Sendai Holiday 2019, Part 3:
Home rink and Olympic monuments
(Parts 1 and 2 were on ice shows ‘Fantasy On Ice’.)
On my 1st trip to Sendai last year, I flew straight to Sendai Airport. This time, I decided to take the bullet train. The shinkansen ride from Tokyo Station to Sendai Station was just one and a half hours, very fast and comfortable.
I booked the same hotel as last year and everywhere was friendly and familiar. I felt so happy to be back! And I knew exactly where to go. :) First thing I did was to visit the station’s Tourist Information Centre where ‘young master’ Yuzu welcomes all to Sendai. I needed to find out more about shuttle buses for the ice shows.
It looked the same as last year, except one more message has been added to his poster: “Congratulations on receiving the People’s Honour Award!” Omedeto~!
Next, I bought zunda mochi from a shop in the station and boarded the bus for Ice Rink Sendai. Haha, this was exactly what I did on my first day in Sendai one year ago.
Ahhh…. my sweet zunda mochi, I have missed you. xD
Passed by Nanakita River and Yurtec Stadium; it means we are almost there!
When I alighted from the bus, I was surprised at the changes in the area. There are new buildings! To the right of Ice Rink Sendai is a cute pasta restaurant…..
and on the left, a huge D.I.Y. store. They weren’t here last April. :)
Pics below: Yuzuru’s home rink, Ice Rink Sendai.
I brought along Shampoo Neko’s fan art (with her permission), wrote “Love and support from Yuzuru Hanyu International Fan Group (FB)” and gave it to the reception of the rink. I told the nice lady at the reception that this art is drawn by a fan from Argentina and there are many fans from all over the world who love him very much. She smiled and said thank you.
(And I was extra happy to hear Yuzu say he loves fan art during his talk show with Shuzo-san. :D )
I took some photos of the reception area. Compared to last year, it is much more “bare” because all the support messages for 2018 Olympics have been taken off the black wall. The rest of it is about the same. Our handsome ‘young master’ is still there and there is now a sign saying “Do not touch…” xD
As before, photography is not allowed for the rink area and the small gallery of photos and memorabilia.
When I was here last year, I rented skates and tried to skate. This time, I didn’t skate because I didn’t want to risk any injury that would prevent me from going for the ice shows. So I just paid an entrance fee and sat at the rinkside to watch the skaters.
I was happy to see Nanami Abe sensei again! Last year, I saw her coaching a group of children/young teens. This time, I saw a different side of her. She was teaching an older teenage boy and they seemed to be going through the choreography of a programme. Since Nanami-sensei is a choreographer as well as a coach, I think she probably choreographed a programme for this skater for the new season. She skated some steps and he had to do the same…. and one part was difficult for him and he couldn’t do it properly. She skated again a few times to show him and he tried it over and over again until he got better at it. Then she took her little music player and they did the steps with music. They were talking and laughing every now and then, and enjoying the whole process. And Nanami-sensei is so graceful and light on her feet, wow, I enjoyed watching her. After a lot of practice of that part, they moved on to the next section of the choreography. The student’s mother was standing near me and she was using her handphone to record some parts, looking quite pleased.
As a non-skater, I’m glad I got to watch part of a programme being made. So much hard work. He was practising some steps that I have taken for granted in Yuzu and I didn’t even know they could be so difficult (for a skater). Watching this boy, I could see the work behind just a few “simple” steps. I realised that even though I’ve read and watched so much about Yuzu over the years, I still know so little about skating. Sigh. :(
The boy was tall and slim and wearing all black, so similar to you-know-who. I was also thinking, how many times Yuzu must have practised like this with Nanami-sensei, in this same rink, with his mum recording at the side…… *goosebumps*
Pic below: Nanami-sensei and the team of coaches.
There were also a few other skaters having individual lessons, doing spins and jumps, pretty high level stuff. I was very contented to sit there and watch them. I also had a nice chat with one of the coaches who gave me a lot of help last year. She remembered my name (omg I was so happy!) and she bought me a drink from the vending machine (she’s so sweet!)….. It was so good to see her again. Thank you, Sensei!
On this day, there were no group lessons as the rink was closing early for a special event. Javier Fernandez was invited to teach a group of kids there. As I was leaving, I saw the staff getting the place ready. Everyone must be pretty excited! Lucky kids!
Next, I wanted to see Yuzu’s new Olympic victory monument. I took the subway from Izumi Chuo station to International Centre Station. It was a beautiful day and I was greeted by a marvellous sight.
The view from the back was as gorgeous as from the front.
When I was here last April, the SEIMEI panel was not up yet. After watching the ceremony on live stream recently, where Yuzu officially revealed the design, it was very satisfying to be able to see it for real. And once again, I was reminded that the panels are much bigger than they seem in photos. :)
Congrats again, 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Hanyu Yuzuru senshu! おめでとうございます！！
Part 1 and 2: the ice shows
Part 4: Nanakita Park and schools
If you want to see my Sendai photos of 2018, HERE.
(Photos are taken by me; please do not use or repost my photos.)
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