If you are planning a trip to Japan, Sendai city is a gorgeous destination to add to your bucket list. It is a beautiful city in northern Japan, founded in 1600 by Date Masamune. It is nicknamed the city of trees, as there are many zelkova trees lining along the main streets including Jozenji Street and Aoba Street. You could see great numbers of trees and plants everywhere in Sendai, as it is one of Japan’s greenest cities.
Sendai is also an academic city because it has many universities relative to its population. There is a large community of international students in Sendai, who comes to study at the world’s top-ranked Tohoku University. We were lucky to enter this prestigious Tohoku University for our postgraduate studies. Our student life in Sendai was fascinating with lots of lovely memories. We explored most of the beautiful places in Sendai city including the cherry blossom, beautiful beaches, old temples, as well as many lively festivals during our stay.
Are you wondering about the best things to do in Sendai? Since we have lived in Sendai for more than five years, let us show you around this beautiful city. We are going to share with you the details about where we visited and what we enjoyed most during our stay. Check out these incredible sites when you are visiting Sendai and hope you’ll have a wonderful time!
1. Sendai Town
Sendai city is located 500 km north of the capital of Tokyo. But it can reach in less than 2 hours by the bullet train called as Tohoku shinkansen in Japanese. It is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest commercialized city in the Tohoku region.
There are many big shopping complexes and malls in Sendai city. Daiei, Yodobashi Camera, PARCO, LOFT are a few shopping complexes in Sendai city, which we enjoyed very much.
2. Sendai Castle
Sendai Castle or Aoba Castle built by Date Masamune in 1600. Most of the original buildings destroyed by the wars over time and the remaining castle ruins designated as a National Historic Site in Japan. The castle is located on top of Aoba Yama hills, which gives a clear view of the whole of Sendai city.
There is a large statue of Date Masamune in the back of a horse in the castle ground. Many sakura trees in the castle ground bloom with the start of spring and it becomes a lovely place during the cherry blossom season.
We visited Sendai castle several times during our stay in Sendai. It is among the best places in the city for viewing cherry blossoms. As well, it offers the best views of the annual fireworks call as Hanabi, one of the grand festivals in Sendai city.
3. Sendai Zoo
Less than 2 km from Sendai Castle, you’ll find the Sendai Yagiyama Zoo. It can directly reach from Sendai city by the Tozai subway line. Home to more than 550 animals include into 165 species, Yagiyama Zoo is an interesting family-friendly destination. There is a big selection of various animals and it is a very impressive place for animal lovers. One of the most favorite highlights of the park is this cute lesser panda called red panda.
You’ll find African elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos and hippos are freely roaming in their own jungle in the African zone. Other majestic animals include tigers, pair of lions, and polar bears. The sight of Polar Bear was the most interesting since they were playing around and swimming playfully in the water.
Visitors to Sendai Zoo will surely appreciate the sections dedicated to exotic animals since they have to adjust temperature conditions to keep the tropical animals in a cold climate. There was a lake with beautiful flamingoes, which gave an eye-pleasing view to the visitors.
4. Lake Kamafusa
Visiting Lake Kamafusa was our first trip in Sendai. Lake Kamafusa is located around half an hour drive from Sendai city, in a spectacular surrounding. Kamafusa dam erected in 1970, for the purpose of flood control and hydroelectricity. There is a long red-colored bridge in the lake and it is a picture-perfect place with the background of a range of mountains.
We went there with the start of autumn and fall colors already appeared in the mountains making wonderful scenery. There weren’t many visitors and the environment was so peaceful and quiet, except for the chirping of birds. If you are visiting Sendai someday, Kamafusa Lake is an ideal place to enjoy lovely nature with your family.
5. Matsushima Bay
Located around a 40-minute drive outside of Sendai, Matsushima bay is the most famous travel destination in the city. Matsushima means “Pine Island” in Japanese. It is one of the three most scenic places in Japan, alongside Miyajima and Amanohashidate. Matsushima bay offers a lovely oceanic view with over 200 pine-clad islets. The whole bay dots by small islands covered by pine trees. There are many sightseeing boats in Matsushima and cruising is the best way to explore these scenic islands and bay surroundings.
Matsushima town is famous for Zuiganji, one of the Tohoku Region’s most important Zen temples. It is an impressive, beautiful temple in Matsushima. This centuries-old temple is a national treasure in Japan. There are many wonderful places in Matsushima and we’ll share more details in another post.
6. Michinoku Park
The tulip paradise Michinoku Park is the most beautiful place we have ever visited in Sendai city. It locates approximately one hour drive from Sendai, midway between Sendai and Yamagata. Michinoku Park is a beautifully landscaped public park spread over a vast area of 650 hectares. It becomes a heavenly paradise filled with thousands of Tulips, at the beginning of May each year. Since this time is the golden week holiday in Japan, lots of visitors flock to this park to enjoy the Tulip Festival.
This park offers many things to entertain the visitors. Lots of colorful Tulips, wildflower meadows, play areas, and a lake with swan paddles are a few of them. We could visit the lovely Michinoku Park and enjoy the Tulip festival several times during our stay in Sendai. We have a marvelous collection of lovely snaps of beautiful Tulips and colorful landscapes. We’ll share them with you in another post.
7. Hirose River
The calm and serene Hirose River flows through the center of Sendai City. The Hirose River includes into the top 100 famous rivers in Japan, due to its good conservation status. It has clean and crystal clear, pure water. The water flow is high only during the rainy season. Other times, the water flow is very calm and quiet, even you can walk in the river at some places.
There is a long pathway along the Hirose River and many people go there in the afternoon for leisurely activities such as walking and jogging. Hirose river banks become crowded with visitors who are enjoying Imonikai parties during the autumn. Through September and October, people enjoying imoni parties around a fire near the Hirose River is common scenery. Tohoku University also arranged imonikai parties for the students and employees every year. Imoni party was a nice experience we enjoyed in Sendai.
8. Ogawara
If you are visiting Sendai during the cherry blossom season, Shiroishi Riverside in Ogawara is a must-visit destination. It gave the best view of the cherry blossom we encountered in Japan. Ogawara is about 30 minutes drive to the south of Sendai. There is an eight km long Sakura stretch along the Shiroishi River. The embankment of the Shiroishi River line by nearly 1200 cherry trees.
This place is a highly famous place in Japan for viewing cherry blossom. During the cherry blossom season, it becomes a heaven of lovely Sakura flowers, with thousands of trees, are full of blooming. Lots of Japanese people visit there to enjoy the Hanami parties along the river bank. It is a picture-perfect destination to capture the best shots of Japan.
We were lucky to see this magnificent view of Sakura along the Shiroishi River and enjoyed a stroll along the river banks. It was an amazingly beautiful view of the line of cherry trees in combination with snow-covered Mt. Zao in the distance.
There is a Sakura festival that takes place at Funaoka Castle Park, closer to the Shiroishi River, which is located atop a hill. Sakura trees line along the pathway to the hill. This park is the best place to have a bird’s eye view of the lined up Sakura along the Shiroishi River. We had a gorgeous view from the top of the hill, with Sakura and snow-capped mountains in the distance, which gave us unforgettable memory.
9. Zao Crater
Another destination you shouldn’t miss in Sendai city is Mount Zao, which includes in the 100 most famous mountains in Japan. It locates on the border between Yamagata and Sendai cities. With a height of 1841 m, this is one of the most prominent mountains in the Tohoku region. Mount Zao is a volcano featuring a beautiful crater with a lake, call as Okama in Japanese. This crater was formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. A scenic drive along with a spectacular road calls as the Zao Echo Line leads closer to the crater.
Zao Crater is widely famous as the five-colored pond, due to the changing hues of the water from dark green to blue according to the sunlight and depending on the angle of view. This Crater Lake offers a fascinating view to the visitors as you can see in these pictures. The lake is 1 km in circumference, 325 m in diameter, and has a depth of 27 m. The splendid view of Okama Crater is visible only for a few months outside of the winter from May to October. The mountain roads to the Zao crater close during the winter period.
Using Zao Ropeway, you can descend to the Zao summit. There is also a shrine, visitor center, hot spring, and restaurant at the summit. It is a famous place for snow games and many people visit there to play ski. If you are visiting Sendai, remember to enjoy the wonderful sight of Okama crater and snow games on Mount Zao.
10. Nakayama Hill
Nakayama hill is located only a few minutes drive from Sendai city. Several big shopping complexes, such as AEON, Jusco, and many more are located in this area. Since Nakayama is less crowded and parking is easier than Sendai, it was our favorite shopping destination.
There is a huge statue of the Goddess Kannon rising to 100 m above the sky in Nakayama hills. It is the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan. This statue of Kannon bears the wishing gem in her hand, which classifies her as a wish-fulfilling Kannon. You can go inside this giant statue and get a view of the whole of Sendai city up to the Pacific Ocean from the upper observation window.
Here we have brought the details of the loveliest places we visited in Sendai, during our five years stay in the city. It is our second home and we still love it very much. We guess Sendai isn’t included in many visitors’ bucket list, since it is often overlooked by other giant cities in Japan. But, indeed Sendai is a fascinating place with many attractions completely worthy to visit. Hope everybody will visit this gorgeous, green city someday and enjoy its ultimate beauty!
