It was a little more of an ordeal on the way there than I had expected because Ota doesn’t have a Japan Railway ticket office at the train station and by the time I reached a station on the JR line, the ticket booth with an actual person was closed. I had to find some help with the automated machine, and fast because I only had 16 minutes between trains. Thank goodness for the fact that many Japanese people are very generous when it comes to helping foreigners.
The other problem was that I thought I would be cleaver and save money by not getting a reserved seat on the shinkansen (bullet train.) It turns out that this often means you don’t get a seat at all and end up standing for the entire duration of the trip. Somehow, I managed to find a luggage storage corner and plunk myself down on top of my backpack. Before finding that spot, I was being stepped on by a Disney singing child and had a small dog hovering above me in someone’s handbag. Ugh! I bought a proper ticket for the way home.
The weekend was fantastic. Miyagi is beautiful. In fact, the guidebooks say the third most beautiful place in the country is there – Matsushima.
More than that, it was a pleasure to catch-up and visit with a friend from home.
I’ll let my pictures tell the rest of the story. Click here.
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