Andrew Zhao

Super Early Start#

We woke up really early at 5:50 AM to get ready and have an early breakfast at the hotel, and even then we still had to rush through it. However, it took a bit because a bunch of people were taking their sweet time getting food and blocking the stations. We still managed to check out and get out the door on time fortunately, but we had to take a taxi to do it. We exchanged 1,000 yen for coins with the taxi driver for the coin locker, only to find out that the locker worked through an IC card anyway. We ran for the train because we had a super tight schedule, and barely made it on board. We took it down to Ishinomaki and were able to walk through town and see Manga Road, which was full of statues based on Kamen Rider and Cyborg 007, which was pretty cool to see. Apparently the mangaka came from this area, and they had built it all as tribute for him.

Island Adventure Start#

We managed to figure out how to buy tickets for the ferry, and headed to the island. I was pretty worried because the weather forecast said it would be in the 30s on Tashirojima, and I hadn’t planned for that, especially since it was sleeting. The jacket I was wearing was definitely only meant for 50-60 degree weather at most, and as we were sitting on the ferry I noticed the temperature seemed to be dropping. When we arrived, it was actually super cold, but it was fine because there were cute cats all over the place.

As we walked through the port, we saw cats wandering through the streets and lounging in random places. There were a lot of them, and it seemed like every few feet we walked we’d see even more of them.

We first followed the path to a cluster of buildings with a cafe, and there were a few cats there that we took pictures of and observed.

An Encounter with a Friend#

We decided to start walking towards a viewpoint, but we got ambushed by a really friendly cat that was happy to receive scratches and pets. It climbed onto my lap while I was kneeling, which was so cute that I gave it attention for about 10 minutes until it hopped off and went over to Friend J and climbed onto his lap. As Friend J was giving it attention, it started sleeting, beginning as snowflakes and then turning into tiny pieces of ice. It got to the point where we were like, “Uh oh, this is getting bad,” but Friend J still could not move because the cat was on his lap. He finally picked it up and put it down on the ground so that we could retreat back to the cafe we had seen earlier. I was also starting to get really cold at that point because I was definitely not prepared for 40-degree weather, and it was still dropping. We warmed up in the cafe, which had a few cats sleeping around a furnace that was burning firewood.

I ordered a hot Earl Grey tea and we checked out the goods while waiting. We ended up each buying a leather bookmark with a cat embossed on it, which seemed to be handmade. The cafe was really cozy and had lots of pictures up of the island in historical times. It was super peaceful just drinking hot tea and watching the cats nap. After warming up, we made the trek to the main cafe in the middle, where they feed the cats at noon.

We hung around for a bit and walked around the open area, then checked out the goods there before watching the cats feed. My hands started freezing while we were outside, so we went inside and ordered some food.

After we ate, we headed down to the other port to catch the other ferry. On the way, we passed by the cat shrine and saw a couple of cats sleeping on benches nearby, looking like they were guarding the shrine. Apparently, the shrine was created to honor a cat that died after being struck by a rock fragment that came off while humans were building, so they enshrined it as a cat deity.

We encountered one cat walking down the road and knelt down and reached out, but as it reached us it turned its nose and kept walking. It felt very noble like which was pretty funny.

Waiting for the Ferry#

We had a bit of time, so we climbed a steep set of stairs to another shrine and looked around for a bit before heading back down and getting on the ferry. We sat up top in the open air, which was pretty cold, but it had a really nice view of the mountains. After we landed, we had to literally sprint to catch the train, and we made it with a few minutes to spare. My bag was really weighing me down, and my lungs hurt after having to run all the way. It was necessary though since the next train was so far away. Back in Sendai, we walked around Uniqlo for a bit before going to the same gyutan place as the day before and lining up early.

We got some different dishes this time, and they were really good too. Gyutan in Sendai is just so good. We went back to the station afterwards and grabbed our bags. At the platform, we saw a machine dispensing portable zunda shakes, which was what I had originally been recommended.

We got on the shinkansen back to Tokyo, and I had my shake on the train once it melted a bit, and it was actually really good.

Once we got back, we took a taxi back to our hotel, then checked in and passed out.

Thoughts#

I know it was my plan to begin with, but I felt pretty bad for Friend J since I was so unprepared for the cold. I could have taken my other jacket which was warmer but I hadn’t cause I didn’t think it’d be cold. Even then, it was pretty unlucky that the temperature dropped so much, so we didn’t actually get to reach the viewpoints around the island. However it was pretty worth still since we got to see so many cats! The run back from the ferry to the train was also brutal, it made me think that maybe I should run some more but I haven’t actually done that at all since then.

Additionally, gyutan and zunda are still super good, and I have no regrets about hitting the same place up twice.

Day 11 Travel Numbers#

3.5 hours and ¥13,450 yen covered by JR Pass

0 hours and ¥0 yen not covered by JR Pass

JR Pass Value after Day 11#

Cost saved: ¥114,740

Time Travelled: ~30.5 hr

Not covered by JR Pass#

Cost: ¥5,550

Total Transportation Time#

Time Travelled: ~33 hr