Picking Up Kimie....

I apologize for the lack of posts over the last couple of days, but I have been pretty busy spending time with Kimie.  There is a lot to write about, and unfortunately I will not be able to fit it all in tonight.  I contemplated where to start and talk about, and decided just to go in order.

That begins the weekend at Saturday.  The early wake-up followed by a bus trip to Sendai, and the first time I have been outside of my area since 28 March.  Funny how time flies.

In Japan, the sun rises somewhere around four forty-five (though some mornings I swear that it must have rose around four-thirty because it is so bright when I wake up at four forty-five).  Saturday morning was no different, and when my alarm went off, there was a brief moment of worry that I had slept in too late because it was bright.  

 Five-fifteen in the morning....

I got out of bed and quickly got ready for the day before walking over to catch the bus.  Thanks to a conversation with Kimie the night before, I was able to find the bus stop with ease--had I not spoken with Kimie, I would have gone to the train station and missed it completely.  The bus picked me up at five forty-six, and I arrived in Sendai at six-forty (about ten minutes before I was suppose to).  Kimie met me at the bus station and after we locked up her bag we took a nice stroll around the block while we waited for restaurants to open so we could get breakfast.

We ended up eating at a burger place inside Sendai Station.  I ordered a teriyaki chicken burger, and Kimie got a vegetarian burger.  We also ordered a side of onion rings.  It was very yummy =D

After that, we went over to the video rental place so Kimie could show me where I can eventually rent the Ouran High School Host Club movie (live action) that I was not able to see in theatres.  We had to wait until nine any way for the Loople Sendai bus, so we just looked around at some stores near the station.

We got off the bus at the Zuihoden Mausoleum, where the first, second and third feudal Lords of Sendai were buried with their wives.  The original Mausoleums were destroyed by fire in the 1945 bombing of Sendai, but in 1972, they were rebuilt with fire-proof materials, and reconstructed to be prefect matches of the original work.  I loved it there.  So much history, and the cherry blossoms just added to the whole atmosphere.

 I just thought this looked really amazing....  Shinto shrine near the Mausoleum.

Next, we departed the bus at Sendai Castle, and spent some time just sitting, enjoying the view and talking.  It is amazing to see the differences between how the castle grounds looked a few weeks ago compared to Saturday.  In just a few short weeks, life had bloomed and the world seemed so full of color.  At the shops, Kimie had me try some zounda, which is green soybeans.  It was really good--we had it dongo style =)  She also bought me some chocolate filled strawberry mochi, a new item at the store.

 The random ant that I found crawling on my arm....

The bus dropped us off at a different location from Ashley and I, so we had to walk up a steep hill to get to the castle grounds.  We walked back down the same hill, and from there it was an easy walk over to the Botanical Gardens, which ended up being very fortunate because the line waiting for the bus was insane.

 I tried to get a good picture of this spider, but he was very aware of my presence and held a defensive position....  That, coupled with the light breeze that kept moving the leaf made the shot difficult.

Again, the difference was just amazing.  Though not all the plants were in bloom, it was still beautiful and peaceful.  Poor Kimie had to endure my stopping to take pictures of random plants and bugs, though the wind made it very hard to get good shots.  We exited the botanical gardens at the opposite gate (the gate Ashley and I had entered and exited through) and ended up having to walk back to the castle to catch the bus.  On that side, the walk was not as easy, especially after the small hike through the gardens, so we were very happy when the line for the bus was much shorter (we had also stopped and gotten some soft serve icecream while near the castle museum).  We still did not get a seat right off, but there was more room to move.

 Randomly during the walk back, I had this bug suddenly latch onto my hand.  You can see where he did his business before I could get a picture.

Once back at Sendai Station, Kimie took me over to try takoyaki--octopus in a ball.  It was very yummy, and I found I was much more willing to try it compared to the beef tongue she wanted me to try.  The tentacles are a little chewy, but definitely delicious ^^

After we finished eating, we grabbed Kimie's bag and caught the bus back to Yamoto.  We relaxed for a little bit before heading to the store to get some ingredients for Sunday, and decided to have dinner at the little ramen shop I like along the way.  I tried spicy meat ramen, and Kimie had the seafood ramen.  Very yummy =)  So many good meals and yummy treats!!  My stomach was very happy.  We did not make it to the store, deciding that I should have the ingredients we needed for meals the next day--we should have gone to the store, but that is another story.

Both of us being exhausted from all the walking and the early morning, we crashed around nine-fifteen.

More to come after I get off work tomorrow, so please stay tuned =D