Miyagi Prefecture · Japan
Where to stay in Sendai
Sendai is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, home to about 1,061,000 people. This guide covers 4 hotels in Sendai.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 4
- Nearest airport
- SDJ15 km · Sendai Airport
- Currency
- JPYyen
- Time zone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Language
- Japanese
About
About Sendai
Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. As of 1 August 2023, the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the twelfth most populated city in Japan.
Sendai is divided into five districts: Aoba-ku (青葉区), Izumi-ku (泉区), Miyagino-ku (宮城野区), Taihaku-ku (太白区) and Wakabayashi-ku (若林区). Sendai is a comfortable and pleasant city — it's a nice place to live. It's very green — in fact they call it 杜の都 (Mori no Miyako, "The City of Trees"). The main avenues around the city are wide and tree-lined, giving the city an almost European feel. The main shopping street, Chūō-dōri (中央通り), is pedestrian and covered, so it feels like a mall. Several large universities are located in Sendai, attracting young adults from throughout the Tohoku area.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Sendai
See
Although one of Japan's most pleasant and livable cities, Sendai is not generally high on the tourist circuit as it was flattened in the war and has few historical sights remaining.
- Miyagi Museum of Art
- Ōsaki Hachiman Shrine
- Statue of Kannon (the Bodhisattva of Compassion)
- Sendai Mediatheque
- Rinno-ji
- SS30 Building Observation Lounge
- Sendai City Museum
- Yagiyama Zoo
- Bansui Sōdō
- Sendai (Aoba) Castle Ruins
- Aoba Castle Honmaru Museum
- The Museum of the Forest of Depths of the Earth
Do
Akiu Onsen is an onsen town located in the outskirts of Sendai, known to be frequented by the famous samurai Date Masamune and home to its own Akiu Kokeshi, now considered to be part of the Togatta Kokeshi-type.
- Donto-sai Festival
- Michinoku-Yosakoi Festival
- Benyland
- Nikka Whisky Distillery Tour
- Sankyozawa Traffic Park
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Sendai
4 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
Where to stay
More hotels in Sendai
26 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Metropolitan Sendai | 1988 | 1.4 km |
| Mitsui Garden Hotel Sendai Mitsui Fudosan Hotel Management | 2009 | 0.6 km |
| Sendai Sun Plaza | 1991 | 2.4 km |
| Hotel Monterey Sendai | 1.5 km | |
| Sakan Ryokan | 13.8 km | |
| The Westin Sendai Mori Trust Hotels & Resorts | 2010 | 1.4 km |
| ホテル仙台プラザ | 0.5 km | |
| 仙台ホテル | 1.3 km | |
| 仙台国際ホテル | 1989 | 1.4 km |
| Almont Hotel Sendai | 1.2 km | |
| Ana Holiday Inn Sendai | 1.9 km | |
| Bansuitei Ikoiso Ryokan | 0.6 km | |
| Comfort Hotel Sendai East | 1.5 km | |
| Daiwa Roynet Hotel Sendai | 1.7 km | |
| Dormy Inn Sendai Station Hot Springs Dormy Inn | 1.0 km | |
| Hotel Bel Air Sendai | 1.3 km | |
| Hotel Dormy Inn Sendai Annex | 0.9 km | |
| Hotel Johzenji | 0.3 km | |
| Hotel Metropolitan Sendai East | 1.5 km | |
| Hotel Vista Sendai | 1.8 km | |
| Koyo Grand Hotel | 0.7 km | |
| Richmond Hotel Premier Sendai Ekimae RNT Hotels | 1.1 km | |
| Saryo Souen | 13.5 km | |
| Sendai Hills Hotel | 5.3 km | |
| Sendai Kokusai Hotel | 1.4 km | |
| Sendai Washington Hotel | 1.6 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Sendai
Sendai has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; July is the wettest, with about 181 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Sendai: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Sendai Airport (SDJ), about 15 km from the city centre in a straight line; Yamagata Airport (GAJ, 46 km) and Shonai Airport (SYO, 112 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Sendai is 360 km (220 miles) from Tokyo, so it is often viewed as out of the way and difficult to access. However, it is a 90-minute shinkansen (bullet train) ride, or one hour flight then less than a 30-minute transfer to the city center. In fact, Sendai is 100 km closer to Tokyo than the very popular Kyoto, and boasts its own unique history, plenty of temples and shrines, and is far less crowded with tourists (with Sendai almost exclusively marketed to domestic and intra-Asian tourism).
Getting around
Sendai has two subway lines. Traveling on a north-south axis, the Namboku Line connects major shopping districts with the train station. Key stations include Sendai for the train station and the AER building, Nagamachi-minami for the Mall (large American-style shopping mall including multi-screen cinema), Hirose-dori and Kotodai-koen for access to Ichibancho (covered shopping arcade), and Izumi-chuo for the soccer stadium. The second line, the Tozai Line, travels on an east-west axis.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SDJ · Sendai Airport
GAJ · Yamagata Airport
SYO · Shonai Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Sendai
Eat
Sendai's specialties include gyūtan (牛タン), grilled beef tongue; sasakamaboko (笹かまぼこ), a type of fish sausage; and zundamochi (ずんだ餅), sweet green soybean paste eaten with soft glutinous rice balls. Sendai-Miso (仙台味噌) has a long history. Hiyashi-Chuka (冷やし中華, cold ramen noodles) originated in Sendai.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Sendai: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Sendai?
Sendai has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 28 °C; July is the wettest, with about 181 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Sendai?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Sendai Airport (SDJ), about 15 km from the city centre in a straight line; Yamagata Airport (GAJ, 46 km) and Shonai Airport (SYO, 112 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Sendai?
yen (JPY).
Nearby
Destinations near Sendai
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.