Dear reader,
I've been too busy traveling to post blogs. So this might be brief and I'll edit it later.

silly train god

bento lunch box, Countrylink take note

yum

We left Osaka on the bullet train, um last Saturday. North to Sendai, where we stayed in a guest house, Ryokan, for a few days. Tatami room, low table, tea ready; lovely host, great food. The tail end of a typhoon blew and rained outside that afternoon. Teruko played her sanshin while I checked out how the shoji screens are made and sat drinking green tea.



A beautiful moment.

Amazing dinner.

Toilet a shrine to modern technology- I won't rave on about it.


Hired a car next day and went further north to Hiraizumi and Motsuji Buddhist shrines. Drive in the country. Came across a New Zealand theme park. on the top of a big hill. That's weird. We didn't go in.
There's something going on between new Zealand and Northern Honshu, it keeps popping up. Rained all day.

a tree hugger

Little ramen place for dinner. A bit grubby and messy, but Teruko said these are the good places to eat. I had dumpling with mine while Teruko had cow's tongue, not the whole tongue, just a couple of slices.

cow's tongues on display

Next day we had a bus ride around Sendai in the rain and then caught a train to Yamadera where we climbed the mountain in the rain to a beautiful Buddhist shrine.

When you pass through those gates let all bad things fall away

The next day we put our stuff in a locker at the station and caught a train to the Matsushima coast. Explored an island and then got a ferry down the coast a bit to another train station. Then went on to Nikko. I was feeling a bit phased by now, this schedule being pretty full on. Suppose I was a bit ungrateful. Things got a bit tense.
.


A Ryokan overlooking the river, the dinner was amazing, cheered me up. Then my first experience of an Onsen which let me relax.





November 3 is Culture Day and the shrines that we went to see were packed with people. It was pretty crazy. In the afternoon  Teruko went out without me, while I slept.


November 4 we hired a taxi guide who took us on a three hour tour of Nikko and the waterfalls and lake. That was pleasant.

well packed

Train to Omiya. Staying in a business hotel in another red light district- (I didn't choose it!). Where I'm writing this. Room reeking of stale cigarette smoke. I went and had shower /bath in the public arrangement in this hotel. Interesting to be in a room full of naked Japanese men, squatting on low stools washing, coughing, spitting, farting and giving me very stern unfriendly looks. I tried my best to fit in.