The City
Though central Sendai had to be rebuilt after World War II, its streets follow the original grid pattern laid out by Date Masamune in the seventeenth century. The main downtown area, a high-rise district of offices, banks and shopping malls, lies on the east bank of the Hirose-gawa. Its principal thoroughfare, Aoba-dori, runs west from the train station to where the city's few sights are located on the far side of the river. After an initial bus ride, the area is best tackled on foot. The natural place to start exploring is the wooded hilltop park, Aobayama-koen , which was once the site of the magnificent Sendai Castle, popularly known as Aoba-jo. Only a few stretches of wall and a reconstructed gateway remain, but the site is impeccable, protected by the river to the east and a deep ravine on its south side. Buses run from Sendai Station (stand 9) to Aobajoshi-mae (20min), from where it's a short walk to the statue of Masamune astride his horse, surveying the city below. A fearsome warrior, Masamune was nicknamed the "One-Eyed Dragon" thanks to a childhood attack of smallpox. He had been granted the fiefdom in return for helping bring Tokugawa Ieyasu to power in 1603, and the Date clan continued to rule Sendai for the next 270 years. Their castle was constructed in highly ornate Momoyama style, with painted ceilings and huge rooms divided by glorious screens, more like a luxurious palace than a fortress. Though it's a bit gimmicky, you can get an idea of its former glory in the small Aoba-jo Exhibition Hall (daily 9am-4.30pm; Y700), located above the park's souvenir shops, where a short, computer-generated film takes you "inside" the castle; the red seats are equipped with foreign-language earphone sets. Ten minutes' walk down the north side of the hill brings you to the more interesting Sendai City Museum (Tues-Sun 9am-4.45pm; Y400, extra for special exhibitions). This modern, well-laid-out installation traces the city's history from the early Stone Age to the present day, though the main emphasis is on the glory days under Masamune and his successors. On the second floor you'll find displays of his armour, with the distinctive crescent moon on the helmet, his sword and various portraits - always with two eyes. When Date Masamune died in 1636, aged 70, he was buried in the Zuiho-den on a wooded hillside just along the river from Aoba-jo. Eventually his two successors joined him, and their three mausoleums (daily 9am-4/4.30pm; Y550) now stand at the top of broad, stone steps, all in the same opulent Momoyama style, their polychrome carvings glittering against the plain dark wood and overhanging eaves. In fact, the mausoleums are fairly recent reconstructions - during the five-year project the graves were opened and you can see the treasures they unearthed, as well as a fascinating video of the excavations, in a one-room museum beside the Zuiho-den. Though the mausoleums are only a short distance from Aoba-jo as the crow flies, getting here is either a good twenty-minute walk, or you have to take a bus back to Sendai Station and out again (stand 11) to the Otamaya-bashi stop. If you're walking from the castle, cross the river by the City Museum and take the first right, heading southeast to cross again at the next bridge, then look out on the right for the main approach road.
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