Photo: Raspico, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Raspico, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sendai is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in Japan's Tohoku region, home to about 1.1 million people. The modern city was founded in 1600 by the daimyo Date Masamune, and it is nicknamed the City of Trees (Mori no Miyako) for the Japanese zelkova trees lining grand avenues such as Jozenji-dori and Aoba-dori.
Summer brings the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, when the shopping arcades fill with enormous colorful streamers. In winter the same zelkova avenues are strung with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight, which runs through most of December. The city is also home to Tohoku University, one of Japan's former Imperial Universities. In March 2011, coastal areas of the city suffered catastrophic damage from the offshore earthquake and tsunami.
The castle-town past survives on the west side of the center: the hilltop ruins of Aoba Castle, the Date clan's seat through the Edo period, and Zuihoden, the ornate mausoleum of Date Masamune and his heirs. Sendai Airport sits about 14 km south of the center, and the Tohoku Shinkansen connects the city with Tokyo in about 90 minutes, making it an easy base for exploring the Tohoku region.
Population: 1,098,335 (2023).
Photo: 掬茶, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reiyashita, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0814
The mausoleum complex of Date Masamune and his heirs, the daimyo of the Sendai Domain, set in a cedar forest on the city's west side.
Category: Historic
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0862
The hilltop site of the Date clan's castle throughout the Edo period; the ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 2003 and look out over the city.
Category: Historic
Photo: Caveman2, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Hachiman, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0871
A Shinto shrine in Aoba-ku whose main shrine building has been designated a National Treasure of Japan.
Category: Shrine
Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
A grand avenue in central Sendai lined with Japanese zelkova trees, at its most famous during the December Pageant of Starlight illuminations.
Category: Landmark
Grilled beef tongue — the custom originated in Sendai in 1948, and in the Sendai area it is usually served with barley rice, tail soup and pickles.
A Sendai specialty: soft mochi rice cakes topped with sweetened edamame paste, bright green and gently sweet, sold in shops across the city.
Sendai Station is the transport hub, where the Namboku and Tozai subway lines cross. The compact city center is easy to explore on foot, and the main historic sights are a short ride from the station.
| City | Distance |
|---|---|
| Tokyo | 307.5 km |
| Yokohama | 332.2 km |
| Nagoya | 495.1 km |
| Sapporo | 536.1 km |
| Kyoto | 581.8 km |
| Osaka | 623.2 km |
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