Day #3 Sendai

Averaging four hours of sleep a day for the past 4 days, I am not in the best of shape. I should really edit my photos. I apologize for posting so many, but my brain is fried. I'm posting these photos also to reassure my aunt's children that their mom is doing fine.

We started the morning in a bit of a rush. We had a quick oatmeal and fruit breakfast in the New Sanno Emporium. It's rather interesting because everything at this hotel is paid for in dollars and not yen.

It was cold and a bit drizzly so we opted to take a taxi. It ended up being only a few dollars more. This way we could skip the Hiroo subway station in order to get to the Ebisu Station to catch our JR train for Sendai.

Once we got there and the attendant saw the wheelchair, he insisted on taking us to all the elevators and brought a ramp with him to help us get on the train.
There was no getting lost with attendants greeting us at every connection to help us off the train and onto the next. They were calling each station to let them know we were coming and when to expect us.

Japan has a super efficient, fast and clean train system. I can't wait for Hawaii to get one.

All the attendants who helped us were as wonderfully kind as can be.

My aunt and cousin met us at Sendai station. We stored mom's wheelchair in a locker and rode a "Jumbo" taxi to their home.

It was quite a surprise to see SNOW everywhere! It's colder in Sendai because it's farther north. My aunt's garden had plum blossoms who were able to fight off the cold.

The first task my aunt had for me was to go through the albums to see what photos we might want to archive. It was a shock to find so many. I was amazed. I just wish I had these BEFORE I made our album. It will be my project to update the DVDs.

And then came lunch! I wish I could post all the photos but then I'd really be over the top. It started with different kinds of mochi (glutinous rice) and then came this azuki rice.

There was teriyaki fish with some tsukemo. Scrumptious!

Seafood skewers barbecued to perfection. Who was our chef? My uncle! He took a year long cooking school and can now cook incredible meals. I wonder if Art would like to take a course like this too.

This is Art's favorite dish... Nishime. I'm sure my uncle started this dish the night before.

Barbecued clams? Yummmm! This was super tasty.

My aunt said my uncle made this purple rice dish just for me because it was so healthy. Everybody loved it.

What a surprise to see tofu in a cut bamboo. Fabulous!

I REALLY loved this mushroom and vegetable dish. I could have eaten the whole bowl myself.

This clam soup was to die for!


Dessert was super, super sweet strawberries and a kind of orange grown in Sendai.

Here are three of the sisters going through some photos together. While they were talking, they're happy laughter and chatter allowed Art and me to doze... just a little. Poor Art could hardly understand a word anybody was saying. I understood enough to know how much love the sisters hold for each other and their only brother.

One of my cousins' wife was there with her two children. Their daughter is the same age as my granddaughter. They were both adorable. We took the photo not realizing that my cousin, Tomoko was not with us. She was busy cleaning up in the kitchen.

Here's Tomoko in the back, middle.

The time flew by and it was soon time for Tomoko and my aunt to drive us back to Sendai Station.

An attendant there made sure we got back on the train safely. It was very hard to say goodbye to my aunt, cousin and uncle again.

Here's a photo of the ramp they brought for us.

This evening we had left overs from lunch for dinner . We are so very grateful for the kindness of our relatives.

Tomorrow... a garden. I sure hope the rain stops. A little more warmth wouldn't hurt either. However, I'm not complaining. The snow was beautiful and I can't believe the services the JR line provides for their handicapped passengers. Having them show us where to go prevented us from getting lost. My mother says she doesn't feel bad about hurting her leg now.

Gracious!

Hmmm... It's 11:15. Is it possible that I'll be able to get to sleep before midnight? We have to get up at 5:15. I'll have more than 4 hours of sleep! Yae!