First time in Miyagi. I’ve heard Sendai it’s cool but that’s about all I know.
Besides a few yokochos I want to visit, my schedule is pretty open – and I have a train pass to visit the surroundings as well.
Any recommendation besides the obvious stuff I can google? I’m into good food and drinks. Also curious to explore interesting neighborhoods and backstreets.
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Take a boat tour of those islands.
Stay away from beef tongue, it’s really heavy on the stomach. If you must, order a half portion.
Part with students maybe?
The castle ruins on the hill are cool, with great views over Sendai.
Zunda Shake!!! 💚
ずんだ餅! I am not a big fan of gyutan but its worth a try, enjoy your weekend!
Sendai itself doesn’t really have a lot of stuff to see unless you are really into Date Masamune or shopping. Gyutan and zunda are about the only real famous foods in Sendai. For gyutan I would recommend Gyutan Waka (near izumi station). It is a bit pricey, but the shimofuri gyutan is insanely good (and gyutan is going to be expensive either way). just outside of Sendai, there are a few famous places for eating and sight seeing.
Check out the fish market in shiogama. At the market, you can buy small portions of pre sliced fish and then bring it to the food court area to make your own kaisendon. Also, there is a stall that has the best clam chowder I have had in Japan (not saying much, but it was really good). If you want a nicer meal, sushi tetsu in shiogama is pretty famous and reasonably priced.
Matsushima is known for oysters, but at this time of year, you probably wont be able to eat raw Matsushima oysters only grilled, deep fried, etc. and grilled, I honestly prefer the scallops over oysters. The few places that do have raw oysters are serving oysters from other areas. My friend who is a tourism coordinator for Matsushima city says that is actually easier to eat raw matsushima oysters in sendai (and probably other big cities) because they get a higher price exporting them than they do selling them in matsushima. The boat ride and hiking some of the nearby islands via bridge are pretty fun. They also have a japanese garden/park where you can do yakiniku.
A bit inland and further north, you can go to Naruko onsen which is great for onsen and they have a really big gorge to see, as well as a dam and some other cool stuff around, but you may need a car. If you are on a day trip I would recommend shintoro no yu, which is a little bit outside the main town, but has probably the best onsen water in Japan. It’s like taking a bath in lotion.
If you really have some time, check out kessennuma (maybe with a brief stop at minami sanriku to visit their new memorial park). Kessennuma has a tsunami memorial museum that is worth a visit and a small shark museum. They also have a scenic island called Oshima, which has a bunch of stuff to do. Kessennuma is famous for its swordfish and sharks fin. I could honestly pass on the sharks fin, but sword fish sashimi is really good and this is probably the only place you can have it.
Other than that, there is miyagi Zao/toogatta onsen which is a great ski resort in season, but kind of a meh onsen town otherwise and there is a small castle in the southern town of shiroishi where they have their famous dish uumen, which is basically a thick somen or thin udon, but not really something to go out of your way for. Also, Ishinomaki has a museum dedicated to the guy who made Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, if you are into that kind of thing.
Take the train out to Yamadera and hike up.
Shiogama if you like sashimi. Zunda shakes are great. The castle ruins aren’t really anything, but it’s a good view over the area. Matsushima is ok, but I’m from NZ so I thought it was very average scenery.
Try out Kanako’s Hokkaido Soup Curry.
https://www.kanako-curry.jp/soup-curry/
In my experience there’s literally fucking nothing to do in Sendai.
I tried to go to the castle, and it didn’t even exist..
There’s a Nikka Whisky factory up in Sakunami and I’ve always wanted to try out the Craft Beer Market there in Sendai proper. 🙂
Take a train to Ishinomaki, then a boat to Tashirojima (cat island), there’s also a place with deer out there but I forget the name.
Why did nobody tell me there’s [a cat island](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5031.html) nearby?
Gyutan, matsushima, date mauseloum
If you like cyborg009 and kamen rider, go to ishinomori manga museum
There’s a restaurant near Sendai station that has Kaki Hour, during which oysters are ¥100 a pop, and sours are ¥150. I’m desperately searching for the name, but if someone in Sendai knows which one I’m talking about, feel free to chime in. They bring a little robotayaki grill to your table for you to use.
Edit: It’s Tobiume, if I’m not mistaken. Be sure to either arrive early or make a reservation, *droves* of people were turned away because it got full when I went.
Do you know of the Sendai Daikannon? It’s pretty impressive as you draw near and isn’t so far from the centre.
Counting how many cars are on the road (or in parking lots)..:
Not a local but the petrified forest museum is incredible
When it comes to sendai, gyutan is what comes to my mind. Someone gave me a pack of gyutan as omiyage from sendai and it tastes really good plus its so soft its so easy to eat.
Other than that, I have no idea what else to do there if ever I decide to go on a vacation there during long holidays.
Akiu craft village is a lot of fun! It’s close to the whiskey distillery too. Akiu falls are a nice hike.
If you like hiking izumigatake is always lovely too. I really like the Jogi temple complex (you need a car). Also Zuihoden is a really pretty mausoleum in central sendai. If you take the Loople it will take you a lot of places around the city. The Sendai city museum is closed for renovations right now though.
The best thing to do in sendai is leaving Sendai. I mean it in the sense that sendai is a great hub to visit onsens, ski, hike, explore. There’s tons of cool shit to do out here. If you come in autumn make sure to visit naruko for the fall foliage.