I must be honest with you – I didn’t do any research on Sendai, and I had no idea what to expect. I was planning on doing this trip just to ride the Tohoku Shinkansen, but simply jumping off the train to take a selfie outside the station to prove to my friends I was there didn’t feel right.
The Sendai tourist office at the railway station pointed me in the direction of the Loople Sendai – the city’s sightseeing bus – which completes a circuit around the city in about 70 minutes, stopping at several worthwhile attractions. At a cost of 630 Yen for a day pass, and the bus stop being right outside the station, Loople Sendai was a great chance to see the city – and the day pass itself made a great souvenir.
“DISCOVERING” SENDAI
Pulling out of Sendai Station aboard a bus that looked like a vintage American streetcar, we climbed out of the downtown core, winding through city streets towards the outskirts of the city. Despite being the Tohoku region’s largest city, Sendai is quite hilly and mountainous which adds to its character. The first and only stop I had time for, before my return trip to Tokyo, was Sendai Castle - about 26 minutes way from Sendai Station. Located atop a hill known as Mount Aoba is actually the remains of a castle whose proper name is Aoba Castle. A steep set of stairs marked by a torii gate entrance leads up to the castle, and from the top of the hill, there is a beautiful view of the City of Sendai, including a view of the Sendai Metro’s Subway Tozai Line whose trains pop out of a tunnel onto an elevated guideway.
Returning to the Loople Sendai, I completed the full circuit, arriving Sendai Station for my return trip to Tokyo. Sendai has so much more to offer, and I will return explore some of its other attractions.
Being 12:00pm, I needed to answer to my stomach’s cries for good food. Friends of mine pleaded with me to try Sendai’s delicacy, gyutan, which in English means cow tongue. As it was the height of lunchtime, all the gyutan restaurants at Sendai Station were full, so I settled for a delicious sushi combo that cost only 1000 Yen ($10CAD).
While my stomach thanked, my mind was preoccupied with getting a reserved ticket for the E5 Series Shinkansen for the trip back to Tokyo – but would I be lucky enough to get a seat?
Written by Ken Fernandes (@japanesetrainandtravelwithken)
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