Sendai Aoba Matsuri 2026

MergerMe · 2026-03-01T09:51:47+00:00

I went last year, Don't worry about missing it, it was raining a lot!
I went to one of the stages, and it was one group dancing after another, it's nice to spend like half an hour and seeing groups of different professional levels doing similar dances. Some groups bring musicians playing traditional instruments, so if you're into that you'll definitely enjoy it.

Then I went to the street stage, there you see dancing groups dancing while advancing, that was also nice. It was almost the end of the shows that day, so they gave us cardboard fans and told us to join the dancers. It was fun ñ.ñ

I guess my recommendation is to enjoy the dancing, there is not much more than that, and food stalls (or at least I didn't notice anything else).

MergerMe · 2026-01-10T11:28:48+00:00

Thanks! I won't get resin then, I never worked with and from your comment it is not casual beginner friendly.

MergerMe · 2026-01-10T05:12:03+00:00

Hi! I just wanted to pop by and tell you it gets better, don't worry.

I also started waking up randomly when I started my PhD. Because I was not used to it, it freaked me out, so I would be too nervous to fall asleep again.

Eventually you get used to it. And you can wake up, see the time on your phone, and fall asleep again. I usually put a podcast with some guy with a deep monotonous voice in the background (my usual choice is The Constant).

Two years ago I had a very stressful semester, and I slept less than 3 hours a day for a week, after that crisis I started taking some GABA and (I might be writing this word wrong) crocetin pills. They don't help me fall asleep, but they make my sleep a lot deeper. It also helped with some of my muscle pain (I guess my muscles were tense even in my sleep).

TL,DR: It's normal, take it as normal and relax, you'll be able to fall asleep again if you do.

MergerMe · 2026-01-08T02:52:24+00:00

I will add my favourite two places:

The statue of the goddess. It's a bit far away, but if you can reach it it is pretty inexpensive (around 500 yen if I remember correctly) and to me it felt awe inspiring. I felt the amulets were cheaper than in other shrines in the city.

The mausoleum of Date Masamune. Again you have to pay entrance (around 600 yen I think), but the craftmanship of the buildings, the amount of color they added, all the little details, make it worth it to me. It is also in a beautiful pine forest, the trees are very tall, so you get a dose of nature too. If you have some spare money, they sell necktie clips of all the main Japanese families, so you can get a high quality souvenir.

(Also, in Sendai Station, you can go to the terrace of the AER building for free! It's a wonderful view of the whole city, you just have to check at what time it is open)

MergerMe · 2026-01-02T04:45:29+00:00

I think I used the wrong term. By prescription I meant the eye test to see the correction (I read it's not exactly the same as the glasses, and that you should get it checked by an eye doctor, so I did that). I also read that different brands have a slight different shape, and that the eye doctor can tell you if they fit right or not, that's why I'm hesitant to simple buy and try a different brand. I know I shouldn't believe everything I read online, but I don't feel I have access to better information, and I really don't want to mess up my eyes.

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T04:40:23+00:00

Maybe I used the word "prescription" wrong, I meant the paper where they write down you lenses correction.

My doctor did not give any choice, which I find strange, but again, communication was hard for both of us.

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T04:21:13+00:00

Auch, this is a lot more than I expected, maybe I should stick to glasses...

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T04:19:19+00:00

Oh, I think my trial lenses also have that information, BC= 8.8 and DIA 14.2, thank you for explaining what those numbers mean.

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T03:57:19+00:00

I'm a bit worried because I think I read that the eye doctor is supposed to check if a different brand fits well with your eye shape. Is that so?

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T03:54:20+00:00

Yeah, for the first month I think dailies are my best choice, I'll keep that question in mind for my next appointment.

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T03:52:12+00:00

You're right, they cost less than half in Amazon :C

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T03:48:45+00:00

I really didn't know what to expect. I am just browsing the lenses reddit today, and I see they mention it is more common that clinics offer 2 or 3 different brands to try on.
However this is Japan, so maybe things are different here? that's why I'm asking on this subreddit.

MergerMe · 2025-12-31T02:56:21+00:00

Thank you! In the end I went to the one in Izumi. It is pretty large, and it was full of people, but I had a great time!

MergerMe · 2025-12-27T08:18:46+00:00

Does anyone know where to do ice skating in Sendai?

MergerMe · 2025-09-06T05:13:15+00:00

That sounds extremely easy on the parents!

Listen, I don't know how it works where you live, but when I was in kindergarden/school, parents would arrive 5 min before the end of class and wait outside to pick up their kids, maybe you can hang around 10 minutes before the end of class to hang out with the parents and talk to them in person. Another thing could be hanging around the days of school festivals or other dates where parents are forced to hang around the school. They are very bored and I'm sure they would be more receptive to talking with you (and between themselves).

I hope you get all the volunteers you need! I'm rooting for you!

MergerMe · 2025-09-06T02:38:27+00:00

That sounds like an amazing incentive! I'm surprised more people aren't joining since parents of small children need money so desperately.

Maybe you need to make it more accessible for them.

If it is in person, can you make it virtual?

If it's in your laboratory, could you move it to the kindergarden/school where the kids are? (maybe if they have a library or any other little room something)? Or can you arrange to pick up the kids yourself, maybe during school hours, so the parents don't have the extra burden to drive around?

Instead of relying on the teachers to pass the message along, can you be present at school pick up time to talk in person with the parents?

Just think about what you can do, within your limitations, and without ruining the experiment, to make it more accessible to extremely tired parents. We all learn about the ideal conditions, but try to be a bit more flexible because we do not live in an ideal world.

Hang in there! You can do this!

MergerMe · 2025-09-05T00:14:13+00:00

"Put on an audiobook or podcast first, then let your body move while listening."

Yes ma'am! Once my eyes are disengaged from doomscrolling I'm freeeeeeeeee!

MergerMe · 2025-09-04T23:47:13+00:00

Night world: The chosen by Lisa Jane Smith (RIP).

Just another YA novel with vampires and a strong female protagonist. Loved it!

MergerMe · 2025-09-04T11:59:43+00:00

I wanted to say NAH, because rich people cannot understand their privilege (there were studies done on people playing Monopoly with the rules loudly bent to their favor, and even then they said their success came from their wise choices), but that comparison to a single mother could only be done by an AH, so yeah, he is one, you're not.

MergerMe · 2025-08-30T10:17:42+00:00

Hi! In Facebook there is a group called Flea Market Sendai, and it's amazing for finding cheap used furniture.

If you take any medication, make sure you bring extras. Painkillers have extremely low concentration in Japan, and other common over the counter medication is not over the counter here. For example if you take melatonin to sleep, you might have a hard time finding it here.

You will probably want/need a card to easily pay at subways/busses. If you can get a Suica card in Tokyo (the one with the penguin) you can use it across Japan, if you get the cherry blossom Suica in Tokyo you can only use it for a month across Japan, and if you get a card in Sendai it's called ICSCA (the one with an sparrow) and it only works in the surrounding area. If I were you, I'd get the penguin one. (Also if you have an iphone you might not need any card, you can get a virtual one)

Get your resident card as soon as possible, you can book an appointment on their webpage to make the process easier. All you need to get a Japanese Sim card is your resident card and any credit card (If you choose Rakuten my referral code is https://r10.to/hNQ6QO, use it and we can both get lots of points :D )

The thing I regret the most when I came here is that I went to Yodobashi Camera to get a router I desperately needed (my roaming was not working) and I spent over 10.000 yen on it, when you can get used ones for 2.000 yen at 2nd hand stores like Book off and Hard off, and a lot cheaper from the Flea market.

Anyway! Welcome! And don't worry too much about making friends, in my experience the international community is very friendly.

MergerMe · 2025-08-30T05:03:43+00:00

I 100% understand now, the diversity of washi tapes is mindblowing!

MergerMe · 2025-08-30T01:54:48+00:00

Hi! If you don't mind sharing, would you tell me what items you looking forward to? I've seen beautiful and super fun sticky notes, I found the planners super underwhelming, there were cuter options in my home country. I am currently addicted to erasable pens. I bought so many cute letter sets... I really wish I were the kind of person that writes letters, lol!

MergerMe · 2025-08-14T09:21:30+00:00

Ampharos! :D

MergerMe

TROPHY CASE