Went out to the Zuihoden Mausoleum today which is in a surprisingly quiet part outside of Sendai. Where Sendai is a bit of hustle and bustle I'm happy that you can go just a few stations away by train and get to this relatively quiet part of town. Zuihoden Mausoleum is the resting place of
Date Masamune. One of the most powerful feudal lords from the Edo period. His son and grandson are also nearby.
When walking from the Sendai station you'll end up crossing a river before walking up the hill that it is placed on. Though this is right at the end of the blooms there's still some around. Missed peak by a couple of days sadly.
I don't recall seeing a lot of the "weeping" cherry trees before. It seems like they're quite popular the farther north you go.
Cemetery on the way up to the mausoleum.
I'm a fan of the forest and trees in Japan.
Gotta keep warm on these cold spring days.
Tried a handful. Tastes like chicken!
I'll have to try and translate this when I get home. This was in the graveyard for children.
During WW2 the original Mausoleum was destroyed. This is a piece of the roof that is placed nearby.
Date family crest. Two sparrows among the bamboo.
Chiba-san, the nice English speaking volunteer guide at the Mausoleum. Quite funny and full of knowledge on the things there. Really nice guy.
Rice bowl lunch! I like rice bowls.
At rinnoji there is a nice Japanese garden along with the shrine itself. Kind of an odd time to be there as a garden needs a little bit longer to get into full swing after winter.
Not a statue. That's a cat.
The Rinnoji was founded by a member of the Date clan. So the signs of the family are around the area.
Then on to Osaki Hachimangu. Which is a very nice shrine also of the Date family.
I certainly hadn't seen anything like this before. I also think it must have been a game day as I kept seeing people wearing jerseys for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles everywhere.
You can even get a sports themed ema!
I'll eat anything grape.. these were quite good too.
This is the local dish which Sendai is most famous for, Gyutan or cow tongue! There are a variety of ways you could have it prepared for you but I went for the classic of just grilled. No stew or creamy soup thing. It tastes like your normal steak but is far more chewy. I wonder if a dish like this would catch on in the US? I'm sure there's plenty of to tongue to go around.