*****WHAT’S UP, SENDAI?-  BY JUSTIN VELGUS*****

Weekly news, events, and recommendations from Justin Velgus, a long-term resident living in Tohoku’s largest city, in collaboration with Sendai English (https://sendaienglish.com)

Sunday, Sep 1, 2019, Issue No. 14-

• What’s New: Survey Results: Where Do You Want to Live in Sendai?, Sendai Trust City Autumn Campaign, Disaster Management Training at Sendai Station
• Upcoming Events: Jozenji Street Jazz Festival, Iginari Comedy Variety Show, English Game Night
• Special Feature: What in the Ward? An overview of Sendai’s 5 wards.
• Trivia: Ancient sewer system under Jozenji-dori Avenue

What’s New:

    1. Survey Results: Where Do You Want to Live in Sendai?

A few days ago construction company Toudaikentaku published the results of a survey conducted through its online real estate agency Eheya Net about where property seekers want to live in and around Sendai.

2,868 participants were asked which of 82 areas located near train stations they most wanted to live. Sendai Station comes in at No. 1 for reasons such as convenience and for amusement activities. Next is Nagamachi which has seen increased development in the past few years and is attractive to the elderly because of the large City Hospital. Izumichuo is 3rd, 5th is Kita-Sendai, and 6th is Tsutsujigaoka, where I currently live.

The 4th was a surprise for me: Natori. It was the only area outside Sendai. Rapid development and construction (following the 2011 tsunami) mean there are high expectations for shopping, medical facilities, public facilities, convenient transportation, and likely cheaper rent as well.

News Source  

   2. Sendai Trust City Autumn Campaign

Sendai Trust City has just announced their 2019 Autumn Campaign, which includes various events and activities which will be held from September 1st to October 31st.

While there isn’t anything that spectacular, the building is trying to attract more promotion and customers. This is basic marketing and advertising 101, but still not done in most multi-use buildings in Sendai.

It could be a good example for places like SS30, AER, and others to do more than just one stand-alone event, and to do it as part of a group effort with tenants. Events during the campaign include nighttime illuminations in the open square, art projects, an inside morning yoga session, an outdoor evening yoga session, and Halloween decorations during October…the campaign could use a bit more I think.

Location: Sendai Trust City (Westin Hotel) (MAP).
Access: 9-minute walk from Sendai Station
Website: https://www.trustcity-s.com/

News Source 

   3. Disaster Management Training at Sendai Station

On the morning of August 30th, a disaster management training event was held inside and around JR Sendai Station. The training exercise was supposed to simulate what could happen after a large earthquake leaves people stuck at the station and unable to return home. 250 participants, many behaving as confused passengers, joined in.

During the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, over 10,000 people were stranded at the station and could not return home. There was much trouble guiding the passengers, particularly the handicap and foreigners. I am glad to see an effort towards disaster prep.

News Source 

Upcoming Events:

1) Jozenji Street Jazz Festival (Sep 7~Sep 8)

The annual Jozenji Street Jazz Festival returns for 2 days of music-fueled fun. The must-knows are that this is more than just jazz and more locations than just Jozenji-dori Avenue. The city becomes a stage as music concerts are held all over: Tsutsujigaoka Park, Nishi Park, the shopping arcades, Jozenji-dori Avenue, and the big stage at Kotodai Park.

Sadly, it seems this year, again, there no English info on the website. A pity and a problem as the event has the potential to draw in many tourists and is useful for those of us without perfect Japanese…yet!

Website: http://www.j-streetjazz.com

2) Iginari Comedy Variety Show (Sep 5)

Iginari is a monthly comedy variety show performed by comedians which range from amateurs to semi-professionals.

If you want to see what Japanese manzai, two person comedy, is all about, or even if you want to try your luck on stage in a future show, this could be worth a visit. Expect some challenging Japanese wordplay, but also easy to understand jokes and routines through physical comedy. Recommended by a friend. The theater squeezes in 140 audience members.

The venue is the “Nobody knows Theater,” a refurbished live theater located in the shopping arcades. It was once the Central Hall movie theater which operated for around 40 years. Glad to see the historic theater still in use in some way. This show is 1,200 yen on the day of the event, 900 yen in advance.

Location: Nobody knows Theater (誰も知らない劇場) (MAP).
Access: 10 min walk from Sendai Station
Event/Ticket info: http://tryz.jp/

3) English Game Night (Sep 6)

Beyond English, Training Solutions is hosting its regular English game night on Friday, September 6th. It is free and hosted at a popular local bar Ceskoya. Meet friends, have drinks, play games, and use our favorite language, English! Stop by anytime 19:00-21:00 and indulge in a Czech beer while you are there.

Location: Ceskoya (MAP).
Access: 15 min walk from Sendai Station
Beyond ETS website: https://beyond-ets.jp/

Special Feature: What in the Ward? An overview of Sendai’s 5 wards. 

Sendai has 5 wards (区). Let’s take a look at them.

AOBA (蒼葉区): Castle Town & Downtown

Sendai’s largest ward is a downtown area originally developed from the castle town (the area around a castle) set up just after 1600 by city founder Date Masamune.

Aoba ward was named after Mt. Aoba (“Green Leaf Mountain”), the hill the castle was built upon. Aoba ward claims Sendai Station, the castle site, many financial institutions (banks), the party town Kokubuncho, city government buildings, hotels, original Katahira campus of Tohoku University, too many gyutan restaurants and much more.

Most of the area was destroyed during a WWII air raid, so there are few historic buildings remaining, Hachiman Jingu Shrine being a rare 400-year-old exception. For many, Aoba ward is the image of Sendai. The concentration of office buildings and businesses means the weekday daytime population of Aoba ward increases by more than 100,000.

TAIHAKU (太白区): Mountain & The Mall

The ward with a naming crisis, though eventually named after the conical Mt. Taihaku. Originally when Sendai became a designated city in the late 80s, the ward names were set to a vote by the citizens. Number one for the current Taihaku was  Minami ward, followed by Midori ward in a citywide vote.

However “minami” means “south” and “midori-ku” (green-ward) is already a name in many big cities across Japan. The city government was against using a direction or common name, so it overruled the citizens’ wishes. Taihaku contains the Akiu hot spring resort area (but Sakunami hot springs and Nikka Whisky belong to Aoba Ward), Yagiyama Zoo, Benyland Amusement Park, and the Nagamachi area, which includes “The Mall.”

MIYAGINO (宮城野区): Baseball & Boats

This is the northern sibling of two coast-hugging wards. Miyagino starts at the east side of Sendai Station, often commented as the “dead side of the station.” The ward hosts the Shintera Temple area, Tsutsujigaoka Park which is famous for cherry blossoms, the home baseball stadium of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, the central distribution rail center, Kirin Beer Brewery, and the Uminomori Aquarium.

Sendai Port is there, too. The port does trade with over 100 countries and occasionally welcomes massive cruise ships. Being a coastline ward, part of it was heavily damaged by the 2011 tsunami.

WAKABAYASHI (若林区): Recovery & Rebirth  

The southern sibling of two coast-hugging wards. Meaning “young tree,” it was named after the greenery in rice fields and many trees once found around the Arahama area along the coast—though all of that was destroyed in the 2011 tsunami. Reconstruction and recovery projects are ongoing, with many rice fields already operational.

While Miyagino ward has Sendai Port and the central rail distribution center, the warehousing, importers, and central wholesale market are all centered in Wakabayashi’s Oroshimachi “wholesale town.” Kanezaki Kamaboko Factory and adjacent Tanabata Museum are worth a visit. The ward is the smallest in the area and has the smallest population.

IZUMI (泉区): Way-Up (North) & Wealthy 

The northern ward of Sendai is regarded as “far and out there” by locals, despite being just a 15-minute subway ride from Sendai Station. The wide area has much farmland and the symbolic Mt. Izumigatake (it also has a ski resort!).

Foreigners will know the ward as home to the dreaded Driver’s License Center, but you’ll also find the Vegalta Sendai soccer stadium, adjacent family-friendly Nanakita Park, and the legendary Katsuyama Sake Brewery (no tours available).

The Park Town area is one of Sendai’s newest suburbs developed 2-3 decades ago by Mitsubishi. It has shopping, golf, horse-riding, schools, and a library, and more, with the European-inspired Royal Park Hotel as its shining jewel -I like their afternoon tea time. The large houses cater to wealthier families. Also, Izumi has the well-respected, half-century-old English education academy MeySen.

More info:

Official Sendai government outline of each ward (Japanese): http://www.city.sendai.jp/chosatoke/shise/toke/gaikyo/profile.html

Ward Map: Despite a decent search, I could not find an inclusive map I was happy with.

https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-sendaicity_j.php                                                                           

The above shows a nice outline of each ward against Miyagi prefecture and provides a few stats in English.

This link http://www.shakyo-sendai.or.jp/n/ on the right of the page (thanks welfare association of Sendai!) is clickable, allowing you to break each ward into neighborhoods, which is kind of neat. Also, it is easy to see the outline of colors. Note that Aoba ward is divided into two sections on the map as there is a “Miyagi branch” of Aoba ward to separate the large number of welfare requests.

The last option requires typing and the boundary is hard to see, but it is most accurate: type the name of the ward directly into Google Maps to see an outline. Here is Miyagino ward! 

If you find a better map, please let me know or post in the comments.

Weekly Trivia: Ancient sewer system under Jozenji-dori Avenue

Lurking 8 meters under picturesque Jozenji-dori Avenue lies a 120-year-old secret. 1868 marked the start of the Meiji era when the new Japanese government welcomed and adopted western technologies such as banks, railroads, and, in our case, sewer systems.

The arched brick tunnel originally stretched the entire length of Jozenji-dori from Mitsukoshi department store to Hirose River. It helped separate rainwater from raw sewage, preventing mixing and overflow. This sanitation helped to eliminate infectious diseases like cholera.

A few times a month the Sendai Water Bureau will lead visitors down into the tunnel and deliver an informative lecture in Japanese free of charge. You can only see a small part, but it is pretty cool.  More information and sign-up details can be found here:
http://www.city.sendai.jp/…/l…/gesuido/gesuido/koho/gkp.html

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See past issues of “What’s Up, Sendai?” or learn more about living in and enjoying Sendai on the Sendai English website: https://sendaienglish.com