Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku region of the island of Honshu, one of the islands of Japan. It is often said that “Sendai is just right”, as it is close to both the seas and mountains. Even the weather in Sendai is just right, not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. Locals have also said that it is a very comfortable place to live in. A thing worthy of noting about Sendai is the fusion of its greenery and the industry that makes it the city that it is. It is a city where the streets are cemented and wide yet the view is also very green, trees can be found everywhere. As a matter of fact, Sendai’s other name is Mori no Miyako, or City of Forest.

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Various sights can be found in Sendai, whether natural or otherwise. A lot of historical sites pertaining to the founder of the city, Date Masamune, can be found. One of these sites is the ruins of the Sendai Castle, which is just located downtown. The Zuihoden Mausoleum houses various artifacts of Date Masamune and is also is tomb. Some other places to visit are the Sendai City Museum and the Miyagi Art Museum. The Sendai City Museum is home to Date Masamune’s famous suit of armor and other artifacts related to Sendai’s history. Sendai is also home to some natural scenery, specifically the western parts of Aiku and Sakunami. Aiku sights include the Aiku Otaki Falls and the picturesque Rairai gorge whose foliage when autumn rolls over is sometimes simply called picture perfect. Akiu and Sakunami are both hot spring resorts (onsen) near downtown Sendai. A short drive (approximately 30 minutes) takes you to these hot spring resorts, which has numerous hotels and traditional Japanese inns, called ryokan, that offer comfortable baths among the beauty and tranquility of the mountains. Some traditional inns have baths located outside, where you can relax while at the same time enjoying the views of the stars or the snow. Approximately 30 kilometers away from some Sendai is Matsushima Bay, one of Japan’s 3 Great Views.

Sendai is also the place where some of Japan’s dishes have originated. One such item is gyutan, or grilled cow toungue. This dish originated in Sendai in 1948 and is usually served thinly sliced, accompanied by rice and beef tail soup. Another great dish is Sasa-kamaboko. This bread made of fish is baked into bamboo shaped loaves. Sendai is also known for great seafood and seafood dishes since it is near several ports so the seafood is always usually guaranteed fresh.

Sendai also holds several festival throughout the year, with the Sendai Tanabata Festival as its most famous. The Sendai Tanabata Festival, which is the biggest Tanabata Festival in Japan, is held every 6th to 8th of August with a fireworks display on the 5th to usher in the festival. When the festival time rolls around, the streets are adorned by beautiful tanabata decorations. These humongous colorful decorations made of washi (colorful japanese paper) usually have wishes written on them, as is custom for Tanabata.

Sendai is a modern city in harmony with nature. The city is surrounded by a splendid natural environment. So come to Japan and visit Sendai, a modern city that retains its ties with nature with its natural beauty.

Posted in Attractions, Japan

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Attractions, Japan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.