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yuzusorbet · 6 years

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My Sendai Holiday (April 2018) - Part 2: Ice Rink Sendai

Part 1 was about Yuzuru’s Olympic Victory Parade, the main purpose of my trip. The other purpose was to just enjoy being in Yuzu’s hometown. After I became his fan (since 2014 Sochi Olympics), Sendai is a place that I often saw in photos and videos and read about (and translated about), and so I have been wanting to visit for the longest time. The 2018 victory parade made it the perfect time to go. Yuzu said during one press conference, “By all means, please come to Sendai and spend some money.” And so I did! :D

(It’s another one of my VERY long posts, haha. I want to remember all my emotions and all the wonderful things that I experienced.)

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My first afternoon in Sendai, I had no plans but my heart was yearning to go to Yuzu’s home rink. I knew I would be going there the next day with a friend Ella, but I realised I couldn’t wait! This is the rink where Yuzu grew up, the rink that he loves, the rink that he donates all his royalties from his 2 autobiographies to (‘Aoi Hono’ 1 & 2). It was recently renovated (in the 2nd half of 2017) with ideas/suggestions from him and Shizuka Arakawa. So I found myself going to the tourist information centre in Sendai Station to get directions to Ice Rink Sendai. (The tourist info centre is awesome! Photo above. There is staff who speak very good English. I did not need to use my Japanese at all.)

There are 2 ways to get to the rink and I chose the 50-minute bus ride. I wanted to relax on the bus and see the neighbourhood and eat my ‘zunda mochi’ and ‘zunda pudding’ (Sendai specialty, sweet deserts made from edamame, bought from a shop in the station) (Yuzu ate zunda mochi in ‘Weekend Sendai’ photo shoot). It was a delicious and scenic ride.

Photo above: Nanakita River and Yurtec Stadium, home to J.League club Vegalta Sendai (and also to Vegatta-kun, the eagle mascot that loves Yuzu very much xD). Being in the Nanakita area means the rink is near!

After alighting at the right stop (I checked with the bus driver to be sure), I looked around wondering where the rink was.... then I saw this ‘Fun-te’ sign; Ice Rink Sendai’s name and logo is there too!

Turning right at the sign, soon I saw a familiar building.

I am here!!! The rink that I’ve seen in videos and photos, and read so much about! There was a banner hanging down one side: “Congratulations, Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, gold medal”.

After entering through the glass doors, I saw this beautiful sight.......

Along the left wall was a Yuzu-in-kimono standee and LOTS of messages on the wall. They were support messages to Yuzu written before PyeongChang Olympics. Many of them were written on specially made oval-shaped paper with the words “PyeongChang 2018 Olympics; Ganbare!! Hanyu-senshu!!” at the top of the paper. The photo below is a close-up of 2 such messages.

These two were written by members of Pandalion, the Sendai group that composed cheer songs for Yuzu for both Olympics. One message says ‘Forever supporting you!!’ and the other says ‘You are a phoenix!!’ (the kanji is literally: You are the bird that never dies!) I was so touched reading the messages. They were all written during the long silent period when Yuzu was recovering from injury. The people here kept on believing in him (and I’m so proud to say I did too).

Next to all the support messages was a whiteboard with Yuzu’s messages from past years. The first one has no date but I saw a photo of it a long time back. It says: ‘Even though we are apart, our hearts are one!! Everyone “forward”!! I will also work harder and become strong!’ (my translation) And he signs off with a little mushroom drawing next to his name. Reading it, I felt again how much he loves his hometown and how difficult it was for him to leave Sendai to train in Toronto. (His desire to become a better skater was so strong, he knew sacrifices had to be made.) The other 2 messages are from 2014 (thanking everyone for their support) and 2017 (congratulations on the 10th anniversary).

Further down this left wall was the entrance to a little exhibition gallery with photos and memorabilia of Shizuka Arakawa and Yuzuru. Photo-taking is not allowed in this part. But here are 3 photos from news sources (thanks to ElenaC):

The cutest thing was a pair of small, black skating boots with a name labeled on the blades, ‘はにゅうゆづる’ (’Hanyu Yuzuru’ in hiragana)..... could be his earliest pair of skates!

On the right side near the entrance is the ticket machine and the reception counter. You buy a 200-yen ticket if you want to enter the rink area to look around and watch people skate. If you want to rent a pair of skates and do some actual skating, you buy the 1700-yen ticket.

Straight ahead were glass panels and a set of glass doors that lead to the ice rink. There is a sign on the door saying photography is not allowed inside. The young lady at the reception counter explained that it is for protecting the privacy of the children skating there.

It was quiet and peaceful on this day of my 1st visit. In the reception/exhibition area, there were only 3 or 4 people slowly looking at the messages, photos and exhibits. After spending some time here, I bought a 200 yen ticket and entered the area where the rink is.

There were many skaters in the rink. The first things that caught my eyes were 2 big posters of Yuzu on the opposite side of the rink; they were the ‘Aoi Hono’ posters (Book 1 and 2).... wow..... so beautiful...... I walked around and then I sat down on one of the viewing benches to watch the skating. Most of the skaters were school children having skate lessons after school.

After a while, a lady who looked familiar entered the rink and started to coach a group of children. It was Nanami Abe-sensei!!!! Aww....... I felt so happy to see her! The coach who was with Yuzu in so many of his earlier videos, the coach who was in tears after his legendary R&J in Nice 2012, the great coach that I have read so much about...... my heart was just so moved to see her for real in person. She was in a longish black down jacket, with short cropped hair and black-framed specs.

Pic below: there is a photo of her in the poster on the right, and a photo of her and other coaches of Ice Rink Sendai. The poster on the left shows the exhibition area before the renovation of the rink. (These posters are in the outer area where the message board is.)

She was coaching a group of children who looked about 12 years old to early teens (about 5 girls and 1 boy). I just sat there watching them, feeling very happy and contented.

After some time, I suddenly I heard Nanami-sensei saying in Japanese, “Photos are not allowed. Please do not take photos.” I realised that 2 ladies sitting on a bench near me were using their handphones to take photos. Oops..... maybe they forgot that it was not allowed in here. Nanami-sensei then came out of the ice rink and was now walking towards our benches! She went to the ladies and said politely but firmly, “Please delete the photos that you took.” They were not Japanese but Nanami-sensei just repeated herself until they understood. She stood there and watched them as they deleted the photos in their phones, and then she went back into the rink and continued with her class. Wow..... that was so cool!!! She is so cool!!! I sat there watching her with a HUGE amount of respect and feeling even more in awe of her! (And I couldn’t help feeling a little scared of her too, haha!)

I stayed there watching the skaters until it was closing time (6pm). Of course, I was tempted to skate as well. But I know I can’t skate to save my life and the ice is so hard..... I was afraid of falling and breaking something and not being able to go for Yuzu’s victory parade! I decided I would just have to come back here another day after the parade. :))

The next day was Saturday, ie. the day before the parade. My friend Ella had arrived in Sendai and I came to the rink with her. What a big difference today.... there was a long queue to go in! (The rink would be closed on parade day itself.) Pic below: I was waiting in line near the main entrance when I took this photo. The glass doors at the end lead to the ice rink. The banner hung above the doors says “PyeongChang Olympics 2018 figure skating Japan representative, Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, gold medal congratulations”.

Pic below: I was now inside and I took this photo from the opposite direction.

Because it was crowded, we didn’t stay long. Ella had a good look at the whole place and we both knew we would come back again soon. So we headed to a very nice Starbucks nearby and relaxed there with our frappuccinos.

Next to it was a big bookshop with a poster of Yuzu’s book ‘Yume wo Ikiru’ prominently displayed outside. Of course, we went in for a while. :)

Lots of beautiful books inside. :)

For the return journey in the afternoon, there were no buses that go to Sendai Station (they only run in the morning with a last bus at 1.35pm). It’s a short bus ride or a 20-min walk to the nearest station ‘Izumi Chuo Station’ and then take the subway. (Note: bus schedules may change according to month/season.)

Next day = Yuzu’s Parade Day = the hottest day ever recorded for April in Sendai. After the parade, the next few days were grey and rainy. I was so grateful thinking back to parade day...... thank God it was hot and sunny! (link to my parade day post is at the bottom of this post) With the parade over, it was safe to do some ice skating! So one rainy day, I went back to Ice Rink Sendai.

My initial plan was to take a walk around the Nanakita area, have a look at Nanakita Elementary School (that Yuzu attended) and Nanakita Park (where Yuzu sat on a bench in ‘Weekend Sendai’ mag), and then head to the rink. But it was not good weather for being outdoors. I decided to go to the rink first; maybe the rain would stop later and I could go to the park and the school after skating.

Pic below: on the way there by bus again.

In Ice Rink Sendai, the staff at the reception counter were the same ladies that I saw on the other 2 days, and one of them remembered me from my previous visits! haha, that made me so happy! :D

I handed them 2 postcards for Yuzu, one written on behalf of the FB International Fan Group and one from myself. The staff said they would pass them to him. :) Then one of them helped me with the purchase at the ticket machine; I paid 300 yen for a pair of plain grey gloves (mascot Irene gloves were out of stock but it’s ok cos I do have a pair at home) and 1700 yen for skating and rental of skates. I asked her “how many hours”, I thought it would be for 2 or 3 hours, but she said, “Until closing time.” Oh wow! You mean I can skate here the whole day??? Glad the rain made me come here earlier than planned!

Then she asked me if I wanted a ‘point card’ even though I may not be able to use it -- you get a stamp for each session, and 5 stamps will give you one free session. I had told her on my first visit that I don’t live in Japan and I came because of the parade, so she knew it would be hard for me to make use of it (card expires in one year). It was so nice of her to offer me one.... I told her I would keep it as a souvenir. How I wish I could skate here 5 times a year!

I entered the area of the rink. It was so quiet! There were only 3 adults skating as most children were still in school; their lessons would start later in the afternoon. For now, it felt like I had the whole rink to myself! I went to the rental skates counter and the staff helped me to get the right size of skate boots.

Then, one thing really, really surprised me. The staff actually asked a coach to look after me for a while! A female coach with a very kind and sweet face came to me as I was wearing my skates and said she would give me some guidance. Wow..... what a kind gesture from them!!! I was so touched! Thank you, staff-san and sensei!!!

Pic below: I am ready to skate!

Sensei showed me how to get onto the ice safely and how to move forward and how not to fall. We went very slowly round the rink together as I practised what she showed me. At first, I was very nervous and afraid of falling.... I know how painful it is! Then I started to get more comfortable on the ice and more confident, thanks to her instructions. And I love the ice!!! It was very dry throughout and very nice to skate on. I moved slowly around the rink, with Sensei patiently skating next to me.

Sensei was so warm and friendly, and chatted to me as we skated. (Once again, I felt very thankful that my Japanese is good enough for a decent conversation.) She said she loves skating and she has been teaching here for many years. I told her that I have been a Yuzu-fan since Sochi Olympics and I had come to Sendai for the victory parade and I really wanted to visit his home rink. So here I was! She was very happy to hear that and thanked me for coming. Then she told me that she was already coaching here when Yuzu was a little boy and he was so cute with his mushroom hair! Oh WOW!!!!! I am skating with someone who knew him as a kid!!! I felt so privileged to have her company! We started to talk about how great he is, not only as a skater, but as a person as well. It was very obvious that Sensei is extremely proud of him. :) She also told me some funny anecdotes. She said that among the little kids that she teaches now, the boys say, “When I grow up, I want to be Hanyu-kun.” And the girls say, “When I grow up, I want to marry Hanyu-kun.” Hahaha....... SO CUTE!!!!!

As my ‘lesson’ progressed, children and teens started to arrive at the rink for their lessons. As we continued to skate slowly round the rink, students would skate up to greet Sensei. She responded to each one with a gentle nod and a smile. These were all her former students, she told me. What lovely students, I thought. So well-mannered and respectful...... just like a guy I know. Ci

Then Sensei said it was time for her to get ready for her lesson with some children, so she would leave me to practice on my own. I thanked her profusely for her kindness and she replied that she really enjoyed teaching me. :D

Before she went off, she made sure I was ok. Told me that if I feel cold, there is a ‘warm room’ where I can enter with my skates and sit for a while. If I am hungry, there is a lounge where I can get food and have a rest, but no skates allowed there so I need to change back into my normal shoes for that room. She also said there are a lot of Yuzu’s books and magazines there so I should go and take a look!!! haha.... Sensei really understands the heart of a fan! Ice-resurfacing was going to start at 3pm; no skating for 30 minutes, perfect time to head to the lounge!

If you want to see the place, here is a link with 3 news videos: twitter. And this is an English news article with a few photos.

The lounge is a very comfortable place with neat rows of tables and chairs. And there are really a lot of Yuzu’s books and magazines there! Nicely displayed on a few low shelves that encircle a cosy sitting area further inside.

WOWWWW......................

I CAN STAY HERE ALL DAY........

There were vending machines selling drinks and hot food. I got a box of ‘yaki onigiri’ (grilled rice balls which I love), selected a few mags and sat by the huge glass windows that look out towards the rink. “Itadakimasu!”

What a perfect meal.

Soon, the zamboni had done its job and the skaters were out on the ice again. I found it so hard to leave the lounge..... I wanted to look through ALL the magazines first! But the rink closes at 6pm..... there was not much time left to skate. So after spending a bit more time on the mags, I tore myself away and went back outside to put on my skates.

Now there were several coaches on the ice and different classes were going on. I waved to Sensei who was teaching a tiny little boy..... awww Yuzu must have been like that when he started..... And then, I saw Nanami-sensei again! She came into the rink and started to coach a group of older children. I continued to skate slowly round and round the rink, trying my best NOT to stare and to concentrate on my own practice. I admire her so much as a coach and choreographer that I couldn’t help feeling excited to be skating near her. xD

The older children were practising jumps and spins. There were also a few adults skating. Everyone was so good and I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. But surprisingly, I was not embarrassed nor self-conscious. I think I must have been too overwhelmed with happiness to feel anything else. :D

Too soon, it was closing time. I returned my skates and thanked the staff for their help and kindness. I went outside and saw that it was still raining!!! And I had totally forgotten about checking the weather and trying to go to Nanakita-koen, haha!

I was putting up the hood of my parka when I heard someone call my name. It was the coach who had taught me..... Sensei! She asked me where I was going and I told her I was going to take the bus and then the subway to Yaotome Station. ‘Rikyu’, a restaurant near there has very delicious grilled liver and beef tongue, and also Yuzu’s signature, haha. And then, I got another HUGE surprise of the day.... she said she could send me there in her car!!! I quickly declined her offer, gosh how could I trouble her! But she assured me that the restaurant was on her way. She also said it was getting dark very quickly because of the rainy weather and she would worry about me trying to look for it in the dark. And again insisted it was no trouble for her as she was going that way. Awww...... Sensei, you’re too kind for words!!! I asked her to join me for dinner but she said she had to run some errands, so she couldn’t. We went to her car which was parked in the huge parking area outside Ice Rink Sendai and I had a very quick and comfortable journey to the restaurant. Sensei, domo arigato gozaimashita!!!

(Note of caution in case there are very young fans reading this: do NOT get into a car with someone you don’t know.)

(Photo above: I took this photo of the restaurant after I waved goodbye to Sensei and I was waiting to cross the road. There was a light drizzle.)

What a rainy day.... but oh how grateful I am for it! It made me spend the whole afternoon at Yuzu’s home rink and I experienced the immense warmth and kindness of the people there! Thank you, Ice Rink Sendai! Thank you, Sensei!

Part 1: victory parade day Part 3: coming up.... I will write about the rest of the trip, like going to places with Yuzu’s signature. :)) Update: Part 3 and Part 4

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#Yuzuru Hanyu #ice rink sendai #such a wonderful experience #I feel so blessed

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