Miyagi

(Last updated in November 2019)

Miyagi（宮城）is the prefecture of Sendai（仙台）, the largest city in the Tohoku（東北）region which is known for Tanabata Matsuri（七夕祭り）, 1 of the top 3 festivals in the Tohoku region in summer, and for gyutan (beef tongue) and zunda (green soybean paste). Matsushima（松島）near Sendai is also known for having 1 of top 3 scenic views in Japan.

Went there during my Golden Week Tohoku trip in 2013. Matsushima is a short train ride from Sendai station. Only had half a day there, so wasted no time in checking out THE view.

From Matsushima Kaigan（松島海岸）station, trekked up the hill to the viewing point-- Matsushima Observation Deck Byakui Kannon（白衣観音）. The famous view of many pine tree covered islands at the bay was actually a little disappointing. Personally rank it last of the 3 great views.

Also visited the main temple-- Zuiganji（瑞巌寺）, 1 of the most famous Zen temple in the Tohoku region. The main building was under renovation, so other buildings in the premise were opened to public instead.

There are a few other attractions such as temples and islands that we skipped.

Sendai is a good base for visiting Tohoku. It is well connected to other parts of Tohoku/Japan by trains, buses and planes. For this trip, I took Peach Airline from Kansai Airport to Sendai Airport.

In Sendai, we spent all the time eating and shopping. There are many places to shop near the station, from malls to Shotengai（商店街）. Also ate gyutan a few times, zunda desserts and even Yonezawa（米沢）beef, 1 of the top 3 beef in Japan from neighboring Yamagata（山形）prefecture (as we didn't have time to eat it there).

For gyutan, there are a few restaurants at the upper floor of the station and also in the Shotengai near station. Just go for the ones with long queues, shouldn't be wrong :P

There are also many zunda desserts sold in the station that are worth trying, such as zunda roll cakes and milk shake. Delicious!

For lodging, there are many hotels for domestic business travellers near Sendai station such as Toyoko Inn and Apa Hotel which are convenient, affordable and fuss-free. It is a good balance with Ryokan（旅館）lodgings in the mountainous regions of Tohoku.

I visited the prefecture again in Spring 2019 for cherry blossoms. Funaoka Castle Ruins Park（船岡城址公園）is the only place in Miyagi that is ranked in the top 100 sakura spots in Japan. Visitors can hike up or take the funicular that runs through a hill of cherry blossoms and enjoy the impressive view of 1300 full-bloom cherry trees from the top where the Kannon statue is.

In addition, 1200 Somei Yoshino trees line Shiroishi River（白石川）which runs from Funaoka station (the nearest station) to Ogawara station (the next station), creating a 8km long Sakura tunnel, with Mount Zao in the backdrop!

I also dropped by Shiroishi Castle（白石城）for more cherry blossom viewing. It is a comfortable 15 minute walk from the nearest station, however the trees there are not that impressive in terms of quantity and quality.

My third time to this prefecture was in early November 2019, when I chased autumn colors in Miyagi and nearby prefectures by car. From Yamadera in Yamagata prefecture, we drove 1.5 hours to Naruko Gorge（鳴子峡）in northwestern Miyagi prefecture, famous for its autumn colors. The views were gorgeous!