Day 15 Sendai, Japan

Woke to a very wet and cold morning and almost cancelled our tour tickets for today. However, we won't ever be returning to Japan so upwards and onwards.

The tour started at 8.45 and our first stop was the historic Sendai Castle.  This was somewhat of a letdown as there is actually no castle to be seen.  A timeline given to us shows that since 1600 the castle has been either destroyed by fire or earthquake or bombing in WW11, and re-built no less than a dozen times.  Now all that is left are stone walls and an outline of where the castle should have been.  However the views from the site looking out over Sendai are spectacular, even on a bleak day.  There are also some mighty fine statues scattered throughout the beautifully landscaped gardens and some lovely places of worship.  We see again the little notes of prayer that are tied to string attached between posts.  Some are beautifully decorated. 

This is a replica of Sendai Castle's main compound.  It was a magnificent building with 14 rooms and hd a floor area of 4530 tatami mats.

The rain did not unfortunately ease for our next stop the Osaki Hachian Shrine.  As we walked through the large Tori gate I got the feeling that this shrine was a little different to others we had seen.  For one thing the Tori gate was decorated with an elaborate black and gold symbol.  As we walked along the tree lined pathway I was wishing the rain would clear for just a little while so we could fully appreciate this lovely shrine.  There are four Tori Gates leading to this shrine and also something a little different were the three bells with long cords that worshipers rang and bowed under before they stood in prayer.  It was quite moving to watch the worshipers one by one ring the bell.

Back on board and we headed to Chartreuse for lunch.  It is the french restaurant and the food is very good.  I had french onion soup followed by the Mahi Mahi Fish with vegetable fried rice but I had serious food envy when I saw the dish that Philip orderd - Grilled Octopus.  How beautifully presented is this dish?

I fear it is going to be a rough night at sea.  The rain has not stopped and the sea is very choppy.  We are right at the front of the ship and I can hear the waves pounding the ship.  We have two more stops in Japan before we make our way to Alaska.