Weekend in Sendai

Sendai was beautiful and lovely. We had a great time.

We stayed at this very opulent hotel in central Sendai, courtesy of a friend of the family that we were visiting. I didn’t even know they let people like us in hotels with lobbies like this!The first night we were there, we went out for this amazing sushi dinner. This might be the best sushi I’ve had in Japan (I know that I say that nearly every time we try a new place, but this time I really mean it!). This place has been Chie’s (Nagu’s mother) family’s sushi place since Chie was in junior high. It was sooo good!

And then we went back to Chie’s family house for dessert. Nagu played with some coffee beans, fruit, and his grandfather.The next day we drove past some beautiful mountains to a town that is famous for pottery. This town (in the next prefecture over from Sendai) has lots of little places where you could go and buy and make pottery. First, we visited a little store first that had some beautiful pieces made by the local artists. Also, in the pottery store, we sat down and had a little free snack of mountain vegetables and pickled daikon. The pottery store wasn’t selling any food, though, so these weren’t like food samples in that way. I think it was just to show off the beautiful (and functional!) pottery.Then we went and made the pottery. This really puts the paint-your-own-pottery places to shame. We were given aprons, a kilogram of clay, a handwheel, and a little demonstration, and then told to go for it. It was not so easy, but with some help, Mike and I managed to make decent pieces. The others made their pieces, which were more than decent, without help. All the same, I’m quite proud of the bowl I made, and I hope it survives the trip back to the U.S.

The firing process takes a month, and then Chie’s parents will ship us our finished products. And, yes, there will be pictures posted when the pieces arrive.

The next day, we headed off to Matsushima. First, we went to this very beautiful Buddhist temple. The temple had beautiful painted screens and indoor rooms a bit like some of the temples in Kyoto. There really were some amazing paintings on the screens there – gorgeous peonies, graceful birds, and fierce tigers. - no pictures of them, though, since indoor photography wasn't allowed. The exterior of the temple was also quite nice, and since Sendai is further north, trees were still blossoming here.

After visiting the temple, we went to a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant for lunch. The food was, of course, delicious. And so beautifully presented!

What could follow such an elegant lunch but ice cream?

Sticky.

Then, we headed for the bay and the islands. We took a boat tour out to see some of the islands. We also saw a lot of seagulls, who had perfected these fierce dives they used for catching food that was tossed to them just nanoseconds before the food hit the water.

The islands were beautiful.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for . . . the kiku-fuku report! Well, first, for the record, I need to make a correction: kiku-fuku aren’t really filled with ice cream, just cream. That, however, doesn’t make them any less good. They are about the size and thickness of a tiny donut, but rounded a bit into the bun shape. Kiku-fuku come in two varieties: one with a more green tea-y taste and one with a more bean jam-y taste. I recommend the former (the latter is pictured below in a sign advertizing the kiku-fuku). Since they are filled with fresh cream, they only keep for a day or two and they have to be refrigerated. I think that they are best eaten at room temperature, though. I would definitely encourage travelers to Sendai to try these. Perhaps there is, indeed, good to be found in sweets that contain neither chocolate nor ice cream [carrot cake is an exception to this, but it is just the exception that proves the rule, see?].

And that was Sendai! When we returned to Tokyo it was surprisingly warm, almost like summer had arrived. I saw people out in short sleeves and sandals. Of course, today is rainy and cooler, but I know summer is coming . . . .