Before I get to Sendai, I detour to Yamadera and walk up to the Risshakuji Temple.
There are hardly any people here. I love these moments where even in a country as densely populated as Japan, I easily myself nearly alone.
The air is light and fresh: another bonus to having an exciting metropolis so close to the mountains – you are never too far from the beauty of nature and a bit of a respite from the summer heat.
I leave the small train station, take a few turns, and find myself transported to another world.
The forest is majestic. The cedars stand tall and proud, saluting the sky. The walk to the main temple is about 1000 steps up the mountain, but you don’t notice the steps as the path journeys through the different layers of the forest, skirts the mountain face, and lazily zig-zags, each turn revealing a different hall, gravesite, gate or look out point. It takes me quite some time to reach the top because there is so much to breathe in and admire along the way.
On my way down I lose my pink Hello Kitty train pass, and for a moment I’m quite frustrated that I’ll have to purchase another one. But the frustration fades quickly: the forest settles everything into calm, and I carry that calm with me for the rest of the day.
