spring (It's beautiful in the Fall as well). And I need to go "visit" my university in Hirakata and see what has changed.
And who knows...maybe I will get down to central and southern Kyushu. Or I may go to Shikoku. I've never been there before and it is supposed to be the least developed and the least traveled of all of Japan's islands. Could be interesting. And if I understand Shikoku-ben, all the better!
I'm sorry that I don't have more details about Tohoku and Sendai. I really don't have much to say. Oh, but I will say this...there's a bagel shop in Sendai! A real rarity in Japan! And Diet Coke is available in most of the vending machines. Again, a real rarity for Japan. But of course Sendai isn't perfect foodwise. Their local specialty is salted cow's tongue. Perfect for a fussy vegetarian like myself.
Last night in Tokyo I had a particularly annoying incident take place. I was sitting on a bench minding my own business when a group of inebriated salarymen practically surrounded me. They started talking me in loud Japanese (Foreigners get talked about and pointed at a lot but after a while it gets aggravating. Especially when you're in my situation that you have lived in this country, traveled extensively, and speak the language. After a while being an outsider gets tiresome). I wanted to "practice" some of my more vulgar Japanese on them. I wanted to tell them off in Japanese. I wanted them to know that I had understood every word that they said (how I love Tokyo-ben) and that I did not appreciate them talking about me. But instead of telling them directly, I started talking to a Japanese woman. The picture of their mouths dropping open when they realized that I speak Japanese and probably had understood them was priceless.
Ok, well I am going to watch more Japanese tv (I love Japanese tv and I have an excuse to watch it excessively: listening practice) and then go out in Sendai. I hope I'll have good things to say about Matsushima tomorrow.
Please make me happy and sign my guestbook. Also, if you're a Diaryland member and want more hits, sign up for the year gold membership. Tell them that I, Japantravels, sent you!