We joined Kylee in the breakfast room, and chatted a bit about the trip thus far. It was great to hear how much she'd enjoyed things so far. After breakfast, there was enough time for a quick dip in the bath: so relaxing!
We headed for the Sendai train station, to take a JR rail train to the closest stop. Along the way, we spotted some cream cheese-filled tarts for the train. They didn't last long after boarding....
It never ceases to amaze me, how quiet people are on the trains. Other than the conductor and automated stop announcements, it was dead silent. We shuffled past several stops along the way, each station getting a little smaller. The day began just a little rain, but it had begun to intensify as we progressed. In just a few minutes, we finally reached our destionation: Kuragane station.
Getting off the train, I suddenly realized we were at a very small, rural stop. Our intent was to call a taxi with a rideshare app to get to the meet-up point. However, after 10 minutes, no drivers responded to the request. Uh oh. Precious time was ticking by, as our reservations were very clear about being on time. We crossed the street to a 7-Eleven, hoping to be able to call a taxi. Sadly, we could not place a call within Japan - Wi-Fi calling is great, until you need to call internationally (insert eyeroll here).
Not wishing to inconveneice the other guests who had reserved this paddleboarding excursion, I used the app we booked the excursion through to message them we would not make it. To my surprise the reply came, "Where are you?" When I mentioned the station name, the reply came, "Stay a moment - I will come pick you up." Huzzah! The tour operator drove over to the station and picked us up! When he arrived, he made room for us in his van, pushing aside paddleboard pumps and equipment. He cheerfully drove us back to the launch site and began to ask us questions about what brought us to Japan, and what did we like to do.
In a few minutes, we reached the launch site, changed clothes and pushed our boards into the water. We paddled the Okura river, fenced on one side by the Okura Dam. The rain subsided as we pushed into the water, and in fact, the sun even peeked out for a bit. The emergence of the sun made the air even stickier and we quickly got hot and sweaty. But no matter - the waters were calm and the lack of wind made an excellent experience.
As we pushed along, our guide, Kazunori-san, told us about his business: managing paddleboarding excursions in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter. He was an avid sportsman, enjoying his hobbies with his wife and young son. At one point, he showed a video on his phone of his skateboarding and dribbling a basketball!
Our private tour wound along the river, which had carved a wide swath through the valley. On either side, small waterfalls poured in, and it was clear the river was claiming more and more of the surrouding landscape as time went on. At the far end of the river, we could go no further, as the far end of the river was actually a higher elevation. Kazunori-san said that in the early Spring, the waters are of equal height and you could paddle even further along. We stopped for a quick break and snack, before reversing our course. We'd paddled almost 3km upstream, and would now paddle that same distance back. The sun had retreated behind the clouds again, giving us a short reprieve from the heat.
On the way back, Kazunori-san offered to drive us all the back to our hotel! He lived in Sendai, just a few minutes from our hotel. This gesture greatly simplified our return, and helped remind us what kind, generous people exist in the world.
As we pulled up to the hotel, we thanked our new friend and paused for a quick selfie! The day could have ended poorly, but pausing and not giving up had blessed us with a great time and a new friend.
Hot and sweaty from our afternoon paddle, it was time to visit the onsen. It was a perfect way to relax from our long day.
Mona wanted an opportunity to get out of the room, so we chose to make one, last trek out into Sendai. Kazunori-san mentioned a good restaurant to get yakiniku, Korean-style barbeque, not far from our hotel. We headed downstairs and met Kylee in the lobby. The rain had picked up again, making the streets wet and unlucky pedestrians without umbrellas even wetter.
We found the restaurant and were ushered to a table. We ordered a selection of meats and vegetables and waited. Before long, the waiter placed a large, earthen cook stove, filled with large charcoals logs, covered in a wire mesh grill. As the plates of thinly-sliced meats arrived, we placed them on the grill and watch them sizzle and cook! We made short work of our food, so it was soon time to find dessert! Wandering back to Sendai Station, we stopped by many counters, in search of soft serve ice cream. Sadly, both of the shops we'd chosen were closed. We continued our search, wandering over to other dessert counters, before selecting several small cakes.
Not to be thwarted by our lack of soft serve, we relied on that last bastion of hope: McDonald's. Supposedly, McDonald's here would use different ingredients than in the US - or are the very least, the machine wouldn't be broken. With no line, we quickly got our soft serve ice cream. It certainly tasted good, but we couldn't tell if it was any different than back home. Google was unhelpful, so we'll just go with, "McDonald's soft serve tastes good in Japan!"
The lounge at the hotel was quiet, and the perfect place to pull up a seat and eat the rest of our deserts. We shared each other's dishes and were quite satisfied with our choices. As the hour was fast approaching 11PM, we decided to call it a night and head off to bed. We would need to check out in the morning, and make our way to Sendai Station, for the last leg of the trip: Back to Tokyo.
