Everybody Likes a Little Toungue – Quick Tips on Touring Sendai
The French kiss is commonly known throughout the world as a kiss with a little extra umf. It was an informal phrase developed in the English speaking world early in the 20th century for a more intimate kiss. Named for the perceived notion that the French were a more intimate bunch than their English counterparts. Maybe this makes you remember your preteen youth at a MVD or some kind of all ages dance, packed in a some hall trying to make out with someone while grinding your way to victory. I digress, but if your one to enjoy a little extra tongue, you should probably visit Sendai!
Food
CNN writer Karla Cripps coined Sendai as the “beef toungue capital of the world”. This done so with good reason. Yup, a whole city with a population of just over a million people who probably enjoy tongue more than anyone else on earth. The main streets of Sendai are filled with restaurants that’s specialize in Gyūtan (cow tongue). There are varieties of ways to eat it, from grilled, stewed, to pickled. If your thinking it to be disgusting, it really isn’t that much different than cuts of beef you may be more used to. The taste is rather neutral but the most appealing part may be the texture. It’s somewhere between soft steak and the chewy harder beef stomach. The sensation is an almost jerky like texture but thicker.
If that doesn’t suit your tastebuds then don’t worry. There are hundreds of restaurants that will gladly serve you other Japanese delicacies.
Attractions
The attractions of Sendai are quite polarizing in what you can do. You can easily get your shopping fill, find an electric arcade or view various modern architecture sites. The Sendai Mediatheque for instance is a large complex made completely out of glass.
On the flip side you can get in a lot of nature and history through the various parks, heritage sites and museums.
There are two must visit cultural sites when visiting Sendai. The first being the Site of Sendai Castle, which is called Aoba Castle. Here’s the thing, there is no actual castle to be seen. Originally constructed in 1601 during the Edo period, it was the home to the Date (Da-Te) clan. Unfortunately it was completely destroyed during the fire bombing of Sendai(1945), in World War 2. So if your expecting something equivalent to the famous Himeiji Castle, then you’re going to be upset. There is still a lot to see at the site however. A small temple resides at the top and two massive statues. One is dedicated to Lord Date Masamune who had Aoba Castle constructed. He was one of the most powerful Daimyo during the Edo period. The site is also atop a pretty steep hill which will give you a wonderful view of the city and lets you take in just how big Sendai really is. The Aoba Castle Museum is at the base of the hill and is about a 10 minute walk. It allows you to couple what your taking in around you with some context.
The second is the Zuihoden Mausoleum. It is where Masamune is entombed. His son and grandson are buried nearby and the whole site is surrounded by Kyogamine Park. Masamune’s grave itself is covered by a thick forest that hides it from sight of those passing by. Quite a bit of a hike from Aoba Castle, the tomb is on a small hill and accessible by crossing Otamaya or Hyojogawara bridge. Buddhist zen gardens and elaborate Momoyama-style architecture is what makes it so appealing. It may seem odd to say, but if you can visit this site while raining it becomes an incredibly peaceful experience. The river near by coupled with rain gives a constant sound of moving water and the fresh air is wonderful.
There are several museums throughout the city worth taking a look at. As stated before there is one by the base of Aoba, but the other two worth checking out are Sendai City Museum and The Miyagi Museum of Art. The Sendai city museum contains almost 90,000 pieces, many excavated from the surrounding area. Records and other historical artifacts of the Date family can be found here.
The Miyagi Museum of Art has several seasonal displays as well as a fixed permanent exhibit. Many of the pieces are from the 19th and 20th century. It features many local artists born of the Miyagi prefecture. It also has some foreign artists including famous Russian painter Wassily Kadinsky. It’s only a few hundred yen to check out each display. Photography of the art is prohibited at all times.
Like any modern Japanese city there are bound to be capsule hotels. They are relatively cheap at 3000 yen and incredibly clean. They give you a futuristic vibe and the capsules are quite more spacious than you may think. You can also stop by for a mid day nap at a 1000 yen. If you are a light sleeper however, they may not be ideal as you can often hear one or two people snoring in other capsules.
Navigating Sendai
As soon as you exit the JR station, you’re instantly met with large buildings and sky scrapers you’d expect from a metropolis city in Japan. It’s bright, vibrant and filled with shopping complexes every which way. This however is just half of what Sendai has to offer. Really the city can be separated quite easily between the new and the old. There’s a large river that runs through the city, which separates it roughly into east and west Sendai. It is not actually officially recognized as east or west Sendai but it’s a good way to think about the city.
On the east side where the JR station is located, you have corporate buildings, shopping centres and restaurants. On the west side there’re many peoples houses, parks and sightseeing monuments. The Hirose River is quite pretty to walk along and runs towards the south of Sendai.
Getting around Sendai is especially easy because of the “Loople Bus” that runs throughout the city. It will literally take you steps outside of every worthwhile sightseeing attraction in Sendai. There are day passes available for 620 yen or you can catch a single ride for 260 yen. They usually come every twenty minutes, so it’s never a long wait. You can stay on the bus as long as you’d like, if you feel like skipping some of the sites that are less appealing. The Loople bus is only for morning and day use, with a start time of 9am. It stops operating at 4pm, so be mindful if your doing some late afternoon touring.
If you’re going by foot instead, it will take you quite awhile to get from place to place. It can take a couple hours if you want to walk everywhere as the city is quite large, with some of the sites being pretty far apart. The site of Sendai Castle, Sendai Art Museum and the botanical gardens are all up hill, so the trek can be quite tiresome. If you’re feeling a nature hike, the botanical gardens of Sendai University is only fully accessible by foot. If it’s raining there is an indoor shopping strip that runs through quite a large section of east Sendai. It will let you skip some traffic lights and keep you dry. Sendai has quite a lot to offer you and taking a full two or three days is your best bet.
