Sendai Guide: Top AWESOME Places And Things To Do In Sendai
Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku part of Honshu Island in Japan. This is a beautiful city with a lot of awesome things for tourists to explore and it takes just one hour and a haft to get there from Tokyo by the bullet train. So if you are going to visit this city, the list of amazing things to do in Sendai below is written for you. Check it out now!
Awesome Things To Do In Sendai
1. Visit The Morning Market
The first thing in the list of things to do in Sendai is to visit the morning market. With a large number of food stalls, around 40, you can find whatever type of food you want here: from light snacks, bread to the typical breakfast like noodles, fish soup or sushi. Besides, the market also sells the best products in the region with a very reasonable price, here you can find fresh vegetables as well as delicious seafood as ingredients for your lunch or dinner.
Sendai Morning Market sells a wide range of food for tourists to try.
2. Museum Tour In Sendai
Next in the list of “things to do in Sendai” is taking a museum tour. The museum tour can be considered as a specialty of this historic city. Sendai is not the only representative of a modern Japanese town but also a city of history and arts. We believe that after spending a morning to get to know Sendai’s tradition and history, you will get an authentic look at ancient life in Japan without being bombarded by other touristy things.
Zuihoden is a stunning woodwork.
- Zuihoden: Known as the Mausoleum of Date Masamune, the first lord of the Sendai. The overview is quite similar to a movie scene with the giant cedar trees, which are also a symbol of longevity, shading the paths and various stone statues covered with green moss. The mausoleum is a stunning woodwork, beautifully gold trimming as well as many pretty works of arts.
- Museum of the Forest of Depths of the Earth: We would highly recommend this place for a history lover. This museum is specialized in Japanese Stone Age with a large number of collections and galleries.
Sendai Castle Ruins looks like a square where people often gather around to enjoy the atmosphere of the city.
- The Sendai Castle Ruins: If you do some searching, you can realize that the Sendai Castle Ruins looks like a square where people often gather around to enjoy the atmosphere of the city. The place is in an open space, standing there the whole city will be right in front of you. There’s also a replicate of the original gate, which illustrates how the Sendai Castle looked like in the good old days.
3. Delicious Food In Sendai
Sendai Guytan is a must-try food when you visit this beautiful city.
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If you are done for Sendai sightseeing, it’s time for you to have lunch. Sendai’s most famous cuisine is Guytan, which is also known as the grilled-beef tongue. This dish is usually served with many types of sauce like fish sauce or green soy sauce, you can also get it grilled, seared or even in a stew. Another option is to try out at a local izakaya, an informal gastropub. Basically, you will have a chance to taste fresh seafood which is directly transported from the fish port to your table. The most interesting part is the fish auction when customers can bid on the fish that they want to eat.
4. Sendai’s Famous Festivals
After having lunch, you are wondering what to do in Sendai next, don’t worry because this vibrant city has an endless list of festival for you to enjoy. The festival season often starts from August to September in Sendai so make sure to consider these festivals if you are planning to visit Japan.
Tanabata festival is one of the most popular festivals in Sendai.
- Tanabana: This is one of the most important festivals in Sendai. It usually takes place from the 5th of August and lasts for a few days until the 8th of August. The festival starts with an impressive firework, the whole city is beautifully decorated with Ksudama consisting of paper balls and colorful decorative flowers.
Jozenji Steet Jazz Festival is a festival for Jazz lovers.
- Jozenji Steet Jazz Festival: When Tanabata festival is over, it’s time for another one, which is special just for jazz lovers. It is held annually in September in Sendai. The festival is well-known as many musicians, singers, and producers all over the country, coming here to take over the streets of the city. Several stages will be set up around the town and the performances will play continuously from day into night. Make sure to book hotels in advance if you want to enjoy the atmosphere with jazz music filling in the air all day long.
5. A Night Trip In Sendai
Like any other city, this city also has another version after dark, a version which can be easily overlooked. If you are about to head to your hotel when the sun goes down then let’s reconsider it. Here we will give you a list of places to go sightseeing at night in Sendai.
- SS 30 Observation Lounge: A night city’s view will never be old-fashioned for a tourist and if you are looking for this, you’d better get to SS 30 Observation Lounge as soon as possible. There are 2 observation decks on the 29th and 30th floor and the good news is it’s free. The best timing to take photos is early morning when the whole city’s in fog or late afternoon with the shine of lights.
- A night in town: If you are traveling alone you can go downtown to enjoy the crowded air and lively night in Sendai or if you go with a group of friends, this part in the city is where you can find some bars and several traditional Japanese pubs for a drink. This part includes Chuo-Dori as well as Kokubuncho, which are famous tourist attractions for young people searching some fun at night.
- Tasting wine at Akiu Winery: For people who adore wine particularly red wine, this is a perfect place for you. Here you can observe how people make wine in Sendai from drying grapes hanging on the ceiling to Italian techniques which winemaker brought over. Even if wine is not your cup of tea, you should really stop here to buy some presents for your family and friends because it’s really worth your money.
- Sendai Pageant of Starlight: You can call it a festival because it only happens once a year to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Sendai Pageant is more like a light show with over 600,000 orange colored lights strung over Aoba-Dori and Jozenji-Dori. This creates a magic world like in fairy tales with the extreme contrast between light and shade. It’s a good choice if you want to take some pictures to show off with your friends. I bet that they will be super jealous of you.
Watch the video below to know what to do in Sendai within 24 hours in detail:
So we think it’s enough for the day and now it’s time you came back to your hotel and had the best sleep ever after a long day traveling. We know just a day strolling around cannot show you everything you want to know about Sendai but at least you do get some feeling about this city, the city with a perfect combination of tradition and modern.
