I had a great time this past month exploring a bit more of Japan. I went to a place the American's call Shipwreck beach, for obvious reasons. But don't ask any of the locals, they have no clue what the big deal is nor do they even know where it's at. It's probably because they don't call it Shipwreck beach, the American's here coined it as such.
I also found some glass buoys that are a popular with the Americans here. Again, asking the locals for glass buoys would probably leave them wondering what the infatuation is. Many have bartered with chips and American desserts. I came prepared to do as well but couldn't find anyone to trade with. The buoys vary in size from 2 inches to 24 inches in diameter.
Since I've always wanted to find out what its like to ride the local bus transportation, I chose to go to Sendai for the weekend. Sendai is the biggest city in the northern part of Japan, which is 4 hours away. I enjoyed walking around the city and exploring the local culture. I stayed at a nearby hostel; it was quite fancy, clean and managed by someone that spoke English really well. I paid for a membership which I shouldn't have. I enjoyed visiting Sendai even if it was only for a day.
Just imagine, nothing was in English, not even the bus schedule. What was cool though was how the seats were assigned. Not speaking Japanese, nor have never ridden it before, I did not realize what was happening until another passenger looked bewildered. Through his facial expressions and his body language, I understood: I was sitting in his seat. I moved back, another passenger gave me that same look. By the third passenger, I realized that maybe, just maybe something was going on. I went back to the driver and through me talking to him in English and his response in Japanese, we were able to communicate by using the seating chart. I recognized it was a seating chart because he pointed to a seat and my ticket. Overall, I had a great time.
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