Okama in Zao

Just the other day, I took three days off and went to Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture.

There was a breathtaking view of Mount Fuji from the window of the plane. Amazing!

At the time of my arrival the weather was genial. Especially since it is the season of fresh greenery. Warm Sunshine came in through green leaves and the balmy wind felt great. I usually pay no attention to breath, but at that very moment, I could not feel anything but gratitude for it.

Since Sendai is in the Tohoku region, we could still enjoy the ground strewn with cherry blossom petals.

Here is a photo of Okama, which is the symbolic sightseeing place located in Zao, Katta district, Miyagi Prefecture. It is a volcanic lake 1.5km in circumference and 25m deep. The lake lies in the middle of Zao Mountains, which consist of Katta, Kumano and Goshiki mountains. It is also called Goshiki-numa (five-colour pond) because the colour changes several times a day depending on the angle of the sunlight. But it is more commonly known as 'Okama' because its round shape resembles a kettle ('kama' in Japanese).

Fortunately, it was very sunny at the mountaintop, so Okama could be seen clearly. The temperature was pretty high and I did not expect to get sweaty in the face of snow-covered mountains. Uncontrolled ecstatic rapture.

Impressive view of the surrounding mountains. Very wild!

Gyutan (cow tongue) dishes are a specialty of Sendai. I was amazed how thick the slices of meat were. When I eat gyutan in Osaka, they are served thin-sliced, with a lemon wedge. We squeezed the lemon wedge onto them just after grilling. Meanwhile gyutan comes in salt, soy sauce and miso flavours, with cucumber slices in Sendai. They were lovely.

One more thing, Zunda (green soybean) dessert is a must for the Sendai people. I had zunda-mochi, zunda-ice-cream shake and zunda-pudding. They were all tasted wonderful!

I strongly sensed that Sendai is blessed with a good natural environment of lush greenery and water. There are many beautiful leafy avenues even in the middle of the big city. It seemed like they have built a society that can coexist with nature. You could also enjoy so many natural hot springs neat by. If you are thinking of travelling to every region of Japan, I am sure you would love this beautiful city, Sendai.

Comments

pascal said…
It looks so beautifull ! I want to go there and try all the zunda sweets too !! :-)

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