In my last post (that I published almost a year ago, yikes), I touched upon how spontaneous my return to Japan was. Basically the result of this poor planning was I had just 4 days to get myself from Sapporo to Tokyo – without flying. That’s a big distance (1000km), and not a lot of time. I’d end up taking long train journeys several days in a row and staying in hotels one night at a time – not the most efficient or cost effective way of travelling. However… as I’d found myself feeling a little unmotivated to sightsee in these finals days of my trip, there was something about this breakneck speed which was exactly what I needed. I had no time to be bored because I was always rushing to catch a train or get to a museum before it closed. I cobbled together an itinerary that included a few different towns and attractions, meaning I ticked off a few pretty worthwhile sights during my mad rush. So, let’s take a look at them shall we?
From Sapporo, I rode the train south towards Hakodate once again, transferring onto Japan’s northernmost shinkansen to get to Aomori where I stopped for the night. There’s not much here worth stopping for to be honest, but I did take the opportunity to drop by the Nebuta Festival Museum.
My next stop was the small town of Kakunodate in Akita prefecture. The only reason you’d visit this out of the way place is for its marvellously preserved samurai district. A number of houses from the 1800s belonging to various samurai families of different ranks are spread out along a beautiful road that looks like it belongs in a historic drama. Obviously I’ve seen a number of old houses like this by now, but they honestly never cease to impress me. I adore the design, the peaceful gardens, the considered and soothing vistas… I spent a lovely rainy afternoon poking round a few of these homes. Definitely worth the visit.
I woke up bright and early and set off for the next stop; Sendai. One of Japan’s largest cities, I actually stayed here two nights (!) so that I could visit a couple of famous places. The first day I checked out the site of the former castle that offered great views of the city. Nearby was the final resting place of the town’s founder, 17th century samurai warlord Date Masamune. The eerie children’s cemetery in the old forest was one of the most splendidly atmospheric places I’ve ever seen. It felt like I had been transported into an actual scene from feudal Japan.
The following day I went to visit Matsushima Bay, one of Japan’s top three most beautifully scenic places. I was glad that my itinerary took me past here, so I got the train out to the port and took a sightseeing boat through the bay. Unfortunately, the weather that day was pretty rubbish, which meant rain streaked windows obscured the views and the journey was quite choppy. The highlight of the day was actually the amazing Zuiganji Temple in Matsushima town. Of course, yet again, in the most impressive parts, photography wasn’t permitted so I haven’t got much to show of it…
After a bit more shopping in Sendai I was ready to ride my final (and this is my final final one) shinkansen to Tokyo. I’d spend two nights here, doing some last minute shopping and catching up with the couple of friends I had made here. And after that, I was really leaving Japan – my trip is complete! 😮 But I think I’ll summarise that in another post!
Checkpoint Charlie 