*****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 15, 2019, Issue No. 16-

• What’s New: Sendai Setting Movie Release, Live Japan Perfect Guide website release, DiDi ride-hailing app start
• Upcoming Events: Sendai’s first pride festival, Pixar The Friendship exhibition, Sendai World Festa 2019
• I Need a Drink: JAL City cocktails
• Connect/Network/Resource: Sendai Miyagi Film Commission
• Trivia: Alternative Sendai Castle sites

What’s New:

    1. Sendai Setting Movie Release

“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (German meaning: small night of music, also name of Serenade No. 13 for strings, a famous composition by Mozart) is the name of a recently released Japanese movie shot exclusively in Sendai. Sendai streets, the main station pedestrian deck, cafes, bars, hotels and more all set the scene to what looks like a worthwhile viewing.

The story mixes the action of an upcoming heavyweight title boxing match, the wonder of music from a lone guitarist, and an unexpected love story stemming from a chance meeting in answering a survey.

National movie release is 9/20, but the movie is released a week earlier in Miyagi on 9/13!

News Source  

   2. Live Japan Perfect Guide website release

On September 12th an opening ceremony for the release of the Tohoku version of the Live Japan Perfect Guide website was held at Sendai Airport.

The website is a massive push to attract the “Inbound” market of overseas visitors expected to quickly increase with the anticipation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games. The website features in-depth and well-written articles about travel destinations in 7 languages!

What I like: Some articles are particularly well done, covering topics with some English information(albeit, small). For example, this article about the outlet malls in Sendai. Coupons! Limited, but in English–and it doesn’t look like you have to be a tourist to use them.

Try going to Sushihana on Parco’s 9th floor with 3 people or more and show this coupon so each of you can get a free cup of sake. (Surprisingly it doesn’t say you need to buy anything, so go “gaijin smash” if you feel tempted.)

Website: https://livejapan.com/en/in-tohoku/?sc_lid=lj_pc_header_area_switch

News Source 

   3. DiDi ride-hailing app start

Ride-hailing giant DiDi has officially launched in Sendai on September 12th, after following initial starts in Tokyo and Kyoto. This comes several months behind Uber, however, there is still plenty of market for DiDi.

Personally, I am not familiar with the pricing and service differences as both seem almost the same. However, one major difference is Uber will more well-known to westerners while anyone from China will feel more brand loyalty to Beijing based DiDi–which bought out Uber China by the way.

DiDi will also accept PayPay, an increasingly popular electronic money payment processing service which is a collaboration between Japan’s Softbank and Yahoo (in collaboration with India’s Paytm). Will the Asian alliance push out Uber? In any case, more options for tourists to get around is good business for Sendai.

News Source 

Upcoming Events:

1) Sendai’s first Pride Festival (Sep 16th, 11:00-18:00)

Sendai Pride 2019 is Sendai’s first LGBT “carnival.” The day’s event will feature a festive mood with scheduled artist performances and a talk show about ”body make,” which appears to be a talk with tips how to get a better body from guests like a bodybuilder?

I am personally still a little unsure what this is all about. The Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts have barely any information (as of writing 3 days before the festival) and the website is a free version of wix.com website builder, which means the promotion, or funds, is certainly lacking.

The website description echoes the rallying cry of the 2015 Conference on Disaster Risk Prevention referring to a post-2011 earthquake and tsunami Sendai to “Rebuild Sendai even better than before” (paraphrasing). And to the festival organizers, that means having a more inclusive and welcoming environment for the LGBT community.

So I would hope there is some type of educational seminars, lectures, or booths for the regular uninformed Japanese citizen to learn about LGBT issues and culture. However, I fear it may just turn into a giant gay party. Fabulous.

Location: Kotodai Park Citizen’s Square (MAP).
Access: 1 min walk from Kotodaikoen subway station
Website: https://sendaipridejapan.wixsite.com/spj2019

2) Pixar The Friendship exhibition

TFU Gallery Mini Mori, located on the east side of Sendai Station inside the Tohoku Fukushi University branch campus, is holding a special collaboration exhibition featuring beloved Pixar characters.

You can take pictures with the scale models of characters from Toy Story or Monsters Inc (Yes, yes you can do that) and learn more about the stories and history of Pixar movies.

There will also be limited goods on sale in the gift shop, which you can enter even without paying for the exhibit.

I went to their Marvel themed exhibit last year and was really impressed with how extensive it was with information and the beautiful displays. So the adult admission price of 1,200 yen is probably worth it if you are a Pixar fan.

Location: TFU Gallery Mini Mori (MAP).
Access: 5 min walk from Sendai Station
Website: https://www.disney.co.jp/eventlive/pixarthefriendship.html

3) Sendai World Festa 2019

“Sendai World Festa is an event that is held in Sendai International Center and combines the knowledge of international groups that focus on grass-roots international exchange, cooperation, and internationalization to create connections between people and create a space to encourage sharing of international culture.”

Highlights of this international festival with a hometown feel are the various world cuisines you can indulge in and the cultural performances. It is also a great chance to learn about some of the citizen groups in Sendai. The event is organized by the Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association.

Location: Sendai International Center (MAP).
Access: 3 min walk from International Station
Website: https://sendai-world-festa.jimdosite.com/

I Need a Drink: JAL City cocktails

Hotel JAL City is a national hotel chain, so it is quite surprising to find out that the one next to Sendai Station has a fancy, high-quality bar. Take the elevator to the 14th floor to reach Sky Bar J-Lounge. The bar’s menu is something to be reckoned with. Yummy cocktails, whiskey, beer, decent wine selection, and even non-alcohol cocktails and matcha green tea if you want to cut out the alcohol. The interior is a bit dated, but the lovely night view and attractive bar make-up for this. Optional plans and course menus, and a food menu that includes proper meals make this suitable for solo drinkers, couples, business meetings, and even small gatherings. The charge is around 330 yen or so if I recall correctly.

Location: 5 min walk from Sendai Station (MAP)
Website: https://www.sendai.jalcity.co.jp/restaurant-bar/j-lounge/

Connect/Network/Resource: Sendai Miyagi Film Commission

When a media company wants to make a commercial, TV show, music video, or movie in Sendai or Miyagi they can get free support and assistance from the Sendai Miyagi Film Commission.

They helped the movie crew of “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” extensively, even to the point of helping with promotion. The commission’s website has a detailed list and map of scenes from the movie here.

If you own a business in Sendai, you could apply to have your location as a candidate for future movie shooting. Additionally, you can apply to be an “extra” for movies or TV shows.

Website: https://www.sendaimiyagi-fc.jp/english/about-us/

Weekly Trivia: Alternative Sendai Castle sites

Before Sendai, Date Masamune lived in the much smaller Iwadeyama (northern Miyagi) and was thinking where best to expand his growing empire. Eventually, it would be Sendai, building the castle atop in Mt. Aoba, but there were two alternative sites.

One was Ishinomaki city’s Mt. Hiyori (Hiyoriyama). The steep central hill demands a commanding position over the flat surroundings and is adjacent to one of the two mouths of the Kitakami River. The Kitakami River was an important transportation route in the Edo period which begins north of Morioka in Iwate. From the mouth of the river, the goods could be easily transported to Edo (ancient Tokyo) by sea.

The other option was Tsutsujigaoka Park in Sendai. The flat land is elevated from its immediate position seems to be closer to the true geographic center of the Sendai.

Ultimately, Date Masamune chose the current castle site because of its strong defensive position. Hirose River acts as a natural moat, while the single Ohashi bridge could be easily guarded.

The steep hill and wide-area with layers of defenses on different altitudes would likely even make an attack by the best cannon of the day difficult. An underground spring means retrieving freshwater during a siege would be possible.

It is interesting to think of how Sendai and Miyagi may have developed if the castle were built in a different location. At least for history nerds like me.

***

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