Sunday January 29th 2023 - Wrap up part 1 - Japan trip for work, day 8, walked earlier today

Tonight I took another bath at the public bath and did laundry.  I bought some wine and a plate of spaghetti with seaweed from a convenience store.  The store person microwaved my meal for me (without me asking) and it was a pretty handy light meal to eat in my room.

At the Tokyo hotel the washers and dryers were separate stacked units.  Here at the Sendai Almont, they place all-in-one washer/dryer units in the changing rooms for the baths.  In both cases, 110-volt clothes dryers are really disappointing if you are used to 240 V or gas dryers.  With this all-in-one washer I had to choose up front if I wanted short wash, short wash and short dry or long wash and long dry (larger loads) or dry only/  I did the long wash and dry and it took 2 hours but my very modest load (1 pair of jeans, 1 polo shirt, 1 t-shirt and maybe 2 pairs of socks and underwear) were super wet at the end.  So I went back down and did the 30 minute dry only cycle.  And the jeans are still pretty wet.  This was basically what happened in Tokyo also. Drying clothes is just slow and it is clear a lot of locals just line dry their clothes even in winter.

Overall, the Tokyo hotel was more satisfying in practical terms.  But I slept better in Sendai and would always sleep better on this softer more comfy bed.  There is no desk or chair in this small room so 'doing' anything is challenging.  Also, this room has more Japanese sensibilities with a change in flooring and a small shelf which is Japanese for 'hey dummy don't wear your shoes into the room, put your slippers on'. I've tried to comply but I'm not the most organized person and I often remember that I don't have my passport or my phone or wallet or whatever after I've put my shoes back on. I'm sure if I spent even a week in a hotel with this setup I'd get better at it.  The small space also causes you to have to choose priorities from moment to moment.  You can have your suitcase at a convenient height OR you can have a place to sit.  But while you sit the luggage is either on the floor or on the bed.  I ended up sitting up on the bed to do some of the earlier blogging but it's very hard on the back.  There also isn't any room at all on the other side of the bed.  So as a bed for 2 the more frequent to get up person would need to be on the outboard side to avoid driving the other crazy.  There also isn't much public space.  The Shinagawa Prince had a spacious reception area with fun bright colors and a variety of seating types. The lobby here in Sendai is pretty but the front desk staff would basically be 10 feet away from you and there isn't anything to look at or particularly make you want to hang out there.

Overall my adventure time here in Sendai was a bit of a challenge because it was less defined in purpose than my time in Tokyo and the one thing I hoped to do, hike, wasn't really possible because of my choice a month ago to not select winter tires.  Still, the more approachable size of Sendai makes it appealing and some day maybe we can come back and do those hikes.

I'll get up about 5 am tomorrow so I have plenty of time to drive 4.5 hours and make my flight out at 12:45 pm.  I'm literally going to pray that I can get some help making it through my flight. It just seemed like it would never end on the way here.  I am looking forward to being home though.  This was a wonderful trip but I'm ready to go back to my regular life.