A jam packed day in Sendai followed by a night ferry to Hokkaido

Staying at the Dormy Inn is a complete experience thanks to the perks they offer…free ramen and a stellar Onsen with natural hot springs and free ice cream. Something every cyclist needs, especially those of us of a certain vintage.

Below are a few photos of the do’s and don’ts a foreigner needs to understand about the wearing of footwear and other basics when inside a Japanese hotel or home. Of special importance are tatami mat floors….no outside shoes, sandals, etc.

In the Onsen, there are many areas for relaxing which have tatami mat floors. No shoes allowed.

The onsen here is exceptional. The photos show both the indoor and outdoor areas.

An area to relax at the hotel…lots of manga books to read, TV and just hang out.

We are off to explore Sendai. We have a full day planned as our ferry doesn’t depart until this evening.

Just down the road is the much lauded Sendai Aquarium. That will be our first stop.

We will be joined at the Aquarium by many groups of school children. Fear not, the children are quite happy, engaged and well behaved in their groups. As a retired primary teacher. Barry is a loving it and having a chance to be Mr.B again, interacting with these little ones.

When we entered the first part of the aquarium, we realized that we were in for something special. The size of the viewing windows were mammoth and many of them opened up to fresh air.

A large school of Japanese sardines….a wave of shiny silver, moving as one.

Imagine the impact of seeing this underwater world for this young child who is taking it all in. She was very engaged by the view.

The habitat has been recreated in these tanks giving the many varieties of fish to thrive.

The distinctive underside of a Pitted Ray

Bering wolf fish looking secure in the pipe and surrounded by beautiful multi coloured sea plants.

What a treat to see such a variety of fish with unique colourations, shapes and characteristics. Some of the colours were so vibrant like these red/orange fish.

It was like a bit of science fiction come to life watching these Japanese spider crab walk with great deliberation and agility on their very long legs.

Fish whose habitat is the kelp beds around Sendai

The African Pompano is impressive to see up close. Their fins resemble long willowy tendrils which are always gracefully moving as they effortlessly glide past.

On the right is an example of how the French use plastic discs for shellfish cultivation. On the left is the Japanese style that uses scallop shells

The Japanese Conger is a type of eel. It was fascinating watching them as they clearly like to be close together in tight quarters. Just as you think you have figured it out, more heads emerge. The more the merrier…

Sea robins or gurnard fish have three “walking rays” on each side of their bodies. They have remarkably large pectoral fins. These fins when in motion, unfurl like wings of an airplane.

A group of sea horses with their tail latched on to the plant.

We loved the natural environments that have been created.

A highlight for us was the area with penguins. Sometimes, at a zoo or aquarium, it can be distressing to see the conditions where the animals live. However, top marks for Sendai in providing a sizeable and interesting space for the penguins. There were large areas for swimming and dry land, all of which were connected by overhead paths for them to move around and not get bored. They certainly looked and seemed happy and busy.

The penguins had the opportunity to swim and frolic in deep water

The enclosure for the Emperor Penguins was separate and provided them with a very cold environment.

Many of the penguins are sitting on eggs.I am not a penguin authority so I don’t know why, but each type of penguin had a different setting sitting on their eggs. Smaller penguins had a small cave like setting where one was inside on the eggs and the mate stayed firmly at her side. Whereas this larger penguin sat on the eggs in the open.

Image not found :( — Feeding time for the penguins

The restaurant at the aquarium had a view of the penguins and on the other side a view of the seals and sea lotions swimming under water.

Mary Ellen had her favourite, Chicken Nanban. She said it was cooked perfectly .

Barry tried a specialty of Sendai…beef tongue curry.

Delicious soft serve ice cream to complete our lunch

Kids from the school groups were having a blast on the gigantic trampoline like dome shaped play area

Notice that the kids took off their shoes before sitting on the tarp for lunchtime

Professor Penquin was giving a lecture to his students on human behaviour

A teacher of one of the school groups clearly loves penguins.

An owl was perched at the entrance to the aquarium

Our next stop was the Tohoku History Museum. Tohoku consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. The museum is an impressive space that provided us with an overview of the region’s history. From the moment we entered we were provided with exhibitions than span from prehistoric times, featuring Jomon artifacts, to the modern era. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Unlike some museums that we have visited in Japan, everything was in Japanese and English.

We especially liked the Jomon exhibits. The Jomon era was about 13,000 years ago. Every few minutes the dog would bark and wag its tail.

The Jomon area is extensive with pottery, stone tools, ritual artifacts and a shell midden.

The Jomon, were hunter gatherers with their own unique culture.

These straw figures represent deities that were erected at village borders to ward off evil and keep the villagers safe from illness and misfortune.

Still today, villagers dress in these costumes and scary masks to represent the deities. They call from house to house New Year’s Eve and January15 in order to purge evil spirits and bring good luck.

Festivals using straw images of deities were major events for Tohoku villages. There are 3 kinds of deities used in these events…deities at the village borders, for driving out pests and for purging pestilence. The large one below is at the village border.

These are deities used for purging pestilence. Villagers would load up a small straw boat with images to ward off pestilence and set it adrift. This practice is still used today.

These straw deities represent pests like snakes that would be purged from the village

A model of the streets near the main gate of the Sendai Castle. Many large merchant houses were located in the vicinity.

More images of the street life near the castle below.

This tabard was worn during the Joachim War.

Clogs used in rice patties to prevent the feet from being bogged down in the mud.

The following photos show modern life in Japan…..1950’s and on.

A recreation of an actual general store in Sendai in 1965. The merchandised; the store, as well as the utensils in the living room and the kitchen, indicate the rapid economic growth for ordinary people in urban Tohoku.

We noticed that Japanese visitors to the Museum were really enjoying this look back at life I. The 1960’s. There was a lot of laughing, pointing at objects and reminiscing. Good memories.

The family who ran the store lived in the back. This would have been their home.

We visited the Gift Shop and enjoyed these folders with humorous pictures like the frog blowing bubbles and the cat licking his chops in anticipation of a potential meal

During the Edo Period, the Japanese artist Hiroshige Utigawa travelled the ancient roads between Tokyo and Kyoto. He painted what became 100 Famous Views of Edo. This is one of the,. We bought 2 prints to take home.fortunately we were just able to squeeze the 2 prints in the back of Barry’s pannier. Whew!

As we were leaving the Museum, this young girl came up to us and grilled us with a number of questions in English. Her confidence and English skills were impressive. We had fun with her. We are certain that she will have a big impact on the world. A lovely family.

We are in the ferry line with the motorcycles for the overnight trip to Hokkaido. Exciting.

The fellow who is giving us a thumbs up as he drives on the ferry had earlier popped over and asked permission to take our photos with our trikes. He wished us a good journey.

We are parked and ready to go up to our cabin. We are headed to Tomokamai on Hokkaido and our crossing is about 16 hours. We should land in Tomokamai at 11:30 tomorrow morning.

The various types of accommodation onboard the ferry

We like our spacious cabin at the front of the ship with a front facing window. Two beds, a couch, kettle and frig, plus a nice bathroom.

Japanese built cars waiting to be loaded on to the car freighter

Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 1,754 km (1,089 miles)

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