Mount Anba There’s the town we just visited, beside that bay

After exploring Kesennuma, I stopped at the park at Mount Anba’s fifth station. I left the car and walked to the viewpoint; the quilted vest over my green sweater felt just right. Passing through the trees and reaching the wooden railing, I could see the bay and town beyond.

Light reflected off the sea was dazzling, so I raised a hand above my eyes. With a clearer view, I could make out clusters of houses and buildings beyond the trees in front. “Could that be where we passed through earlier?” My driving friend and I searched together, and memories of our walk around town opened up with the view.

It was a little different from a place where you look only at a broad stretch of sea, or only at mountain ranges. The town sat beside the bay, with low mountains stretching beyond it. I looked over the rows of houses, then shifted my gaze farther into the bay. I liked looking down over Kesennuma and getting a sense of the lives being lived there.

Whenever the wind moved my hair, my friend waited a moment before taking a photo. I lowered my hand and the light dazzled me again, making us both laugh. I’d heard that Mount Anba’s name comes from prayers for safe voyages and plentiful catches. It was interesting that the mountain I’d looked up at near the port had now become the place from which I looked down at the port town.

For a meal after coming down the mountain, I’d like to try Kesennuma horumon. It’s a local dish of offal seasoned with miso and garlic, eaten with shredded cabbage topped with Worcestershire sauce. Talking with my friend about that combination made me feel hungry after our walk.

I shaded my eyes once more and looked at the town nestled beside the bay. It’s nice to rediscover the places you drove through and the streets you walked from a mountain a little higher up. On a visit to Kesennuma, I’d love you to combine a walk around town and the view from Mount Anba in one trip.