Josenji Dori, the subway, and a new purchase.

 The naming of Josenji Dori is interesting. Josenji means Josen Temple and Dori means road. So the road's name is a reference to a Buddhist temple, but the temple is no longer there. I vaguely remember from somewhere that the temple was destroyed at some point, maybe during WW2, and maybe rebuilt in a location  outside of town. (I guess that I really should get a book of Sendai history.) However, the interesting thing is that although there is no longer a Buddhist temple there are two Christian churches. The above picture shows one of them. It is between the two story building and the taller structure. You can see the steeple.

 The building on the left is a concert hall. I have been there on occasion but very infrequently. I think that the last time I was there was at least a couple of years ago, when Ian appear in the chorus of an opera.

 This is another of those intersections where all traffic stops for pedestrians. The drinking area is down the side street.

 This is the entrance to the Kotodai Subway Station. The main level of the station is far underground so the stairs are very long.

 A bit of Japanese English that always reminds me that Japan will continue to need English teachers for a long time. A Season Ticket is what I would call a pass. Japanese English uses season to mean a limited amount of time rather than our "A recurrent period characterized by certain occurrences, occupations, festivities, or crops" (from the Free Dictionary).

 This is the platform which is a floor below the main level. The large red and white sign is advertising a sale at one of the main department stores. At the bottom of the sign it says Ganbarou Miyagi Ganbarou Tohoku. As I have pointed out, signs like this are everywhere, reminding people there is a long way to go and much struggle left before the effects of the tremors and tsunami are erased.

This little gadget was purchased by my wife in preparation for the next big earthquake. It has a hand-cranked generator and in internal battery. At the right end is an LED light with various levels of brightness and a blinking function. On the top are the controls for an AM/FM radio. It is supposed to be very efficient, the radio running for an hour on a minute of cranking. The light runs at about a one to ten ratio - one of cranking gives 10 of light. It was less than 2000 yen but it is missing one feature. It will not charge a cell phone. I think that during summer vacation I will shop around and find a hand cranked charger for my cell phone. That way, if we have another disaster, I can watch the TV that is built in to the phone.