Matsushima Cruise | Review by 一個漸漸喜歡上慢旅的人

因為很喜歡去動物園和水族館，每次旅行總是在尋覓。去過日本大大小小的水族館，位於宮城的仙台海洋森林水族館，算是動線規劃數一數二優秀的。整體逛起來舒適寬敞，身為東北地區最大的水族館，裡頭擁有一個令人震撼的超大水槽，站在前面欣賞蔚藍的海洋世界真的很療癒。戶外演出的海豚表演場地也設計得很好，視野非常棒，也有遮蔭處，可以舒服地觀賞表演。

除了大景，館內還能近距離看到可愛的企鵝和萌到不行的水獺，可愛的模樣讓人融化。逛完水族館後，很推薦到旁邊一間當地人超愛的拉麵店「ramen ONE」嚐嚐在地口味。那裡的湯頭屬於濃郁系，中午用餐時間，整間店幾乎都是日本當地上班族，生意非常好，建議大家可以避開用餐尖峰時段去排隊，感受一下道地的日式拉麵魅力。

This time, I joined a day tour and enjoyed the magnificent scenery of the Zao mountain range from the bus, with endless coniferous forests outside the window. Along the way, the guide talked about Zao’s famous snow monsters, but also pointed to patches of trees that looked somewhat withered and sighed. The guide explained that climate change and warmer winters in recent years have led to an infestation of a certain insect, causing the snow monsters of Zao to shrink in scale year after year and possibly become increasingly rare in the future.

Although I visited in June and saw lush green mountain roads and ridgelines, the guide said the mountains are covered in fall colors in autumn and turn into a dreamlike world of snow monsters in winter. But hearing about the impact of global warming on the ecosystem, I couldn’t help feeling a little heavy-hearted and reflective even as I admired the beautiful scenery.

I remember there was once a huge Black Thunder chocolate craze in Taiwan. It was often sold out, and even a single pack was hard to find. Later, on a trip to Japan, I happened to see it at a convenience store and bought one to try. Honestly, I don't really like overly sweet chocolate to begin with, and after trying it that one time, I thought it was a little too sweet, so I didn't particularly get hooked. But I've heard that this chocolate cookie has remained very popular and widely recognized in Japan.

If you've never tried it, or if you want to relive the craze from back then, you might want to pick one up and give it a try when you visit Japan.