Sendai city [仙台]
Tourist Attractions in Sendai
Sendai city is the prefectural capital and is the central city in Miyagi Prefecture.
It has a population of about 1,080 thousand people, and it is the biggest city in Tohoku Region.
It is located just midway between Tokyo and Aomori.
Hirose River flows through this city and there are many street trees.
So, Sendai is called as "City of Trees".
(In Japanese, it is called "Mori no Miyako", and "mori" means "forest". But there is no good word for expressing exactly.)
Hirose River in Sendai city
In 1601, Date Masamune, a leading warlord in this region, built a castle on Aobayama Hill, then Sendai city had developed as one of dominant domains in Japan.
Since that, it has been the central city of Tohoku Region.
Sendai Tanabata Festival (August 6-8th) is one of great festivals in Tohoku Region, and Sendai Aoba Festival is also a big festival.
And "beef tongue" is a famous food, then there are many restaurants for it in the city.
On March 11 in 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake occured at 14:46 and the whole Sendai city was shaken intensely.
After about an hour, large tsunami attacked the coast.
City loop bus LOOPLE
Photo by Miyagi Prefecture
The central area of Sendai is located about 10 km from the coast, so tsunami didn't reach.
But the tsunami had come to the point about 5 to 6 km from the coast and destroyed most towns around the coast.
In Sendai city, 950 people were left dead or missing by the earthquake and the tsunami.
To travel around Sendai City, the city loop bus "LOOPLE" is convenient.
The bus stops at main sightseeing spots and is operated every 15 or 20 minutes.
How to get here
By Tohoku-Shinkansen, from Tokyo, it takes about 1 hours and 30 - 45 minutes.
After arriving at Sendai airport by airplane, about 17 - 25 minutes by the train of Sendai Airport Access Line.
