The big event of August 2016 - and of the whole summer - was going to pick up Lisa as she completed her service in the Japan Sendai Mission. This turned into the Great Japan/Korea Adventure of 2016.
Things began on July 31, as Daniel dropped Yumiko off at the airport Sunday morning to head to Tokyo. Daniel and I followed two days later, leaving on August 2 and arriving the evening of August 3. Obaachan greeted us with a big plate of sashimi for dinner.
Thursday morning, August 4, the three of us took the Shinkansen north to Sendai.
We got there in the early afternoon, found our hotel, and got settled. We spent part of the afternoon wandering around the area near Sendai Station. Near the station is a large shopping arcade, with two long streets, probably at least a third of a mile long each, intersecting in a large cross shape. The streets are covered, and lined with shops all along the way. We spent an hour or so wandering around there.
You can see there are bamboo poles hung across the street about 15 feet up. These are in preparation for the 仙台七夕祭り (Sendai Tanabata Matsuri), which began on Saturday. Decorations will be hung from those poles - see the Saturday report for photos.
Only in Japan -- a 太鼓 (taiko, Japanese drum) video game.
We just missed a demonstration performance of calligraphy and Japanese drumming.
The east-west street had bamboo poles across the road. The north-south street had a different style of decoration, with huge bamboo poles planted in the ground and arched over the road.
You can see how big they are!
Workers were still in the process of bringing in poles and getting them in place.
We still had some time, so we decided to visit the site of 青葉城 (Aoba Castle), the fortification in Sendai in the feudal era. The castle was built in 1601 by 伊達政宗 (Date Masamune). There was never a large castle building -- the defenses were mostly natural, as it was built at the top of a great cliff -- and most of the remaining buildings of the castle were destroyed by U.S. bombing in 1945. The rest were torn down by the occupying army. Here's what the site looked like when it was a functioning castle.
A bridge over a stream.
七夕 (Tanabata) decorations. People write wishes on pieces of paper and hang them from the bamboo branch.
A Shinto shrine on the site.
Statue of 伊達政宗 (Date Masamune).
Several young men were walking around in period costumes, taking photos with visitors.
Views of the city of Sendai from the castle site.
Foundation stones for the large hall that used to exist on the site.
Fortifications below the main site.
After looking around for a while, we took a taxi back to the hotel, changed, and then caught another taxi to the Sendai Mission office. We were just walking up to the building when we ran into Lisa!
Here we are with her and Pres. Jeffrey Smith, her mission president.
We were able to join with Lisa, Pres. Smith and his wife, and the other returning missionaries for a testimony meeting and すき焼き (sukiyaki) dinner. It was a great evening!
Then we gathered up Lisa's things and headed back to the hotel. The main point of the trip was accomplished, but much adventure remained.
