Hotel Green City Sendai

Finally, it was time to get up to our prefectures, mine being Miyagi.

Let me tell you in advance: running around Tokyo stations at 9 in the morning in the summer in a full suit, carrying a heavy bag, is really, really fun.

Not really.

Although Japan isn't hitting the highs we were getting in Texas when I left (106ish), it is extremely HUMID. Take that and combine it with underground train stations and trains packed with people, and you get ...

... but it was still cool. While waiting for the bus, two French girls saw that I was wearing an Alice Nine shirt. They got lost trying to find the venue so I pointed them in the right direction. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to squeeze the sightseeing in that morning. Anyway, Zuihoden was gorgeous. The stairs are really steep so it took some effort to actually get to the mausoleum. Aoba Castle was somewhat disappointing because all that’ ...

I've arrived in Sendai. Last night I stayed up really late packing and cleaning, and I continued to do it in the morning. Lots of people visited when it was close to move-out time either to say goodbye or to do business. I sent off two bags via takyubin to Tokyo. It was good thing I had help since it was pouring like crazy. Mrs. K's omiyage were based on wordplay (could Michael X be rubbing off on her ...

Today was another long exhaustingly fun day. Mika and I went to Sendai Comiket, which was a little out of the way. We couldn't take the rapid train so we had to wait about half an hour at the station. We probably should’ve grabbed a quicker lunch. Anyway, since I packed up my Zero cosplay, I dressed up as Tora from Alice Nine’s "Shunkashuutou" PV and Mika as the green-haired android from To Heart (I forgot her name ...

... it good. When I looked up the seating chart back home, I discovered that I’m still way in the back and that my original ticket (2nd floor, 1st row, off to the side) might have a better view. However, my new ticket still puts me closer to the band, and the vibes are going be different when you have to look down. Now I've got an extra Alice Nine concert ticket. Any takers?

Glossary
meishi - business cards
bishounen - "pretty boy"

... to be there until 8 PM. However, seeing the contest itself was inspiration. The participants ranged from kindergarteners to elderly people. There was even a special ed boy. Everybody did so well. My favorite was the group of high school girls that did a Gundam skit. They were very expressive and had good pronunciation. They even did voices and gestures. At the after party, I got to talk to some ...

So on our 2nd day in Sendai we decided to get up early and take the train to Matsushima which is said to be one of the 3 great sights in Japan. It is a town but essentially the great sight is a serious of rock islands in the bay/ocean surrounding the area.

We had our complimentary breakfast which was Japanese onigiri in a few different styles then we headed to the train station. We took the train to a town a few ...

... The sets were cheaper, and I didn't have to worry about matching all the pieces. However, I wasn’t fond of most flower patterns because they’re so typical. There was this gorgeous black and gold one with rabbits and sakura, but that itself cost twice as much as the set. Anna came across one with a fireworks pattern that was 800 yen. The quality wasn’t good, but it’s not like I’ll have ...

After we got some what established in Sendai we decided to go on a day trip to Matsushima.
Matsushima is very cool, I think its seid to be one of the 3rd most beautiful places in Japan. Its right on the water with little islands srounding it that you take take boats out to. We didn't get to go to any islands but we did get to see some kick ass temples and stuff. We went to a old tea house and a buddist temple. The buddist temple was soo cool, each room was painted in ...

... panic about time and grabbed an early dinner at Mos Burger. Their hamburgers and fries are the size of what you'd find in a McDonald's Happy Meal. No wonder everybody thinks Americans are a bunch of fatties. >_> I rushed to pick up the accessories and managed to find a store with decently-priced shoes. $60 for a pair of leather boots isn't bad, and they are amazingly light. Lighter than my ...