ループル

Looooople

仙台駅に着いてすぐ、観光バスの案内が目に入ったので乗ってみる事にした。地理感も全く無いし、1日目はまず移動だけと思っていたので、とりあえず乗ってみて、行けるところだけ。レトロっぽいデザインのバスだけど、新しいのは新しいのかな？

このループル仙台、単に観光地を周るだけのバスかと思ったら、運転手さんが地域のミニガイドをしてくれる。運転手さんによるのかもしれないけど、よくある車内アナウンスのような真面目で教科書的なものだけじゃなくて、人間味がある話し方で面白く、乗客からも笑い声が。ジャングルクルーズとかを思い出してもらえると想像できるかもしれない。いや、あそこまでしっかり演技はしていないけど。初めは音楽を聴いていたんだけど、あまりにもみんなが楽しそうなので、結局私もイヤフォンを外してしまった。

As soon as I arrived at Sendai Station, I noticed a sightseeing bus and decided to try it out. As I had no sense of geography at all in the city, I thought I would just get around first and went as far as I could. The bus has a retro-like design, but is it a new one?

I thought it would simply be a bus, but the driver gave us a mini tour guide of the area. Maybe the style depends on the driver, but the way he talked was not like the typical on-board announcements, but was humorous with a human touch, and the passengers seemed all enjoying. It was a big like like “Jungle Cruise” in Disneyland, although it didn’t sound like scripted. At first I was listening to music, but everyone seemed to be having so much fun that I eventually took off my earphones too.

青葉城跡から戻ってくるときも「以前はこの辺りまでお城だったんですよ～。」と走りながら解説してくれて、完全に近代化されている街並みだけど、なんか昔はお殿様やらお姫様が生活してたんだな～と思いながらあっという間に街中へ。

ちなみに、運転手さんが教えてくれた老舗の和菓子店さん。 「賣茶翁」という屋号がすごい。字面がすでにブランディングだな…初見だと読めないけど。

乗り物好きの甥っ子へのお土産に、チョロQゲット。

On the way back from the Aoba Castle, he explained that the area used to be a part of the castle. The town has been completely modernized, but I was imagining how the masters of the castle lived their daily lives hundreds years ago.

By the way, the driver told us about this long-established Japanese sweets store, which is called “Baisaou”. Such a unique name! The kanji characters themselves carry such a strong branding… though you probably can’t read them at first sight.

A small gift for my nephew, who loves vehicles.

仙台観光行く人はぜひ。

（4 Oct ‘23)