Date: Wed, 27 May 1998
Day four part two - We got off the train in Sendai, which the guide book
and the otoosan said to do. The whole trip took two hours, a distance
of 351.8 kilometers. With five stops, we still averaged about
105mph! Pretty cool. We got on the local train to Matsushima-kaigan,
which is what the guide book said to do. The otoosan's directions took
the same train to Takagi, but the
tourist information center was at Matsushima. We went to the tourist
center, and a nice lady with a pure anime laugh (for those of you who
know the 'maybe this big' story, it's the same laugh) told me my
Japanese was 'perfect' and told us to get back on the train one more stop
to Takagi. Doh. This took another 30 minutes since we just got OFF the
train. The guide book said that most stuff closed at 5pm, and it was
already 2pm. We caught the train to Takagi, and headed to
Sakuragawa Ryokan.
My impression of the ryokan is the same as what
my eventual impression of the whole area: it's one of those places
that 15 or 20 years ago was probably a really nice place, but is
now rather run down and is perpetuated merely because the
surrounding area is worth seeing. It's kind of like Sea Arama, a Sea
World clone in Galveston that Kati and I visited too many times to
count with the YMCA and which could never quite afford anyhing more
than a pair of cranky dolphins. The ryokan was slightly creaky all over.
The room contained a fridge, a tv, a pay Nintendo 8-bit system, and
seven dirty videotapes viewable
through a pay VCR. The futon were
nice, but everything just felt OLD. And not old in the antique sense.
Don't get me wrong, Matsushima is beautiful. It's made up of like 200
little islands that dot the landscape. They're very pretty. But the
buildings and people are rather dated. We got back to
Matsushima-kaigan at 2. This of course left us very little time to go
wandering about. A ways down the street we stopped at a little grilled
seafood vendor and Kelly, being the bold culinary adventurer that she is,
bought a corn dog, which she said 'tasted like chicken'. Around the
corner we found a temple entrance.
We were looking for a trash can
when this lady came up and offered to take the trash. She then
exclaimed, 'Texas?' noting my UT sweatshirt. To the best of my
knowledge, this is what happened next. She led us to a staircase in the
back of her shop that led to a spectacular view and a beautiful old
traditional Japanese house. When we came back down, she gave us
these Japanese flag pins, then explained that the shopkeeper down
the street had a daughter studying in Houston. She then very excitedly
asked if we were going to Kyoto and if we wanted to stay in a temple. At
the time I wasn't sure what she meant, so I nodded and she dragged
us into her shop. She proceeded to make frantic phone calls all the while
asking us when we'd be in Kyoto. Lest we commit to anything
further, I told her we really didn't know when, but to give us the phone
number. She was interrupted by a phone call so we politely thanked her
and left.
We entered into the temple garden, which was an exquisite forest with
gargantuan trees and caves nearby. We opted not to enter into the
temple proper, as this cost ¥1200 for the two of us. We wandered
back out, somewhat wary that the nice lady might accost us with
kindness again.
Across the street, I purchased tickets to ride the sightseeing boat
that the guidebook said offered 'a great view of the islands of
Matsushima.' We bought some Pocky (small chocolate-covered
crunchy breadsticks) and boarded the boat. Perhaps the first clue that
this wasn't such a good idea should have been the extreme lack of
people. Aside from us, only the crew boarded. The second clue was the
lady who came over and asked something. I did catch the 'futatsu',
so I nodded my head. She came back with two cups of coffee so small
I didn't know whether to drink or start sewing. I started to dump in
the creamer, and the woman reappeared, this time with a
calculator; the display read ¥600. Kel strained to keep in her laughter.
This was a recurring theme over the next 45 minutes. Fortunately, I
didn't have it in change, so she only took what I had, refusing the ¥1000
bill. She did then bring us
macadamias and 'French Fried Almonds' which she didn't make us
pay for, thankfully. We spent the next 45 minutes bobbing around the
choppy waters (when did they get choppy?) looking at all the little
islands. And boy there were a lot of them. Halfway through the voyage,
I consulted the very same map the ticket lady had shown me when I
purchased the tickets. I knew we weren't ending up in the same place
we left, but I thought we were going to Matsushima-kaigan again. Wrong
again. We were headed halfway around the bay. Fortunately there
was a handy train station within a kilometer. All the while, Kelly is
grinning like mad and snickering at me. 'You know, for the price of the
coffee, one of us could have gone in to the temple...' We returned via
train to Sakuragawa, stopping at 7-11 along the way for food, as it
was after 5, and everything was closed. We ate dinner and Kel
discovered two things: a) Doritos are taco flavored here, and b)
Japanese-style toilets. Kel returned after a brief trip to the toilet, eyes
wide open in confusion and terror.
'Did you go?' I asked. She shook her head no.
'Why not?'
'It's...just a....hole in the floor.'
Ah, the Japanese squattie potties. Something that must be seen to be
believed.
I then went and took a Japanese public bath in which you wash outside
the tub and then get in and soak. After nearly breaking my neck
sitting, slipping, and falling off the baby-sized stool, I opted for the
shower nozzle. When I stepped into the boiling hot 12x4x4 foot tub
though, all my stress went steaming away. 'I have GOT to get me one of
THESE!' I exclaimed. On the way back I passed by the remains of
what would have been our dinner had we opted for it. Steamed
dungeness crab and a variety of Japanese seafood served in the
room. Waaaaaaaa! It was all I could do to not to grab the half crab
remaining on someone's plate outside their room. :(
We went to bed on our nice soft futon at an elderly 8:30.
It's Kel. If you're still reading after all this time you must be really
bored. I should edit the HTML so the title reads 'Marc Hernandez Does Japan.'
We are once again on The Train Ride To Hell, where we will one day in the next
millenium end up in Sapporo or the North Pole, who knows which. Here's my
short and sweet summary of yesterday -- we rode more trains, saw a temple, got
suckered into a tour of the River Styx, and met a nice lady who Marc probably
sold our souls to. I had a lot of fun! :) (I really did!)
Lessons Kelly Has Learned So Far
1. Japan is a FOREIGN country.
2. And being sick while there is something I wouldn't recommend.
3. Marc likes to narrate his video. If you come over to watch and I stay in
the other room don't take it personally.
4. You never realize how much you like the ability to carry on a conversation
until it's gone. That and pizza.
5. They sell PlayStation games at the 7-11.
6. Trains, while fun for the first twelve hours, suck after that.
7. But it is a FUN country.
And this is only after 5 days. No wonder they say studying abroad is so
educational. :) --- Kelly