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Sendai: City of Trees
Tohoku University is located in Sendai, which is also known as the “City of Trees” due to its lush greeneries and abundance of nature.
Being the largest city in Tohoku, Sendai offers the modern convenience of a big city while at the same time presents the charm and calm of a prefectural city. It is compact with reliable public transportation, making everything easily accessible.
The city is also alive with many annual events and festivals held all year round, and being the home to many foreign residents, it provides many supports to the international communities.
Due to this, Sendai is known to many as a city that is easy to live in.
Read more about the city from the Sendai tourism website below:
Events and Festivities Throughout The Year
There are special events and festivities in the city throughout the year, allowing one to enjoy each of the four seasons
The most nationally famous of these events is the Sendai Tanabata Festival, in which decorations are displayed on long upright bamboo poles throughout the downtown and surrounding areas. Other events that attract large numbers of people include the Aoba Festival, which features lively dancing, and the Pageant of Starlight, in which the zelkova trees along a main boulevard are illuminated.
Climate
Living in Sendai, you can experience the beauty of the four seasons, and there are many onsen (hot springs) nearby. With relatively few days in summer reaching above 30℃, and a winter with relatively few days colder than -3℃ and snow rarely accumulating more than 15cm, Sendai is characterized by a very moderate climate.
Sporting Events
The city of Sendai offers its guests and residents a broad variety of cultural activities. Among the most popular events are the games of the city’s home teams in professional baseball, soccer and basketball.
Sendai Sports Team
There are many professional sports team based in Sendai. But the three major ones are as follows:
- Rakuten Eagles (Baseball)＊
- Vegalta (Soccer)
- Sendai 89’ers (Basketball)＊
＊Site is only available in Japanese
Arts and Recreation
There is an impressive variety of museums, galleries and concert halls. Sendai offers rich collections of art from all around Japan and overseas.
Students and faculty members of Tohoku University can show their student or staff card to get a special discount on the entrance fees in some of the museums:
- Miyagi Museum of Art *(discount for students and faculty members available)
- Sendai City Museum*(discount for students and faculty members available)
- Yagiyama Zoo (discount for international student available)
- 3M Sendai City Science Museum
- Sendai Umino Mori Aquarium
＊Sites are only available in Japanese
Life in Sendai
Tohoku University is located in the center of Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture. Since the establishment of Sendai’s International Airport, the city is directly linked to China, South Korea and Taiwan. Flights to Beijing take 5h50min; to Seoul, 2h10min; Taipei, 3h10min.
Sendai is located ca. 300 kilometers north of Japan’s capital, Tokyo. The city is directly connected to the capital by the “Tohoku Shinkansen” bullet train (1h40min) as well as by expressway (approx. 4h).
Access Map
The history of Sendai
The history of Sendai dates back to 1602, when Masamune Date named the area for the construction of his castle.
The city lies across the large plains around a low mountain, Aobayama (part of the Ou Mountain range). The Hirose River runs about the foot of the mountain, eventually issuing into Sendai Bay, itself opening to the Pacific Ocean. These have always been key geographical features of the castle town of Sendai, from its foundation. Sendai has always been one of the largest cities in Japan, even if today it is smaller than (e.g.) Sapporo.
Today, the Kawauchi Campus of Tohoku University is located on parts of the old castle site, where old stone walls and monuments tell the story of Sendai’s rich history.
Cosmopolitan events and support
The city of Sendai is home to roughly 9,900 international residents. The Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association (SenTIA) promotes broad international cultural exchange services and activities, including the support of consultation and interpretation support (available in English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Portuguese), along with seminars on Japanese language and culture. We hope that you will find the people you meet in Sendai very welcoming and helpful!
A warm regard for students
Sendai is home to more than 30,000 university students.
Since the foundation of Tohoku University in 1907, and the subsequent establishment of a large number of other universities, Sendai has come to be known as a “university town” (gakuto) where the city’s other residents greet students warmly. Sendai’s distinctive student atmosphere also presents broad-mindedness in fashion and performance.
Tohoku University hopes to provide each student with a relaxed freedom for their own studies and self-cultivations and a balanced atmosphere for concentration.
