:: Kutsurogian, a Soba Restaurant That Was Unexpectedly Delicious
I left my bags at the hotel. About two hours to go until check-in. I should eat lunch somewhere, then look around the area a bit.
First I went looking for the soba place right in front of the hotel. Zen(ぜん). A very short, simple name. Soba shops make an excellent choice for lunch while traveling in Japan. They’re everywhere, and a lot of them handle a wide range of dishes.
Ah, but this place is popular. Quite a few people waiting. It’s hot outside and there’s nowhere proper to wait. So I go looking for somewhere else.
Coming back to the first floor of Sendai Station, there’s a place called Kutsurogian(お食事処くつろぎ庵). This one is fairly big, and you don’t have to line up. Though honestly, it gives off the feeling that the earlier place would taste better.
But there was nothing to be done. The weather was far too hot, and I couldn’t stand around waiting in the blazing sun.
I order a nama biru (draft beer) first and go through the menu slowly. This place handles quite a lot of dishes too.
My pick is tenzaru(天ざる). In Japan, the dish that comes with tempura and zaru soba together is commonly shortened to tenzaru. A very common menu item.
Honestly, this isn’t a soba specialist, so I wasn’t expecting much. But once I actually ate it, the quality of the soba is quite good. The noodles aren’t even in thickness, so maybe they’re made by hand. Maybe the buckwheat content is high — there’s a coarse feel to it, and that’s very appealing.
Looking closely, the tempura is in decent shape too. Well, tempura you eat in Japan is usually above a certain level.
In any case, this place — I had no great expectations, but I got a lunch far tastier than I expected.
Even the part-timer, who looked worn down into a rut by the job, was unexpectedly kind.
:: Nitta Shrine, the Only Tourist Spot in Downtown Satsumasendai
I’d finished lunch, but there was still a lot of time to fill before hotel check-in. I meant to pass the time at a cafe near the station, but of all days, today is its regular closing day.
In the end, I made one big decision. I decided to take a taxi to Nitta Shrine(新田神社).
Of the places not far from downtown Satsumasendai(薩摩川内), this is the only one really worth seeing. After that it would be about walking along the Sendai River(川内川).
Huh? I’ve just noticed — the characters for the Sendai River are a very funny shape, aren’t they? 川内川. And it’s funny that the first 川 is read “sen” while the one at the back is read “kawa.”
I got in the taxi and asked the driver to take me to Nitta Shrine.
“To Nitta Shrine, please.”
“Shall I take you all the way to the top?”
“Huh? Is that possible?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then please do that.”
Oho — Nitta Shrine is a shrine that sits atop Shinkizan(神亀山). Which is why it’s known for the staircase up to the shrine, and the dense forest covering those steps. That’s why I said earlier that I’d made a “big decision.” Because in the middle of summer, on a day this hot, I was planning to climb a tall staircase.
But the taxi driver had given me a new piece of information.
That you can go up to the shrine on the mountain by car.
I got out of the taxi and I was right at the top of the steps. I reached the haiden of Nitta Shrine very easily.
As it happened, two miko(巫女, shrine maidens) were dancing in slow movements at the haiden. Looking at the banner hanging beside them, they may have been performing a special rite two days ahead of an event called Mikagami Sumashi-sai(御神鏡清祭).
Looking it up later, Mikagami Sumashi-sai is an event where all the bronze mirrors(銅鏡) kept at the shrine are brought out and polished by hand by local kindergarteners. Apparently shrines that hold this kind of event are very rare nationwide. And of the 73 mirrors, 3 are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties.
Following the path to the right of the haiden and walking a short way through the dense forest, you can see Enomisasagi(可愛山陵). It’s said to be the tomb of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the ancestor of the imperial family.
It’s managed by the Imperial Household Agency(宮内庁). Which is why most of Shinkizan here, apart from the grounds of Nitta Shrine, falls under the Imperial Household Agency’s jurisdiction.
The shrine isn’t all that large, so looking around didn’t take long. Time to head back to the hotel and check in.
I came up by taxi and got off at the top, but going down I walk it myself. I walked slowly so I wouldn’t sweat.
Done this way, 322 steps aren’t such a burden. Only, you can miss the scenery you’d see on the way up, so I kept turning around to check the view from the steps.
Once I’d come all the way down the steps, there in front of the stairway up to the shrine are a large torii and a stone bridge. The bridge is called Koraibashi(降来橋). This is a designated tangible cultural property too.
Since this is effectively where the shrine begins, today I used a bit of a shortcut and ended up touring the shrine in reverse. Properly, you’d cross the bridge here and climb the 322 steps to arrive at the haiden.
But, well, isn’t this a kind of tip? When it’s hot and you’re running low on stamina, you use a shortcut like this.
:: Calling a Taxi Is Not an Easy Thing for a Foreigner
Well — going up thanks to the taxi driver and working my way down from the top of the shrine was the right call. But once I’d come all the way down here, a problem came up.
To get back to the hotel I need a taxi again, but there isn’t a taxi to be seen anywhere nearby. And apparently this area isn’t covered by the GO! app either.
While I was wondering what to do, I went into a FamilyMart I could see nearby. And I asked if they could call a taxi for me.
“Sorry, I’d like to go to Sendai Station, but I don’t see any taxis nearby.”
“Right, there are no taxis around here, so you have to call one by phone.”
“Ah, the thing is, I’m not Japanese, so I don’t have a Japanese phone number.”
“Ah, then shall I call a taxi for you?”
“Yes, could you do that? Thank you so much!”
And they told me the taxi would come soon, and that since it was hot outside I could wait for it inside the convenience store.
Since it was hot, I bought a soda-flavored Gari Gari Kun and ate it. And the taxi arrived before I could even finish it. I quickly threw the poor Gari Gari Kun in the bin and got in. Of course, I thanked the person who’d called the taxi one more time.
Right then — shall I head back to the hotel and check in?
