For a long time before coming to work here, I knew I wanted to visit the gem of the northern Tohoku region of Japan: Sendai. Home to a unique and old cultural tradition, as well as one of the most fascinating samurai in Medieval Japanese history (a story for another time, I think...!) , Sendai has been a place that has interested me for a while.
At last, during the first few days of spring break, I was able to go. I made the plans, booked my hotel, and bought my plane tickets. The day before I departed, I said my brief farewells before rushing back to my apartment to finish packing.
“I’m off to Sendai!” I said cheerfully to my co-workers, fully expecting a chorus of the standard, “Really? Take care!” responses I usually get as answers to statements like that one.
“Sensei,” my lead English teacher began. Instead of the “good luck,” or “have fun,” or “bring back delicious cakes as souvenirs” I thought was going to come out of her mouth, she said, with the most serious expression I'm sure she could muster, “Please eat cow tongue.”
That was the first time I’d heard about one of Sendai’s most famous foods: cow tongue.
