It was 5am and still dark when our Highway Bus pulled up at Sendai.  The bus ride was comfortable.  We parked our asses at a nearby 24 hr internet/manga café and waited for the sun to rise before calling our Hostel so that we could maybe drop off our baggage.  We learned our lesson from our day in Hikone, we do NOT spend a day carrying our travel packs – that’s a recipe for a sore back and a terrible day.

Annie called the Hostel (which was actually a Ryokan – Japanese Style Inn) and got directions, they also said it was ok to drop our stuff off.  It was only a short bus ride and a 5 minute walk away so we did that.  The hostel was nice looking, I’m not actually sure it was a hostel.  Inside was really nice, and it reflected in the price we paid.  It was the most expensive stay on our entire trip, but luckily we were only there for 1 night so it wasn’t so bad.

We walked back to Sendai Station where all the action was, bit of a mistake as it was a bit tiring of a walk.  I might mention that by Sendai I still had not seen substantial snow. (I say substantial because it DID snow in Hirakata, but like a total of 18 flakes fell).  Sendai’s roads were icy, and slippery, so much so we actually saw a local fall off her bike – aww…  Sendai was also really spacious and open.

When I woke up I felt great, and like I said early, it was the start of my enjoyable travel. We had a quiet one up in the common room of the Hostel that night, Paul, Annie and Chris filling me in about their day out. They had a great time.

The following day Paul, Annie and I got up early to go to the Tsukiji Fish market. We were really tired from the early start, but we got up, took on the cold, and made it to our destination. We had a bit of trouble finding our way in, but soon enough someone pointed us in the right direction. There were all sorts of crazy fish and GIGANTIC tuna! I’ll let the photo’s speak for themselves:

The guys riding on their little cart things were vicious. Everyone was in a hurry and they were, in the end, at work. They needed to be quick and efficient, and so people like us were always in the way. We were constantly looking over our shoulders trying to make sure we didn’t get in their way, but it was tough.

When we got back, we went back to sleep to catch up on the lost rest we had that night. The fish market was awesome.