Today we took a day trip from Sendai to Hiraizumi and the gorge called Geibikei-kyookoku. Hiraizumi was once the center of culture for this region, with three generations of Fujiwara clan leaders dedicating themselves to peace and the arts. However, the fourth generation lord became power hungry, and his clan was destroyed. Now, Hiraizumi is a sleepy little town with the remains of what once was the glory of the North. From Hiraizumi, we took the bus to Ichi-no-seki, and Geibikei-kyookoku.
Geibikei is a miniature gorge, running only about a kilometer and spanning only about 30 meters. At its deepest, it is only about 20 meters to the rushing water below. The gorge was an excellent walking trip. After walking through the gorge, we stopped from some Dango Kakko (Flying Dango), where the dango (little rice-sweet treats served on a skewer - think marshmellows in sauces) is "flown" across the river to you from a resturant across the gorge and higher up. The dango arrives in about six seconds, descending on a steel cord.
After that, we stopped at a few stores, including this rather strange one and the Sahara Glass Park, a place that sells glass products from around the world. We met a man at this little store and he showed us around, all the while playing with the various toys that he had scattered about. Then, we hopped the bus and headed back to Sendai.
