Information as of 25 August 2026
This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI
It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.
Moving to Sendai
Sendai is the only government-ordinance-designated city in the Tohoku region. It has a population of 1,096,278, an area of 786.35 square kilometres, and is divided into 5 wards: Aoba, Miyagino, Wakabayashi, Taihaku and Izumi. Tokyo is 1 hour 33 minutes away by Shinkansen, with no changes. 🔴 The first thing to know about this city is that its summers are cool. In the Japan Meteorological Agency normals, the August daily high is 28.2°C — 3.1°C lower than Tokyo, with 0.9 days a year above 35°C (Tokyo has 4.8) and 2.7 tropical nights a year (Tokyo has 17.8). In exchange, there are 65.1 days a year below freezing and 59 centimetres of snow falls each year. The second thing is the slopes. The 1,296 second-hand detached houses on the market sit between 1.8 metres and 375.0 metres above sea level, with a median of 69.5 metres. 839 of them (65%) are above 50 metres — this is a city whose residential areas spread across hills. Prices run from ¥980,000 to ¥165,000,000, with a median of ¥29,500,000.
Population
1,096,278 people
estimated as of 1 August Reiwa 8; 556,368 households
Population growth over 5 years
+247 people
Reiwa 7 Census preliminary figures; the city calls it "almost flat"
Homes for sale
1,296 listings
¥980,000– / median ¥29,500,000
To Tokyo
1 hr 33 min
Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes, ¥11,630
Medical costs for children
to the end of the school year at 18
Out-of-pocket payments abolished from April Reiwa 8
Elevation of listings
median 69.5 m
1.8–375.0 m / 839 listings above 50 m
Days above 35°C
0.9 days a year
Sendai station; Tokyo has 4.8
Annual snowfall
59cm
Deepest snow cover 16 cm; 0.8 days a year stay below freezing
Summer (August daily high)
28.2℃
Sendai; 3.1°C lower than Tokyo
Winter (January daily low)
-1.3℃
Sendai; 2.5°C lower than Tokyo
Hot springs and day bathing: Ashiyu, Tsuru-no-yu, Moniwa Onsen, Akiu Onsen Kyodo Yokujo, Yamabiko-no-yu, Tennen Onsen Sendai Corona-no-yu, Sendai Yudokoro Sunpia-no-yu, Spa Metsa Sendai Ryusenji-no-yu, Ayashi Tenku-no-yu Soyogi-no-mori, Kamigane Onsen, Konosu Onsen, Fujitsuka-no-yu, Higaeri Onsen Sakunami Hotel, Kanjomaku-no-yu, Sakunami Onsen / Dog runs: Dog Field / RV parks: RV Park Aqua Ignis Sendai, RV Park Izumigatake Ski Resort
Sources: hot springs and day bathing from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-25); dog runs from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-25); RV parks from Japan RV Association, list of certified "Kurumatabi" RV parks (checked 2026-08-25). 🔴 We only show what a town has — a town without these is not inferior.
Last checked 2026-08-25
CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Sendai is
Sendai lies on the Pacific side of the Tohoku region, on the Sendai Plain that opens out between the Ou Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Its 786.35 square kilometres stretch 50.579 kilometres east to west and 31.204 kilometres north to south and hold 1,096,278 people. It became a government-ordinance-designated city on 1 April Heisei 1 and was divided into 5 wards: Aoba, Miyagino, Wakabayashi, Taihaku and Izumi. The shape of this city is very long from east to west. The largest ward, Aoba, covers 302.24 square kilometres, and 86% of that is the Miyagi district of the former town of Miyagi — mountains that run all the way to the Yamagata prefectural border. The smallest, Wakabayashi Ward, covers 50.86 square kilometres and faces the Pacific to the east. Within the same city there are residential areas 375 metres above sea level and residential areas 2 metres above sea level (§4).
"The City of Trees" means the street trees and the garden grovesIn the city's own words, in Aoba Ward "the clear stream of the Hirose River runs 35 kilometres through the ward from east to west, creating a waterside space where residents can rest, along with the poetic image of Sendai". In the centre stands the zelkova avenue of Jozenji-dori, and as §11 describes, in December about 480,000 LEDs are lit on those 127 zelkovas.
The city writes that Aoba Ward's character is "the 'diversity' in which modern urban functions and a rich natural environment coexist", and continues: "there is rich and varied nature such as Aobayama and the Hirose River, many historical assets and traditional culture dating from the founding of Sendai by Date Masamune, and parks and streets that bring both bustle and rest — and this rich natural environment and these cultural resources live together with advanced urban functions".
The population has turned almost flatThe preliminary Reiwa 7 Census figure is 1,096,951. The city writes: "compared with the previous Reiwa 2 Census this is an increase of 247, an almost flat result". That is +0.0% over 5 years.
The wards, however, have clearly moved — Aoba Ward +4,727 (+1.5%), Taihaku Ward +3,294 (+1.4%) and Wakabayashi Ward +1,513 (+1.1%) grew, while Miyagino Ward -2,507 (-1.3%) and Izumi Ward -6,780 (-3.2%) shrank. Even though the city as a whole is flat, some 11,000 people have shifted between the wards. When you look for a house in §2 and §4, this difference matters.
1 hour 33 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen, 25 minutes to the airportFrom Sendai Station to Tokyo Station is 1 hour 33 minutes on the Tohoku Shinkansen, ¥11,630, with no changes (§3). Morioka is 40 minutes away, Fukushima 22 minutes, Koriyama 40 minutes.
And there is the Sendai Airport Access Line — in the railway company's words, "it links JR Sendai Station to Sendai Airport Station in about 25 minutes at the fastest. A route bus or taxi takes roughly 40 minutes, so up to about 15 minutes can be saved". The airport is outside the city (in Natori and Iwanuma), but it is connected directly by rail. There are 8 expressway interchanges within the city.
"Gakuto Sendai", the academic city — 50,234 students at 11 universitiesIn the Reiwa 7 School Basic Survey there are 11 universities with 50,234 students (of whom 7,799 are graduate students), 4 junior colleges with 1,954 and 58 specialised training colleges with 16,191 (all private). Together 68,379 people are in higher education — 6.2% of the city's population.
The city writes of Aoba Ward: "the ward contains Tohoku University and many other universities, research institutes and vocational colleges, forming the educational zone that represents 'Gakuto Sendai'", and continues, "the share of residents who are students or foreign nationals is higher than in other wards, and many people also visit for business and tourism". The figure of 7,799 graduate students is the weight of having Tohoku University here.
What kind of town is Sendai City?
Sendai is the only government-ordinance-designated city in the Tohoku region. Its population is 1,096,278 (estimated as of 1 August Reiwa 8, 556,368 households), its area 786.35 square kilometres, and it has 5 wards: Aoba, Miyagino, Wakabayashi, Taihaku and Izumi. Tokyo Station is 1 hour 33 minutes away on the Tohoku Shinkansen with no changes. 🔴 Its first feature is that summers are cool — the August daily high is 28.2°C and there are 0.9 days a year above 35°C.
CHAPTER 02Five areas, and life in each
Because Sendai is a government-ordinance-designated city, the unit of the town is the ward. And every year the city describes the character of each of the 5 wards in its own words, in a booklet called the "Ward Administration Outline". The descriptions on this page are drawn from it. Population and households are the estimated population as of 1 August Reiwa 8; area and population density are from the Ward Administration Outline (as of 1 April Reiwa 7). These 5 wards divide sharply by elevation — the median elevation of listings is 123.1 metres in Aoba Ward and 75.5 metres in Izumi Ward, against 13.8 metres in Taihaku, 8.0 metres in Wakabayashi and 7.3 metres in Miyagino. Between "the three wards on the mountain side" and "the two wards on the sea side", conditions change so much that it is hard to believe it is one city.
| Ward | Population, Area | listings | What kind of place it is (in the city's own words, "Ward Administration Outline") |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aoba Ward Aoba-ku | 316,904 people 175,224 households / 302.24 km² / 974 people/km² | 374 listings ¥2,200,000–165,000,000 / median ¥26,990,000 | "The city's largest ward, spreading in a belt to the north-west from the city centre to the Yamagata prefectural border in the Funagata mountains". The city divides it into 5 areas — the central area, the area around the centre, the hillside residential area, the area around Ayashi, and the western mountain and hill zone. The Miyagi district (the former town of Miyagi) accounts for 86% of the ward and holds Sakunami Onsen, Jogi Nyorai and the Homei Shijuhachi Falls. Listings here sit between 20.0 and 360.4 metres above sea level, with a median of 123.1 metres, the highest of the 5 wards. The nearest stations are Kitayama with 72, Ayashi with 65 and Rikuzen-Ochiai with 53 listings |
| Izumi Ward Izumi-ku | 204,500 people 94,183 households / 146.61 km² / 1,408 people/km² | 442 listings ¥5,800,000–98,800,000 / median ¥29,800,000 | "An area that has both a blessed natural environment — Mt. Izumigatake in the north-west of the ward, the Nanakita River running through its centre — and, thanks to large-scale development centred on the Izumi-Chuo district, the urban functions of a hub for the northern part of the city". "Since the ward system began in Heisei 1 the ward's population has grown by about 55,000". In the Reiwa 7 Census, however, it fell by 6,780 (-3.2%), the largest fall of the 5 wards. It has the most listings of the 5 wards, 442, and the nearest station is Izumi-Chuo with 246. Median elevation 75.5 metres |
| Taihaku Ward Taihaku-ku | 237,989 people 111,987 households / 228.39 km² / 1,025 people/km² | 287 listings ¥980,000–95,800,000 / median ¥26,990,000 | "A shape that spreads in a belt from east to west along the Natori River". It has 5 areas: the southern hub area (around JR Nagamachi Station), the right-bank area of the Natori River, the hillside residential area, the area around Mt. Taihaku, and the Akiu area. "More than 40% of the city's buried cultural properties are concentrated in this ward", and the Tomizawa site is open to the public as the "Forest of the Underground Museum", preserved exactly as it was excavated, 20,000 years old. The Akiu district covers 145 square kilometres and holds Akiu Onsen. The cheapest listing in the city, ¥980,000, is in this ward. The nearest stations are Minami-Sendai with 138 and Yagiyama Zoological Park with 50 listings |
| Miyagino Ward Miyagino-ku | 193,840 people 101,040 households / 58.25 km² / 3,208 people/km² | 100 listings ¥7,800,000–78,800,000 / median ¥33,300,000 | A ward "named after 'Miyagino', sung in poetry since ancient times as an utamakura", whose "compact area of about 58 square kilometres" contains the central and surrounding area, the northern residential area, the hillside residential area, and the eastern coastal and industrial area. Its population density of 3,208 people/km² is the highest of the 5 wards. It holds the Port of Sendai-Shiogama, and "although it suffered enormous damage from the tsunami, new town-building is under way towards the regeneration of the community". Listings sit between 1.8 and 62.8 metres above sea level, with a median of 7.3 metres, the lowest of the 5 wards |
| Wakabayashi Ward Wakabayashi-ku | 143,045 people 73,934 households / 50.86 km² / 2,710 people/km² | 93 listings ¥15,990,000–95,000,000 / median ¥39,900,000 | "The ward's name comes from 'Wakabayashi Castle', where the domain's founder Date Masamune spent his final years". "Venerable place names connected with craftsmen — Minami-kajimachi, Minami-someshimachi, Tatamiyacho — still carry the town layout of the domain era into the present, and historic routes remain along with traditional shopping streets such as Aramachi and Kawaramachi". "The subway Tozai Line opened in December Heisei 27, 5 stations were built inside Wakabayashi Ward, and the population has grown greatly, above all along the subway". Its median listing price of ¥39,900,000 is the highest of the 5 wards, and its median year of construction, 2008, is the newest |
The city as a whole is flat; inside it, the wards have moved a great dealThe 5-year change in the preliminary Reiwa 7 Census is — Aoba Ward +4,727 (+1.5%), Taihaku Ward +3,294 (+1.4%), Wakabayashi Ward +1,513 (+1.1%) / Miyagino Ward -2,507 (-1.3%), Izumi Ward -6,780 (-3.2%). The city as a whole is +247 (+0.0%).
The number of households rose in all 5 wards (the city as a whole +25,419 households, +4.8%). There are 1.99 people per household, 0.10 fewer than last time. By ward: Izumi 2.20, Taihaku 2.15, Wakabayashi 1.96, Miyagino 1.94, Aoba 1.82. In Aoba Ward "people increased, but the household got smaller" — it is the ward where students and single people gather (§1).
Listing prices differ by wardAssigning the 1,296 listings to the 5 wards, the medians are Wakabayashi ¥39,900,000, Miyagino ¥33,300,000, Izumi ¥29,800,000, Aoba ¥26,990,000 and Taihaku ¥26,990,000. The most expensive is the smallest ward, Wakabayashi (as §9 shows, Wakabayashi also has the highest residential land price of the 5 wards).
There are 44 listings (3%) under ¥10,000,000 in the whole city, made up of 24 in Taihaku, 16 in Aoba, 3 in Izumi, 1 in Miyagino and 0 in Wakabayashi. The share built before the 1981 earthquake code is 13% in Taihaku, 10% in Miyagino, 9% in Aoba, 5% in Izumi and 3% in Wakabayashi. Cheap listings gather in Taihaku and Aoba, and most of them are old houses.
Elevation becomes, directly, a condition of daily lifeAssigning an elevation to each of the 1,296 listings, the city as a whole runs from 1.8 to 375.0 metres, with a median of 69.5 metres. 839 (65%) are above 50 metres and 341 (26%) are above 100 metres.
The medians by ward are Aoba 123.1, Izumi 75.5, Taihaku 13.8, Wakabayashi 8.0 and Miyagino 7.3 metres. Most listings in Aoba and Izumi are in hilltop housing estates. Slopes and snow (59 centimetres a year, §6) are the same story, and whether you can drive up there on a winter morning decides how comfortable the place is. For the low ground of Miyagino and Wakabayashi, read this together with the tsunami section in §5.
The ward is the unit of public servicesEach of the 5 wards has a ward office, and Aoba Ward also has the Miyagi General Branch Office (the former town of Miyagi, 72,579 people) and Taihaku Ward the Akiu General Branch Office (3,787 people). Health and welfare centres, community centres and libraries are also per ward.
The area covered by the Miyagi General Branch Office in Aoba Ward is 260 square kilometres — that alone is larger than Miyagino Ward (58.25) and Wakabayashi Ward (50.86) put together, yet 72,579 people live there. Even if you say "Aoba Ward" in a single word, life in Kokubuncho in the centre and life in Sakunami on the Yamagata border are completely different. When a listing catches your eye, check first which ward it is in, and then whereabouts in the ward.
How do the 5 wards differ?
🔴 They divide sharply by elevation. The median elevation of listings is 123.1 metres in Aoba Ward and 75.5 metres in Izumi Ward, against 13.8 metres in Taihaku, 8.0 metres in Wakabayashi and 7.3 metres in Miyagino. They are "the three wards on the mountain side" and "the two wards on the sea side". The ward with the most listings is Izumi with 442, and the largest is Aoba with 302.24 square kilometres.
CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around
From Sendai Station to Tokyo Station is 1 hour 33 minutes on the Tohoku Shinkansen, with no changes. Morioka is 40 minutes, Fukushima 22 minutes, Koriyama 40 minutes and Shin-Aomori 1 hour 37 minutes away — wherever you go in Tohoku, you start at Sendai Station. Inside the city there are 2 municipal subway lines — the Namboku Line (Tomizawa to Izumi-Chuo, 17 stations) and the Tozai Line (Yagiyama Zoological Park to Arai, 13 stations, opened December Heisei 27) — which cross at Sendai Station. Sendai Airport is about 25 minutes away at the fastest on the Sendai Airport Access Line. And there are 8 expressway interchanges in the city — the Tohoku Expressway runs north to south through the west of the city.
| Where to go | Hours | Fare | How to get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 1 hr 33 min | ¥11,630 | Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes. Of the cities in Tohoku from which you can make a day trip to Tokyo, Sendai is the closest — leave first thing and you are back by evening |
| Fukushima | 22 min | ¥3,280 | Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes. There is also a page on the 12 municipalities of Fukushima |
| Morioka | 40 min | ¥6,900 | Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes. There is also a page on Morioka |
| Koriyama | 40 min | ¥5,060 | Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes |
| Shin-Aomori | 1 hr 37 min | ¥11,640 | Tohoku Shinkansen, 0 changes. There is also a page on Aomori |
| Yamagata | 1 hr 21 min | ¥1,100 | JR Senzan Line, 0 changes. Two prefectural capitals are linked in a little over an hour without using the Shinkansen (fare ¥1,100). There is also a page on Yamagata |
| Sendai Airport | about 25 minutes at the fastest | ¥672 | Sendai Airport Access Line, 0 changes. In the railway company's words, "a route bus or taxi takes roughly 40 minutes, so up to about 15 minutes can be saved" |
Two subway lines cross at Sendai StationThe Namboku Line runs 17 stations from Tomizawa (Taihaku Ward) to Izumi-Chuo (Izumi Ward). The Tozai Line runs 13 stations from Yagiyama Zoological Park (Taihaku Ward) to Arai (Wakabayashi Ward) and opened in December Heisei 27. Change at Sendai Station and you can reach almost any direction in the city.
Journey times from Sendai Station are — Izumi-Chuo 23 minutes, ¥310 / Arai 21 minutes, ¥310 / Yagiyama Zoological Park 19 minutes, ¥310. Nagamachi (JR) is 4 minutes, ¥199, and Ayashi (Senzan Line) 29 minutes, ¥341. The city writes that "with the opening of the subway Tozai Line, 5 stations were built inside Wakabayashi Ward, and the population has grown greatly, above all along the subway" (§2) — and as §4 shows, the median year of construction for listings in Wakabayashi Ward is 2008, the newest of the 5 wards.
By car, the Tohoku Expressway runs through the westCounting from National Land Numerical Information, this site finds 8 interchanges and access points in the city. The Tohoku Expressway runs north to south through the western side of the city, and the Sendai Nambu Road, Sendai Tobu Road and Sendai Hokubu Road ring the built-up area.
The nearest airport outside the city is Sendai Airport, 24 kilometres away in a straight line. But as §2 shows, the Miyagi district of Aoba Ward (the former town of Miyagi) is 260 square kilometres of mountains. If you live around Sakunami or Jogi, one car will not be enough. Crossing the passes in winter is another matter again (§6).
Built on the idea that "wherever you go in Tohoku, you start at Sendai"By Shinkansen, Fukushima is 22 minutes, Koriyama 40 minutes, Morioka 40 minutes and Shin-Aomori 1 hour 37 minutes away. On the conventional line, Yamagata is 1 hour 21 minutes and ¥1,100 away on the Senzan Line. The airport is 25 minutes away on the Sendai Airport Access Line.
This layout works for both work and daily life. Wherever in the 6 prefectures of Tohoku your business takes you, you can go and come back in a day — that is what living in Sendai means. Seen the other way round, for people in the other prefectures of Tohoku "going in to Sendai" is the normal thing, so Sendai Station and the city centre are busy at weekends.
Buses fill in where the subway does not reachCity buses and Miyagi Kotsu buses run in the pattern of from a subway station up to a hilltop housing estate. As §2 shows, the median elevation of listings in Aoba and Izumi Wards is 123.1 and 75.5 metres — most of them are estates on the hills.
When you go to view a house, try standing at that bus stop on a weekday morning. How often the buses run and how crowded they are cannot be read from a timetable alone. And go up the same road once in winter — in a place where 59 centimetres of snow falls a year (§6), you will understand what living in a house at the top of a slope means.
✈ Airports
The nearest is Sendai Airport (a hub airport managed by the national government), about 23.5 km in a straight line. Next is Yamagata Airport (about 36.4 km in a straight line). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are neither road distances nor journey times — please check how to actually get there in each operator's timetable.
🛣 Expressway junctions
This area has 8 access points (interchanges and junctions).
Tohoku Expressway, Hirosaki Route = Sendai-minami, Sendai-Miyagi, Izumi, Izumi PA SIC
Sendai Tobu Road = Sendai-higashi, Sendaiko, Sendai-Wakabayashi JCT
Senshio Road = Sendaiko-kita
How long does it take to get from Sendai to other places?
Tokyo is 1 hour 33 minutes away on the Tohoku Shinkansen, ¥11,630, with no changes. Morioka is 40 minutes, Fukushima 22 minutes, Koriyama 40 minutes and Shin-Aomori 1 hour 37 minutes away. Sendai Airport is about 25 minutes away at the fastest on the Sendai Airport Access Line. Inside the city there are 2 subway lines (Namboku with 17 stations, Tozai with 13) crossing at Sendai Station, and 8 expressway interchanges.
CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now
There are 1,296 second-hand detached houses for sale in Sendai City (all listings in the 5 ward lists on SUUMO were retrieved on 25 August 2026). Prices run from ¥980,000 to ¥165,000,000, with a median of ¥29,500,000. 44 (3%) are under ¥10,000,000, 302 (23%) under ¥20,000,000, 78 (6%) above ¥50,000,000 and 7 above ¥100,000,000. The median plot is 214 square metres (about 65 tsubo) and the median building 115 square metres. The median year of construction is 2000, 105 (8%) were built in 1981 or earlier (before the current earthquake code) and 652 (50%) in 2000 or later. The commonest layout is 4LDK with 367 listings, followed by 3LDK with 146. And elevations open out from 1.8 metres to 375.0 metres. The list below is in order of price, cheapest first, with the elevation shown.
"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.
Taihaku Ward Nihondaira¥980,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 130 m / Land 223 m² (67 tsubo) / Building 64 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1973 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop to 7.0km8 photos →
Aoba Ward Dainohara 3¥2,200,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 117 m² (35 tsubo) / Building 52 m² (16 tsubo) / built 1962 / Dainohara bus stop to 3.0km5 photos →
Taihaku Ward Hagigaoka¥2,990,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 360 m² (109 tsubo) / Building 97 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1963 / Atagobashi bus stop 22 min walk5 photos →
Aoba Ward Sakunami Tozaki¥3,500,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 240 m / Land 218 m² (66 tsubo) / Building 82 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1981 / Sakunami Station 27 min walk9 photos →
Aoba Ward Sakunami Tozaki¥4,500,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 240 m / Land 218 m² (66 tsubo) / Building 82 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1981 / Sakunami Station 27 min walk2 photos →
Taihaku Ward Aoyama 2¥4,500,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 171 m² (52 tsubo) / Building 117 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1984 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop 23 min walk10 photos →
Taihaku Ward Aoyama 2¥4,500,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 171 m² (52 tsubo) / Building 117 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1984 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop to 2.0km10 photos →
Taihaku Ward Aoyama 2¥4,500,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 171 m² (52 tsubo) / Building 117 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1984 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop 22 min walk3 photos →
Taihaku Ward Midorigaoka 4¥4,900,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 80 m / Land 258 m² (78 tsubo) / Building 104 m² (32 tsubo) / built 1972 / Nagamachi-Minami bus stop 28 min walk1 photos →
Aoba Ward Nikkawa Sadeyama¥4,980,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 310 m / Land 363 m² (110 tsubo) / Building 101 m² (31 tsubo) / built 1977 / Kumagane Station 32 min walk5 photos →
Aoba Ward Oritate 5¥5,000,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 140 m / Land 306 m² (92 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Rikuzen-Ochiai Station 33 min walk4 photos →
Aoba Ward Kami-Ayashi Kurauchi¥5,800,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 150 m / Land 422 m² (128 tsubo) / Building 91 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1975 / Rikuzen-Shirasawa Station 21 min walk8 photos →
Izumi Ward Fukuoka Nishiishi¥5,800,000Izumi Ward (Izumi-Chuo and the foot of Mt. Izumigatake)Elev. approx. 330 m / Land 522 m² (158 tsubo) / Building 83 m² (25 tsubo) / built 2006 / Izumi-Chuo bus stop bus 35 min+39 min walk6 photos →
Taihaku Ward Hitokita 1¥6,000,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 175 m² (53 tsubo) / Building 97 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1978 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop bus 23 min+4 min walk9 photos →
Taihaku Ward Kano-honcho¥6,000,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 60 m / Land 317 m² (96 tsubo) / Building 169 m² (51 tsubo) / built 1973 / Nagamachi-Minami bus stop to 4.0km8 photos →
Taihaku Ward Mogasaki 3¥6,000,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 182 m² (55 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 1968 / Nagamachi-Itchome bus stop 20 min walk3 photos →
Taihaku Ward Hagurodai¥6,800,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 201 m² (61 tsubo) / Building 117 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1979 / Yagiyama Zoological Park bus stop 53 min walk1 photos →
Aoba Ward Oritate 1¥6,900,000Aoba Ward (the city centre, the Hirose River, and the mountains at Ayashi and Sakunami)Elev. approx. 70 m / Land 140 m² (42 tsubo) / Building 64 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1976 / Kuzuoka Station 20 min walk8 photos →
Taihaku Ward Mogasaki 1¥6,980,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 100 m / Land 124 m² (38 tsubo) / Building 62 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1976 / Atagobashi bus stop to 2.0km10 photos →
Taihaku Ward Hitokita 1¥7,500,000Taihaku Ward (Nagamachi, Yagiyama and Akiu Onsen)Elev. approx. 110 m / Land 201 m² (61 tsubo) / Building 108 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1984 / Nagamachi-Minami bus stop bus 21 min+3 min walk10 photos →
The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.
See all 374 listings on SUUMO →This is the area with the most listings we have covered1,296 is well above the previous highest, 785 in Kagoshima City and 787 in Fukuoka City. By ward: Izumi 442, Aoba 374, Taihaku 287, Miyagino 100 and Wakabayashi 93.
The median of ¥29,500,000 is ¥10,490,000 lower than Fukuoka City (¥39,990,000), while the median plot of 214 square metres is larger than Fukuoka City's (199 square metres). "For the same money you can buy a wider plot" — that is the second-hand detached house market in Sendai. For plot size, 407 listings are between 200 and 250 square metres and 317 between 150 and 200, so 56% fall into these two bands.
The "cheap houses" are up in the mountains and in older estatesThe 44 listings under ¥10,000,000 are 24 in Taihaku, 16 in Aoba, 3 in Izumi, 1 in Miyagino and 0 in Wakabayashi. The cheapest is ¥980,000 in Nihondaira, Taihaku Ward (built 1973, elevation 133 metres), then ¥2,200,000 in Dainohara 3-chome, Aoba Ward (built 1962, elevation 65 metres) and ¥2,990,000 in Hagigaoka, Taihaku Ward (built 1963, elevation 73 metres).
The ¥3,500,000 and ¥4,500,000 listings in Sakunami Aza Tozaki, Aoba Ward (both built 1981, elevation 236 metres) are around Sakunami Onsen. A cheap listing usually comes with one of three things attached: it is old, it is high up, or it is far from a station. The 44 listings under ¥10,000,000 are only 3% of the city total.
Only 105 listings (8%) predate the current earthquake code105 houses were built in 1981 (Showa 56) or earlier, 8% of the total. The share by ward is 13% in Taihaku, 10% in Miyagino, 9% in Aoba, 5% in Izumi and 3% in Wakabayashi.
This is the flip side of the city's residential areas being new. As §2 shows, in Izumi Ward "since the ward system began in Heisei 1 the ward's population has grown by about 55,000", and in Wakabayashi Ward "since the subway Tozai Line opened in December Heisei 27, the population has grown greatly, above all along the line". And as §5 shows, this city went through an intensity 6-upper earthquake in 2011. Was the house repaired afterwards, or rebuilt? — ask the seller not only about the year of construction, but about what happened to the house in the earthquake.
Always look at the elevation before you buyWe have attached the elevation of its address to all 1,296 listings. Across the city they run from 1.8 to 375.0 metres, with a median of 69.5 metres. 839 (65%) are above 50 metres and 341 (26%) above 100 metres, while 257 (20%) are below 10 metres.
These two carry completely different risks. On the hills (Aoba and Izumi Wards) it is the ground of the graded land and the winter slope (§6). On the low ground (Miyagino, Wakabayashi and eastern Taihaku) it is tsunami and flooding (§5). Which you choose changes which hazard map you need to check. When a listing catches your eye, look first at the elevation, then at the hazard map for that address.
And Sendai does have something equivalent to a municipal vacant house bank, in the Akiu district of Taihaku Ward.
The Akiu District Vacant House Utilisation Project (5 registered)It is run by the Akiu General Branch Office in Taihaku Ward. In the city's words: "the Akiu General Branch Office is working on revitalising the area by promoting settlement and increasing the visiting population, through making good use of the vacant houses in the Akiu district, which have been increasing in recent years", and "we register information on vacant houses provided by their owners and pass it on to people who wish to use them, and in this way we support the use of vacant houses in the Akiu district. We look forward to hearing from you".
As of 25 August 2026 there are 5 registered properties, and "only those who have completed the 'Akiu District Vacant House Utilisation Project applicant registration' may request detailed information or view a property". Lot numbers and photographs are not shown, so that a property cannot be identified. The contact point is the Town Development Promotion Section, Akiu General Branch Office, Taihaku Ward (45-1 Aza Ohara, Akiu-machi Nagafukuro, Taihaku Ward; 022-399-2111). The Akiu General Branch Office states that it "is not directly involved in negotiations or contracts concerning vacant houses" — the city's role ends at the introduction.
Here is what the 5 currently on offer contain1. NH-6, Aza Nojirimachi-minami, Akiu-machi Baba = plot 979.66 square metres (plus farmland of 8,357 square metres), single-storey wooden building with a tin roof, main house 143.55 square metres, for sale (price by direct negotiation). The owner says: "someone who will use the house with care, and who also understands the farmland bank scheme for the farmland. Use it freely, as a home or as a shop".
2. AY-1, Aza Kamado, Akiu-machi Yumoto = plot 1,635.36 square metres, two-storey wooden building with a tiled roof, 177.32 square metres on the ground floor plus 77.34 on the first, for sale at ¥30,000,000 (major repairs needed, pets welcome, may be used as a shop). 3. AY-2, Aza Teradahara, Akiu-machi Yumoto = plot 246.81 square metres, single-storey wooden building with a tiled roof (67 years old, 2LDK, partly renovated in 2026), floor area 50.41 square metres, to rent at ¥50,000 a month. 4. NH-9, Aza Machi, Akiu-machi Nagafukuro = plot 849.58 square metres, two-storey wooden building (65 years old, extended in 2011, 6DK plus a guest space), total floor area 198.33 square metres, to rent at ¥100,000 a month (currently going through the contract process). 5. KG-1, Aza Kunihisa, Akiu-machi Nagafukuro = plot 783.85 square metres, two-storey wooden building (30 years old, 4LDK), total floor area 126.69 square metres, for sale at ¥7,500,000. The owner says: "it is a place rich in nature. Recommended for anyone who wants a quiet 'country life'"
For vacant houses across the city, there is a consultation serviceOutside the Akiu district, the city offers "consultation on making use of your home (free consultation through professional bodies)" — "about making use of a home in Sendai City that will no longer be used, or is already unused, a city officer will listen to you and, depending on the content, introduce you to the free consultation desk of a professional body in real estate, law or construction". You first telephone the Housing Policy Section, Urban Development Bureau (022-214-8330, 8:30–17:15), and if necessary they will hear you out at the city office for up to an hour per group (by appointment; bring a family tree of the inheritance, the register, and drawings of the site and house if you have them).
The bodies they introduce include the Miyagi Judicial Scriveners' Association (022-221-6870; Monday, Wednesday and Friday 13:30–16:30; inheritance, adult guardianship and registration), the Miyagi Administrative Scriveners' Association (022-353-7213; weekdays 9:00–17:00; unknown owners and inheritance searches), the Miyagi Real Estate Transaction Association (022-266-9807) and the Miyagi Headquarters of the All Japan Real Estate Association (022-266-3317). The city also publishes a "Guidebook to Making Use of Your Home" (as of August Reiwa 7) as a PDF — it gathers "an outline of the national, prefectural and municipal schemes and support available, and the basic steps involved". It is a tool for the seller, but read by a buyer it shows how a house comes onto the market.
Sendai is not on at home's "National Vacant House Bank"When I (the AI) checked on 25 August 2026, there was no Sendai City site on the "National Vacant House Bank" run by at home Co., Ltd., and Sendai was not among the 17 Miyagi municipalities listed. This does not mean "there are no vacant houses in Sendai" — it means the city has no registration-based bank covering the whole city, and instead takes the "listen and connect" form above.
As §2 and §4 show, there are 1,296 second-hand detached houses on the market in this city. Even without a vacant house bank, there is plenty to choose from — and on top of that, if you want to live somewhere like Akiu, the 5 above are your way in.
Akiya bank
There are no registrations of homes for sale. Every property in this chapter is on the private market. (as verified on 17 August 2026)
How much does a second-hand detached house cost?
As of 25 August 2026, 1,296 houses are for sale, from ¥980,000 to ¥165,000,000, with a median of ¥29,500,000. The median plot is 214 square metres, the median building 115 square metres, and the median year of construction 2000, with 105 (8%) built in 1981 or earlier, before the current earthquake code. 🔴 Elevations run from 1.8 metres to 375.0 metres, with a median of 69.5 metres, and 839 (65%) are above 50 metres.
CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?
Sendai went through an intensity 6-upper earthquake on 11 March 2011. From Miyagi Prefecture's records, the damage in Sendai City was — 658 direct deaths, 265 disaster-related deaths, 923 in total, and 27 missing, together 950 people. 30,034 homes were totally destroyed, 109,609 half destroyed and 116,046 partly damaged, so 255,689 of the city's 465,260 homes (55%) suffered some damage. The area flooded by the tsunami was 52 square kilometres, the second largest in the prefecture after Ishinomaki City's 73 square kilometres. 23,077 people (2.2% of the city's population) lived inside the flooded area. And along the western edge of the Sendai Plain runs the Nagamachi–Rifu Line fault zone.
Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?
For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.
| Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area | Not covered (the whole of Miyagi Prefecture is outside the scheme) |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area | Not covered (the whole of Miyagi Prefecture is outside the scheme) |
| Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area | Designated |
| Shaking of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years | 7.6% (intensity 6-upper or above: 0.8%) At the Sendai City Hall site. Surface ground AVS30 388 m/s, a sandy-gravel terrace |
This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the city hall stands in.
The Sendai City town hall stands onsandy-gravel plateau (AVS30 388 m/s), and the 7.6% above is the value at that point. Even within Sendai City, the low ground along the rivers and the terraces differ greatly.
When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.
Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API(2024 edition • average case • all earthquakes), queried at the coordinates of the city hall / checked 2026-08-25
Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API(2024 edition • average case • all earthquakes), queried at the coordinates of the city hall / checked 2026-08-25
The Nagamachi–Rifu Line fault zone runs under the built-up areaFrom the national long-term evaluation — "the Nagamachi–Rifu Line fault zone is an active fault zone on the western edge of the Sendai Plain. It runs broadly north-east to south-west from Rifu in Miyagi District, through Sendai City, to Murata in Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture. Its overall length is 21–40 kilometres, and it is a reverse fault in which the western side rises relative to the eastern side".
If the whole fault zone were to move as a single active segment, an earthquake of about magnitude 7.0–7.5 could occur. The probability of an earthquake within 30 years is 1% or less, but the state adds this: "because the most recent activity cannot be sufficiently identified, the long-term probability of an earthquake has been obtained by a method different from the usual active fault evaluation; taking its maximum value, this fault zone falls into the somewhat higher group among Japan's main active faults for the possibility of an earthquake in the next 30 years". The average interval between events is about 3,000 years or more, and the most recent activity was after about 16,000 years ago.
The damage in the disaster differed completely by wardAs §2 shows, the eastern parts of Wakabayashi and Miyagino Wards face the Pacific. In the city's words, of Wakabayashi Ward: "in the Great East Japan Earthquake of March Heisei 23, in addition to damage to buildings and roads from the shaking, the whole eastern part of the ward suffered enormous damage from the tsunami". Of Miyagino Ward: "the hub of logistics and industry centred on the Port of Sendai-Shiogama lies here, and although it suffered enormous damage from the tsunami, new town-building is under way towards the regeneration of the community".
Since then, "land improvement to create larger farm plots, tsunami evacuation facilities, coastal parks and the Eastern Reconstruction Road (the raised road) have been built, and the use of the sites vacated by collective relocation for disaster prevention is also progressing". The Sendai 3.11 Memorial Community Center opened fully in February Heisei 28, and in April Heisei 29 the former Arahama Elementary School, damaged by the tsunami, was opened as a disaster remnant.
The hills carry a different worryAs §4 shows, 65% of listings are above 50 metres and 26% above 100 metres. Aoba Ward (median 123.1 metres) and Izumi Ward (median 75.5 metres) are hilltop housing estates.
What you check in a hilltop estate is not the tsunami but the ground of the graded land. Whether it is fill or cut changes how the same earthquake shakes it. And Sendai City has put exactly that on a map and published it — the "Sendai City Residential Land Development History Map". The next panel explains it.
The "Residential Land Development History Map" is the answer for the hillsIn the city's words: "the Sendai City Residential Land Development History Map sets out clearly, on the basis of material held by Sendai City, the cut and fill on graded land and the period in which each estate began to be developed. Please use this map to understand the development history of a plot, as reference material when you think about the safety of a plot or a building". It was made in April Heisei 25, and the city gives the reason: "because after the Great East Japan Earthquake enquiries increased from people who wanted to know whether their own plot was cut or fill".
There are 3 kinds. 1. The cut-and-fill map (comparing elevations on the old and current topographic maps, showing the height of cut and the depth of fill in stages; 33 A3 sheets), 2. the development period map (the period in which each estate began to be developed and the filled parts; 49 sheets) and 3. the old topographic map (the earlier landform; 61 sheets). They can be downloaded free from the city's website, and the Municipal Information Centre on the 1st floor of Sendai City Hall sells A1 sheets at a scale of 1:10,000 for ¥400 each. The city also writes a caution about how to read them — "cut does not mean 'safe' and fill does not mean 'dangerous'", and "we would like you to use the 'cut and fill' information as one piece of ground information about your area, without reading too much into it". They were made only for areas where material from before the grading survives, and where the elevation changed by less than 1 metre before and after grading, the map marks it "outside the cut-and-fill classification".
The rules on fill changed on 23 May Reiwa 7On 23 May Reiwa 7 the city designated the whole city as a regulated area under the Fill Regulation Act. "Following the report of the Sendai City Council on Residential Land Conservation, made up of experts and others, Sendai City has designated the whole city as one or other of the following regulated areas" — 1. the residential land development works regulated area ("built-up areas, settlements and their surroundings, where fill work could endanger homes") and 2. the specified fill regulated area ("areas away from built-up areas and settlements but where, because of the landform and other conditions, fill work could endanger things to be protected (homes, roads, railways, facilities and so on)"). "* No disaster-prevention area for graded residential land has been designated."
In other words, anyone carrying out fill work anywhere in Sendai City now needs a permit or a notification. The maps of the areas are published as PDFs — one sheet for the whole city and 5 by district (around Nenoshiroishi and Fukuoka in Izumi Ward / around Okura in Aoba Ward / around Sakunami in Aoba Ward / around Akiu-machi Nagafukuro and Baba in Taihaku Ward / around Akiu-machi Baba in Taihaku Ward) — and can also be checked on the "Sendai City Urban Planning Information Internet Service" (they are distributed as open data too). The contact point is the Residential Land Conservation Section, Urban Development Bureau (022-214-8450).
There are 3 things to look at before you buy1. the elevation of that address (it is in the list in §4), 2. Sendai City's hazard maps (tsunami, flood, landslide and residential land development) and 3. J-SHIS (how easily that address shakes, and its ground).
At the City Hall site the 30-year probability is 7.6% for intensity 6-lower or above and 2.4% for 6-upper or above, and the surface ground is a sandy-gravel terrace with AVS30 388 m/s. But that is the figure for a single cell at the City Hall (Kokubuncho, Aoba Ward). The low ground of Miyagino and Wakabayashi Wards gives completely different figures. Sendai City is designated a promotion area for disaster prevention against trench-type earthquakes around the Japan and Chishima Trenches. When you view a listing on low ground, check as far as where the tsunami evacuation facilities are.
Is there a risk of earthquakes or tsunami?
🔴 On 11 March 2011 this city went through an intensity 6-upper earthquake. In Miyagi Prefecture's records the city had 658 direct deaths, 265 disaster-related deaths and 27 missing, and housing damage of 30,034 homes totally destroyed, 109,609 half destroyed and 116,046 partly damaged. The active fault is the Nagamachi–Rifu Line fault zone (21–40 kilometres long, magnitude 7.0–7.5, probability within 30 years 1% or less but in the "somewhat higher group"). For a house on the hills you can check whether it stands on cut or fill in the "Sendai City Residential Land Development History Map".
CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like
Sendai has a Japan Meteorological Agency surface weather station (station number 47590). In the normals (1991–2020) the annual mean is 12.8°C and annual precipitation 1,276.7 mm. The August daily high is 28.2°C and the January daily low -1.3°C. The day counts are 0.9 days above 35°C, 23.0 days above 30°C, 74.7 days above 25°C, 2.7 tropical nights, 65.1 days below freezing and 0.8 days entirely below freezing. Annual snowfall totals 59 centimetres, and the deepest snow cover is 16 centimetres. In a word, the climate here is "cool in summer, snowy in winter" — 0.9 days above 35°C is one fifth of Tokyo's (4.8), and 2.7 tropical nights one seventh of Tokyo's (17.8). On the other hand, 65.1 days below freezing is 4.3 times Tokyo's (15.2).
Summers here are among the coolest of Japan's large citiesThe August daily high of 28.2°C is 3.1°C lower than Tokyo (31.3°C) and 4.3°C lower than Fukuoka (32.5°C). There are 0.9 days a year above 35°C — barely one day a year rises above 35°C. There are only 2.7 tropical nights as well (Tokyo has 17.8, Fukuoka 38.7).
There are 23.0 days above 30°C, again less than half of Tokyo or the cities of western Japan. If you are moving because of the summer, Sendai is one of the answers. That said, the mean temperature is 22.9°C in July and 24.4°C in August and the humidity is high — and when the yamase (the cold north-easterly) comes in, even August can have chilly days.
Winter calls for snow preparationThere are 65.1 days a year below freezing (days when the minimum falls below 0°C) — one morning in every 5.6 days is below zero. Annual snowfall totals 59 centimetres and the deepest snow cover is 16 centimetres. Only 0.8 days a year stay below freezing all day, so Sendai's snow usually melts during the day once it has fallen.
Even so, treat studless tyres as necessary. As §2 and §4 show, 65% of listings are above 50 metres and 26% above 100 metres. Sakunami in Aoba Ward (elevation 236 metres) and the hilltops of Izumi Ward certainly get more snow than the built-up area. Treat "the normals for the built-up area" and "the hilltop where you will live" as different figures, and go up that slope once in winter.
There is not much rainAnnual precipitation of 1,276.7 mm is 321.5 mm less than Tokyo (1,598.2 mm) and 410.2 mm less than Fukuoka (1,686.9 mm). By month, July with 178.4 mm and August with 157.8 mm are the wettest, while winter is very dry at 42.3 mm in January and 33.9 mm in February.
But "little rain" and "no flooding" are different things. As §5 shows, the Hirose, Natori and Nanakita Rivers run through the city and the east faces the Pacific. Heavy rain at the end of the rainy season and from typhoons works through short-term intensity, not through the total. Once you move, check the hazard map for that address in your first month.
If you choose by temperature, this is "the gateway to Tohoku"The annual mean of 12.8°C is 3.0°C lower than Tokyo (15.8°C) and 4.5°C lower than Fukuoka (17.3°C). The mean annual daily high is 16.9°C and the mean daily low 9.3°C.
This 3°C difference makes both the cool summer and the winter snow. For anyone who thinks "I want to live in Tohoku, but with as little snow as possible", Sendai is the first candidate — 59 centimetres a year is far less than the other prefectural capitals of Tohoku. As §3 shows, Tokyo is 1 hour 33 minutes away. It is a city where you can put your climate in Tohoku and your work in Tokyo.
The twelve months of temperature, set out as they are
The left end of each bar is the average daily minimum for that month and the right end the average daily maximum (Sendai, the 30-year average for 1991–2020).
2.7 days / 65.1 days
2.7 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8) and 65.1 days below freezing (Tokyo 15.2).
These are the figures for what summer nights and winter mornings are like compared with Tokyo
These are the figures for what summer nights and winter mornings are like compared with Tokyo
| Days per year | Sendai | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical nights minimum 25°C or above | 2.7 days | 17.8 days |
| Days above 35°C maximum 35°C or above | 0.9 days | 4.8 days |
| Days above 30°C maximum 30°C or above | 23.0 days | 52.1 days |
| Frost days minimum below 0°C | 65.1 days | 15.2 days |
| Days below freezing all day maximum below 0°C | 0.8 days | 0.0 days |
For snow, the annual total snowfall is 59 cm and the normal for the deepest snow cover is 16 cm.
Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, normals for Sendai (by month) /the same, day counts by class (view=a2)／the same, Tokyo (all 30-year averages for 1991–2020) / verified 2026-08-14 Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, "Normals for Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture) (annual and monthly values)"(statistical period 1991–2020, station number 47590 / annual mean 12.8°C, annual precipitation 1,276.7 mm, mean annual daily high 16.9°C, mean daily low 9.3°C / by month: January precipitation 42.3 mm, mean 2.0°C, high 5.6°C, low -1.3°C / February 33.9, 2.4, 6.5, -1.1 / July 178.4, 22.9, 26.6, 20.2 / August 157.8, 24.4, 28.2, 21.6 / day counts: above 35°C 0.9, above 30°C 23.0, above 25°C 74.7, tropical nights 2.7, below freezing 65.1, entirely below freezing 0.8 / total snowfall 59 cm, deepest snow cover 16 cm) / the comparison with Tokyo from the same, "Normals for Tokyo (Tokyo)"(station number 47662 / annual mean 15.8°C, annual precipitation 1,598.2 mm / above 35°C 4.8, tropical nights 17.8, below freezing 15.2 / August daily high 31.3°C) / the comparison with Fukuoka from the same, "Normals for Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture)"(annual mean 17.3°C, annual precipitation 1,686.9 mm, above 35°C 8.1, tropical nights 38.7, August daily high 32.5°C) / checked 2026-08-25How hot are the summers and how cold are the winters?
In the normals the annual mean is 12.8°C and annual precipitation 1,276.7 mm. In summer the August daily high is 28.2°C, with 0.9 days above 35°C and 2.7 tropical nights, far cooler than Tokyo (4.8 days above 35°C, 17.8 tropical nights). In winter there are 65.1 days below freezing and 0.8 days entirely below freezing, with total annual snowfall of 59 centimetres and a deepest snow cover of 16 centimetres. 🔴 The snow usually melts during the day once it has fallen, but treat studless tyres as necessary.
CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools
If a child runs a fever in the night, the "Sendai City Night and Holiday Children's Emergency Clinic" in Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward (1st floor of the City Hospital, 022-247-7035) is open until morning. Reception is 19:15–7:00 the next day on weekdays, 14:45–7:00 the next day on Saturdays, and 9:45–12:00 / 13:15–17:00 / 18:00–7:00 the next day on Sundays and public holidays — every day, right through the night. For adults, the "Sendai City Emergency Clinic" in Funacho, Wakabayashi Ward (022-266-6561) covers internal medicine over the same hours, and the "Sendai City Northern Emergency Clinic" in Tsutsumimachi, Aoba Ward (022-301-6611) covers the north until 23:00. There are 1,623 medical facilities in the city (56 hospitals, 961 clinics, 606 dental clinics; 12,432 approved beds). For schools there are 125 primary schools with 51,098 pupils and 74 lower secondary schools with 26,731. And from 1 April Reiwa 8, the children's medical subsidy was extended to the end of the school year in which a child turns 18, and out-of-pocket payments were abolished.
| Where to go at night or on a holiday | Reception hours | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Sendai City Night and Holiday Children's Emergency Clinic Paediatrics (internal conditions only) | Weekdays 19:15–7:00 next day Saturday 14:45–7:00 next day Sun/hol 9:45–12:00 13:15–17:00 18:00–7:00 next day | 1-1-1 Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward (1st floor of Sendai City Hospital), 022-247-7035. It is open until 7:00 in the morning on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays alike — the answer to "where do I go if a child runs a fever in the night" exists in one place in the city, every day. The department is paediatrics, internal conditions only — injuries go to the surgery department of the Emergency Clinic. It stands between Nagamachi-Itchome Station on the subway Namboku Line and JR Nagamachi Station |
| Sendai City Emergency Clinic Internal medicine, surgery, orthopaedics gynaecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology | Internal medicine weekdays 19:15–7:00 next day Saturday 14:45–7:00 next day Sun/hol 9:45–12:00 / 13:15–17:00 / 18:00–7:00 next day Surgery weekdays 19:15–23:00 Saturday 14:45–23:00 Sun/hol 9:45–12:00 / 13:15–17:00 / 18:00–23:00 Orthopaedics, gynaecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology Sun/hol 9:45–12:00 / 13:15–17:00 | 64-12 Funacho, Wakabayashi Ward (1st floor of the Sendai Medical Association Hall), 022-266-6561. 3 minutes' walk from exit Kita 1 of Kawaramachi Station on the subway Namboku Line, on the opposite side of the old Route 4. There is an underground car park (height limit 2.1 metres). It is run by the Sendai Emergency Medical Service Foundation (the city's designated manager). Orthopaedics, gynaecology, ophthalmology and otolaryngology open only during the daytime on holidays — this is where to go if your eyes or ears trouble you on a Sunday. You can see how busy the waiting room is from your phone through the "Neko-no-me" system |
| Sendai City Northern Emergency Clinic Internal medicine, surgery (paediatrics on Fridays only) | Weekdays 19:15–23:00 Saturday 14:45–23:00 Sun/hol 9:45–12:00 13:15–17:00 18:00–23:00 | 1-1-2 Tsutsumimachi, Aoba Ward (2nd floor of M's Kita-Sendai), 022-301-6611. Right beside Kita-Sendai Station on the subway Namboku Line. If you live on the north side of the city (northern Aoba Ward or Izumi Ward), this is nearer than Funacho. Paediatrics opens on Fridays only |
| Dentistry | Saturday 19:00–23:00 Sun/hol 10:00–12:00 / 13:00–16:00 / 19:00–23:00 Last reception 30 minutes before closing | Sendai Dental Association Home-visit and Disabled Persons' Holiday and Night Dental Clinic. 2-12-2 Itsutsubashi, Aoba Ward (12th floor of Sendai Fukushi Plaza), 022-261-7345 |
| Ask by telephone | Adults 24 hours, 365 days Children daily 19:00–8:00 next day | Adult emergency telephone advice #7119 (from phones where that does not connect, 022-706-7119) — 24 hours, 365 days. In the city's words, "medical staff give advice on symptoms and how to respond, and guidance on medical institutions you can visit at night or on a holiday". For under-15s, the Miyagi Prefecture Children's Night-time Reassurance Call #8000 (022-212-9390), daily from 19:00 to 8:00 the next day. "In an emergency or a serious case, do not hesitate — call 119." |
| Daytime on Sundays and public holidays | 9:00〜16:00 | There is a duty doctor system for holidays, under which clinics of internal medicine, paediatrics and orthopaedics take turns to open. The duty institutions are published in the "Shisei Dayori" city newsletter and in the newspapers, and can also be received through the city's email service. There are also the Konan Holiday Internal Medicine and Paediatrics Clinic (5-9-13 Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, 022-248-5858, 8:30–12:00 / 14:00–17:00) and the Izumi District Holiday Clinic (2-24-1 Izumi-Chuo, Izumi Ward, 022-373-9197, 9:00–16:00) |
Number of schools and pupils (Reiwa 7, School Basic Survey)
| Ward | Primary schools | Lower-secondary schools | Kindergartens and certified centres for early childhood education and care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aoba Ward | 31 schools (1 branch) 13,870 pupils | 22 schools (1 branch) 7,316 pupils | 19 kindergartens, 1,863 children / 13 certified centres, 1,577 children |
| Miyagino Ward | 20 schools 8,629 people | 12 schools 5,401 people | 16 kindergartens, 1,210 children / 11 certified centres, 1,100 children |
| Wakabayashi Ward | 15 schools 7,122 people | 8 schools 3,169 people | 12 kindergartens, 1,136 children / 9 certified centres, 1,013 children |
| Taihaku Ward | 29 schools 11,813 people | 14 schools 5,662 people | 18 kindergartens, 1,910 children / 10 certified centres, 1,272 children |
| Izumi Ward | 30 schools 9,664 people | 18 schools 5,183 people | 15 kindergartens, 2,404 children / 14 certified centres, 1,498 children |
| City total | 125 schools (1 branch) 51,098 pupils, 2,145 classes | 74 schools (1 branch) 26,731 pupils, 1,014 classes | 80 kindergartens, 8,523 children / 57 certified centres, 6,460 children |
Of the primary schools, 1 is national, 119 public (1 branch) and 5 private; of the lower secondary schools, 1 is national, 66 public (1 branch) and 7 private. All 57 integrated certified centres for early childhood education and care are private. For upper secondary and above, see §1 — 11 universities with 50,234 students (of whom 7,799 are graduate students), 4 junior colleges with 1,954 and 58 specialised training colleges with 16,191.
From 1 April Reiwa 8 children's medical care is free of charge to the end of the school year in which they turn 18In the city's words — "from 1 April Reiwa 8 we raised the upper age from the end of the school year in which a child turns 15 (the third year of lower secondary school) to the end of the school year in which a child turns 18 (the third year of upper secondary school), and at the same time abolished the user's out-of-pocket payment".
It covers those who meet all 3 of these: 1. they live in Sendai City, 2. they are up to the end of March of the school year in which they turn 18, and 3. they are enrolled in their employer's health insurance or Sendai City National Health Insurance. What is subsidised is "the out-of-pocket portion of treatment covered by health insurance", and health checks, vaccinations, document fees, meal charges during a hospital stay and charges for a private room are not covered. You must first be issued a "children's medical subsidy recipient certificate" — and since 16 June Reiwa 7 a new application on birth or on moving in can be made online. Once you move, complete the procedure at your ward office's Childcare Benefits Section in your first month.
There are 1,623 medical facilities. Here are the numbers by wardIn Reiwa 5 there were 1,623 medical facilities in the city in total — 56 hospitals, 961 clinics and 606 dental clinics. There are 12,432 approved beds (8,834 general, 2,651 psychiatric, 937 long-term care, 10 infectious disease).
The totals by ward are Aoba 638, Taihaku 287, Izumi 277, Miyagino 234 and Wakabayashi 187. The number of hospitals is 23 in Aoba, 10 in Miyagino, 9 in Taihaku, 9 in Izumi and 5 in Wakabayashi, and of the 6 large hospitals with 500 beds or more, 3 are in Aoba and 2 in Miyagino. As §2 and §4 show, the ward with the most listings is Izumi (442), and Izumi Ward has 164 clinics, 104 dental clinics and 9 hospitals — so even in a hilltop residential area, everyday medical care is complete within the ward.
For shopping, the floor space is concentrated in Aoba and Izumi WardsIn the Reiwa 3 Economic Census, commerce in the city amounted to 10,674 establishments, 111,015 employees, annual sales of ¥8,683,400,000,000 and 1,356,498 square metres of retail floor space.
Looking at retail floor space by ward: Aoba 381,761 square metres, Izumi 351,572, Taihaku 266,370, Miyagino 231,826 and Wakabayashi 124,969. The one that stands out here is Izumi Ward — it has 1,540 establishments, about 40% of Aoba's (3,785), yet 92% of Aoba's floor space. Each shop is larger, which means rows of big suburban stores. The city writes of Izumi-Chuo that "a station plaza and shopping centres have been developed, and it has grown remarkably as the wide-area hub of the northern part of the city, where commerce and business are concentrated". Do you go into Ichibancho and the area in front of Sendai Station, or finish your shopping at a large store inside your own ward? The ward you live in changes the shape of your shopping.
For fresh produce, there are 7 farm shopsThe city lists 7 permanent farm produce shops — Tanabatake (2-7-30 Fukumuro, Miyagino Ward; 10:00–18:00; closed Wednesdays) / JR Fruit Park Sendai Arahama (2-17-1 Arahama-shin, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–16:00; closed Tuesdays) / Aqua Ignis Sendai Marche Lien (33-3 Aza Matsu-no-nishi, Fujitsuka, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–18:00) / Sendai Agriculture and Horticulture Centre Midori-no-mori (13-1 Aza Kirishinden, Arai, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–16:00; closed Mondays) / Sendai Harvest Village Miyagi Co-op (9 Aza Tenjin, Kami-iida, Wakabayashi Ward; 9:30–22:00) / JA Sendai Nakada Misaisen (5-6-3 Nakada, Taihaku Ward; Wednesdays and Saturdays 10:00–15:00) / Akiu Village Agrie-no-mori (32-1 Aza Nakayachi-minami, Moniwa, Taihaku Ward; 9:00–18:00).
5 of the 7 are in Wakabayashi and Taihaku Wards. As §13 shows, the city has built a system that picks "same-morning edamame" in the morning and delivers it around the city the same day, writing that it "makes use of Sendai's characteristic closeness between where food is grown and where it is eaten". Right beside Sendai Station is the "Sendai Morning Market", of which the city says "although it is called a morning market it is open from morning until evening, and lively calls always ring out there".
Where should I go if a child runs a fever in the night?
The Sendai City Night and Holiday Children's Emergency Clinic (1-1-1 Asuto Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, 1st floor of Sendai City Hospital, 022-247-7035). Reception is 19:15–7:00 the next day on weekdays, 14:45–7:00 the next day on Saturdays, and 9:45–12:00 / 13:15–17:00 / 18:00–7:00 the next day on Sundays and public holidays — it is open until morning every day (paediatrics, internal conditions only). If you are unsure, call the Miyagi Prefecture Children's Night-time Reassurance Call #8000 (daily 19:00 to 8:00 the next day). For adults there is the Sendai City Emergency Clinic (022-266-6561) and the Northern Emergency Clinic (022-301-6611).
CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy
Sendai City's fixed asset tax is 1.4% and its city planning tax 0.3% (the city planning tax applies to land and buildings inside the urbanisation promotion area). Water and sewerage together come to ¥5,099.6 a month for 20 cubic metres on a 13 mm pipe, including tax (water ¥3,553 plus sewerage ¥1,546.6). And at present the basic water charge and the basic sewerage charge are being waived for 2 months — the August and September meter readings are covered, and "no application by the user is required". One more thing: from Reiwa 9 the tax-exempt threshold for the fixed asset tax rises — buildings from ¥200,000 to ¥300,000, and depreciable assets from ¥1,500,000 to ¥1,800,000. This is judged "within the same ward" (as §2 shows, this is a city divided into 5 wards).
| What | How much | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax | 1.4% | Taxable base × rate (1.4%) = tax. In the city's words, "the taxable base on which the tax is calculated is in principle the value (assessed value) of the fixed asset, but for land the taxable base may be lower than the assessed value because of burden adjustment measures and the special provisions for residential land". The assessed value is revalued once every 3 years in principle, and the most recent revaluation was in Reiwa 6 |
| City planning tax | 0.3% | A purpose tax charged on anyone who owns land or a building inside the urbanisation promotion area of the city on 1 January. "The tax you pay is used to fund city planning projects such as roads, parks and sewerage." |
| Tax-exempt threshold | Judged within the same ward | "If the total taxable base of land, buildings or depreciable assets respectively within the same ward falls below the following amounts, no fixed asset tax is charged" — up to Reiwa 8: land ¥300,000, buildings ¥200,000, depreciable assets ¥1,500,000 / from Reiwa 9: land ¥300,000, buildings ¥300,000, depreciable assets ¥1,800,000. The thresholds for buildings and depreciable assets rise |
| Water (per month) | ¥3,553 20 m³, 13 mm pipe, including tax | Basic charge (13 mm pipe) ¥638.00 plus a volume charge. The volume charge is ¥88.00 per cubic metre for 1–10 cubic metres, ¥203.50 for 11–20, ¥225.50 for 21–50, ¥264.00 for 51–100, ¥302.50 for 101–200 and ¥341.00 for 201 and above (pipes of 25 mm or less). 10 cubic metres comes to ¥1,518 and 30 cubic metres to ¥5,808 |
| Sewerage (per month) | ¥1,546.6 up to 20 m³, including tax | From 0 to 20 cubic metres the basic charge is ¥1,546.60 (¥1,406 before tax). From 21 to 40 cubic metres it is ¥114.40 per cubic metre, from 41 to 100 ¥150.70 and from 101 to 200 ¥247.50. Up to 20 cubic metres you pay the same whether you use it or not |
| The waiver now in force | 2 months' worth | In the city's announcement: "to support residents and businesses affected by the rising prices of energy, food and other goods, we are using the national Priority Support Local Grant to waive 2 months of the basic water charge and the basic sewerage charge". The period covered is the August and September meter readings (which differ by reading date), and it applies to individuals and businesses under contract with the Waterworks Bureau in the city (including those using only well water or a septic tank who have notified the Construction Bureau). "No application by the user is required." |
| National Health Insurance premium Reiwa 8 | Medical portion, income-based rate 7.96% | Paid by anyone not enrolled in an employer's health insurance. It has 4 parts — medical, support, long-term care and children — and each has an income-based, per-person and per-household component. Medical = 7.96% income-based + ¥27,850 per person + ¥26,700 per household (ceiling ¥670,000) / support = 3.00% income-based + ¥10,410 per person + ¥9,980 per household (ceiling ¥260,000) / long-term care (only for members aged 40 to 64) = 2.44% income-based + ¥9,440 per person + ¥7,070 per household (ceiling ¥170,000) / children = 0.27% income-based + ¥940 per person + ¥70 per person aged 18 and over + ¥900 per household (ceiling ¥30,000). The base for the income-based part is "total income during Reiwa 7 less the basic deduction of ¥430,000", and the spouse, dependant and social insurance deductions do not apply. The year's premium is notified in June and paid in 10 instalments, from the 1st to the 10th period. For anyone up to the first 31 March after turning 18, the whole per-person component is waived |
| Designated household refuse bags | Large 45 L ¥400 pack of 10, including tax | Large (45 litres) ¥400 / medium (30 litres) ¥270 / small (20 litres) ¥180 / extra small (10 litres) ¥90 — all are prices for a pack of 10 (the refuse disposal fee, consumption tax included). They are sold at supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstores and home centres in and around the city. Household refuse is collected twice a week on set days, and "collection also takes place on public holidays". Put it out on the day of collection between early morning and 8:30, and each time you may put out no more than 10 kilograms (45 litres), about one large designated bag. The city writes that "there are no plans to raise the price of the designated refuse bags". Anything whose longest side is roughly more than 30 centimetres goes out as bulky refuse |
The water charge is built so that the unit price rises the more you useCalculating the monthly water charge (13 mm pipe, including tax) — 10 cubic metres ¥1,518 / 20 cubic metres ¥3,553 / 30 cubic metres ¥5,808 / 40 cubic metres ¥8,063 / 50 cubic metres ¥10,318. Going from 10 to 20 cubic metres multiplies it by 2.3.
Together with sewerage — 10 cubic metres ¥3,064.6 / 20 cubic metres ¥5,099.6 / 30 cubic metres ¥8,498.6 / 40 cubic metres ¥11,897.6 / 50 cubic metres ¥15,659.6. These are guide figures this site calculated from the city's rate tables. Billing is once every 2 months, so treat the amount on the bill as twice this.
The tax-exempt threshold is judged "per ward" because this is a government-ordinance-designated cityThe city writes "the total taxable base of land, buildings or depreciable assets respectively within the same ward". That means if you own one small plot in Aoba Ward and one in Izumi Ward, they are not added together but judged ward by ward (Article 737 of the Local Tax Act).
And from Reiwa 9 the threshold for buildings rises from ¥200,000 to ¥300,000, and for depreciable assets from ¥1,500,000 to ¥1,800,000. It is a change that matters to anyone who owns a small shed or an old building. As §4 shows, this city has 44 listings under ¥10,000,000 — if you buy one of those, take a look at this threshold too.
The city has stopped the basic charge for the moment"We are waiving 2 months of the basic water charge and the basic sewerage charge" — the August and September meter readings are covered, and "the sewerage charge of those covered is deducted at the time of billing". No application is needed.
Adding the basic water charge of ¥638.00 and the basic sewerage charge of ¥1,546.60 gives ¥2,184.60 a month. For 2 months, about ¥4,369 comes off (this site's calculation). This is a one-off measure against rising prices, and next year may not be the same. When you work out your yearly costs, use the figures without the waiver.
What else comes round every yearThe National Health Insurance premium (if you are not in an employer's scheme), light vehicle tax and vehicle tax, and fire and earthquake insurance. As §5 shows, this city went through an intensity 6-upper earthquake in 2011. Earthquake insurance premiums are set by prefecture and by building structure — when you get a quotation, always ask for earthquake insurance together with fire insurance and check the actual figure for Miyagi Prefecture.
And as §6 shows, there are 65.1 days a year below freezing. Heating will certainly cost more than in Tokyo or the cities of western Japan. Kerosene, gas or electricity, and how well insulated is it? — always check how the house is heated when you view it.
What does it cost every year once you have bought?
Fixed asset tax 1.4%, city planning tax 0.3%. Water and sewerage together come to ¥5,099.6 for 20 cubic metres a month on a 13 mm pipe (including tax). For Reiwa 8 the income-based rate of the medical portion of the National Health Insurance premium is 7.96% (per person ¥27,850, per household ¥26,700). A pack of 10 large 45-litre designated refuse bags costs ¥400. 🔴 The tax-exempt threshold for the fixed asset tax is judged "within the same ward", and from Reiwa 9 the figure for buildings rises from ¥200,000 to ¥300,000.
CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell
Residential land in Sendai City has risen for 14 years running. In the Reiwa 8 published land prices, the average change for residential land in Sendai City was +4.3% (the previous year +6.3%), commercial land +7.8% (the previous year +8.3%), industrial land +17.7% (the previous year also +17.7%) and all uses +5.5% (the previous year +7.0%). Miyagi Prefecture as a whole was +3.4%. But land prices in this prefecture are rising only in "Sendai and its surroundings". In the prefecture's analysis, "by area, for all uses, the average change was 5.5% in Sendai City and 4.3% in the municipalities around Sendai City, both rising for the 14th year running. The other municipalities were -1.1%, falling for the 11th year running". Of the 380 points that rose, 286 were in Sendai City, while of the 117 that fell, 108 were in the other municipalities.
| Ward | Average residential land price | Change, residential land | Commercial land / all uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakabayashi Ward | ¥169,500/m² 28 points | +4.1% previous year +6.7% | Commercial land ¥415,200/m² (+8.2%, 9 points) / all uses ¥226,800/m² (+5.5%). The average price of residential land is the highest of the 5 wards — as §4 shows, its median listing price of ¥39,900,000 is also the highest of the 5. The commercial point that rose most in the prefecture is also in this ward, "Sendai Wakabayashi 5-1 (Shintera 1-chome)", at +15.3% |
| Aoba Ward | ¥148,100/m² 61 points | +4.4% previous year +5.6% | Commercial land ¥1,126,000/m² (+7.7%, 50 points) / all uses ¥588,600/m² (+5.9%). The highest-priced commercial point in the prefecture is "Sendai Aoba 5-1 (Chuo 1-chome)" at ¥4,880,000 per square metre, the highest-priced site for 44 years running |
| Miyagino Ward | ¥128,400/m² 38 points | +5.6% previous year +8.4% | Commercial land ¥514,100/m² (+10.2%, 12 points) / industrial land ¥149,600/m² (+17.1%) / all uses ¥216,900/m² (+7.3%). The highest-priced residential point in the prefecture is "Sendai Miyagino-38 (Odawara Yuminomachi)" at ¥669,000 per square metre, the highest-priced site for 4 years running. The point that rose most is the same one, at +12.1% |
| Izumi Ward | ¥121,200/m² 40 points | +2.9% previous year +6.3% | Commercial land ¥180,200/m² (+5.2%, 5 points) / industrial land ¥72,000/m² (+20.0%) / all uses ¥126,500/m² (+3.5%). The rise in residential land is the smallest of the 5 wards, and the drop from the previous year the largest (6.3 to 2.9%) — as §10 shows, this is the ward whose population fell by 6,780 (-3.2%) over 5 years |
| Taihaku Ward | ¥118,600/m² 50 points | +4.5% previous year +5.4% | Commercial land ¥204,500/m² (+6.2%, 7 points) / land expected to become residential ¥29,500/m² (+4.2%, 1 point) / all uses ¥127,400/m² (+4.7%). The average price of residential land is the lowest of the 5 wards, 1.4 times less than Wakabayashi Ward |
"Sendai City and its surroundings" and "everywhere else" have come clearly apartFrom the prefecture's Reiwa 8 published land prices, the average change for all uses by area was — Sendai City +5.5%, the municipalities around Sendai City +4.3% and the other municipalities -1.1%. The other municipalities fell for the 11th year running, and the fall was larger than the previous year.
In average residential land price, Sendai City is ¥135,700 per square metre against ¥39,100 per square metre for the other cities combined — a gap of 3.5 times. Buying a house in Miyagi Prefecture means first choosing "Sendai City, or not". A house bought here moves in price quite differently from a house in the other municipalities of the prefecture.
The rise is easingThe change in residential land prices in Sendai City has run — Reiwa 2 +5.7%, 3 +2.0%, 4 +4.4%, 5 +5.9%, 6 +7.0%, 7 +6.3%, 8 +4.3%. It peaked in Reiwa 6 and has narrowed for 2 years running. Commercial land narrowed too, to 7.8% (the previous year 8.3%).
Industrial land, on the other hand, rose +17.7%, the same strong figure as the previous year. Industrial land in Izumi Ward rose +20.0%. Land to live on has begun to settle, while land for factories and logistics is still strong — that is Sendai City in Reiwa 8.
The 1,296 listings out now are, exactly, your competitionAs §4 shows, 1,296 second-hand detached houses in the city are on the market at the same time. By ward: Izumi 442, Aoba 374, Taihaku 287, Miyagino 100 and Wakabayashi 93.
If you sell in Izumi Ward, you are compared with 441 others in the same ward. Wakabayashi, on the other hand, has only 93, and its residential land price is the highest of the 5 wards — a ward with few houses and high prices. A ward with "plenty of choice" when you buy is a ward with "plenty of competition" when you sell. Izumi's 442 is an advantage for a buyer and a disadvantage for a seller. Look at it from both sides.
Only 7 listings are above ¥100,000,000Of the 1,296, 78 (6%) are above ¥50,000,000 and 7 above ¥100,000,000. The highest is ¥165,000,000. At the other end, 302 (23%) are ¥20,000,000 or under.
The second-hand detached house market in Sendai City is thickest in the ¥20,000,000–40,000,000 band. The median of ¥29,500,000 sits in the middle of it. As §4 shows, the median year of construction is 2000 — houses of around 25 years old are the main players, and 652 (50%) were built in 2000 or later. Only 105 (8%) predate the current earthquake code.
If I sell later, what is likely to happen to the price?
In the Reiwa 8 published land prices, residential land in Sendai City rose +4.3%, the 14th year running (commercial land +7.8%, industrial land +17.7%, all uses +5.5%). 🔴 But it is Sendai and its surroundings that are rising — in the prefecture's analysis, "the average change was 5.5% in Sendai City and 4.3% in the municipalities around Sendai City, both rising for the 14th year running. The other municipalities were -1.1%, falling for the 11th year running". Of the 380 points that rose, 286 were in Sendai City.
CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many
In the preliminary Reiwa 7 Census, Sendai City's population was 1,096,951, an increase of 247 on 5 years earlier. The city writes: "compared with the previous Reiwa 2 Census this is an increase of 247, an almost flat result". There were 550,874 households, 25,419 (4.8%) more, and 1.99 people per household (0.10 fewer than last time). Even though the city as a whole is flat, the wards moved a great deal — Aoba Ward +4,727, Taihaku Ward +3,294 and Wakabayashi Ward +1,513 grew, while Izumi Ward -6,780 and Miyagino Ward -2,507 shrank. The number of households rose in all 5 wards.
| Ward | Population (Reiwa 7 (2025)) | Change over 5 years | Households / people per household |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aoba Ward | 316,317 people | +4,727 +1.5% (1st of the 5 wards) | 173,411 households (+10,289, +6.3%) / 1.82 people per household. People increased, yet the household is the smallest — as §1 shows, this is the ward where "the share of residents who are students or foreign nationals is higher than in other wards" |
| Taihaku Ward | 238,052 people | +3,294 people +1.4% | 110,787 households (+5,726, +5.5%) / 2.15 people per household. Mid- and high-rise flats are going up in "Asuto Nagamachi", east of JR Nagamachi Station |
| Izumi Ward | 205,369 people | -6,780 -3.2% (the largest fall of the 5 wards) | 93,483 households (+510, +0.5%) / 2.20 people per household (the most of the 5 wards). The city writes that "the population has been trending downwards since Reiwa 7 (2017), and the population aged 65 and under is falling". The housing estates developed from the latter half of the Showa 30s are all growing older together |
| Miyagino Ward | 194,225 people | △2,507 people △1.3% | 100,109 households (+4,337, +4.5%) / 1 households1.94 people |
| Wakabayashi Ward | 142,988 people | +1,513 people +1.1% | 73,084 households (+4,557, +6.6%, the largest growth of the 5 wards) / 1.96 people per household. As §3 shows, this is the ward that gained the 5 stations of the subway Tozai Line |
Right now, far more people die here than are bornIn the population dynamics for July Reiwa 8 — 535 births, 877 deaths, a natural change of -342. Against that, 4,783 people moved in and 4,304 moved out, a net migration of +452. Adding other changes of -27 gives a net gain of +110, so the population grew.
By ward, Aoba +225, Taihaku +86 and Wakabayashi +80 gained through migration, while Miyagino -8 lost. The natural change was negative in all 5 wards (Aoba -131, Izumi -83, Taihaku -73, Miyagino -36, Wakabayashi -19). Sendai City's population holds level because people come from elsewhere in Tohoku. If that flow thins, these figures will move at once.
Izumi Ward's -3.2% is the weightiest figure hereAs §2 shows, the city writes of Izumi Ward that "since the ward system began in Heisei 1 the ward's population has grown by about 55,000, accounting for roughly 30% of the city's total population increase", and goes on to write that "the population has been trending downwards since Reiwa 7 (2017), and the population aged 65 and under is falling".
A fall of 6,780 (-3.2%) over 5 years is the only large fall in the city. Yet the number of households rose by 510 (+0.5%), and at 2.20 people per household it is the highest of the 5 wards — plenty of people still live here as families, but those families are getting smaller. As §4 shows, Izumi Ward has 442 listings, the most of the 5 wards. These two are the same story.
Households getting smaller means houses do not go spareHouseholds grew 4.8% while the population grew 0.0%. 1.99 people per household means "fewer than 2". By ward, Aoba 1.82, Miyagino 1.94 and Wakabayashi 1.96 — the 3 wards on the city-centre side are made up almost entirely of one- and two-person households.
This feeds straight into house-hunting — of the 1,296 second-hand detached houses in §4, 4LDK is the commonest layout with 367 and the median plot is 214 square metres. The stock of "houses to live in as a family" is concentrated in Izumi (442), Aoba (374) and Taihaku (287).
The population has just come over a gentle peakIn the city's words, "although the rate of increase has fallen, this city's population is holding at roughly the same level as in Reiwa 2". The 1,096,951 of Reiwa 7 is only 247 more than Reiwa 2.
Remaining a "city of a million" and continuing to grow are different things. As §9 shows, land prices have risen for 14 years running, but the rate of increase peaked in Reiwa 6 and has narrowed for 2 years. The year the population went flat and the year land price growth eased are the same year.
Share of foreign residents
1.81%national average 3.26%
Of the 1,063,198 people living in Sendai City, 19,275 are foreign residents. That is below the national average (3.26%).
Nationwide, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642).
34 municipalities in Japan are above 10%.
Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17
Is the population rising or falling?
🔴 It is almost flat. The preliminary Reiwa 7 Census figure is 1,096,951 — the city writes "compared with the previous Reiwa 2 Census this is an increase of 247, an almost flat result". There are 550,874 households, 25,419 (4.8%) more, and 1.99 people per household. The wards moved a great deal: Aoba +4,727, Taihaku +3,294 and Wakabayashi +1,513 grew, while Izumi -6,780 and Miyagino -2,507 shrank. There are 19,275 foreign residents (1.81%).
CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events
The year in Sendai is marked out by 3 festivals. The Sendai Aoba Matsuri in May, the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri in August and the SENDAI Pageant of Starlight in December. Tanabata runs for 3 days, 6, 7 and 8 August, and the Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival on the eve, 5 August, sends up about 16,000 shells. The Pageant of Starlight lights about 480,000 LEDs on the 127 zelkovas of Jozenji-dori, and in Reiwa 7 (2025) it ran for 24 days, from 5 to 28 December. The Aoba Matsuri takes 2 days, a Saturday and Sunday in May, and in Reiwa 8 it falls on 16 and 17 May. 141 dance troupes take part in the "Sendai Suzume Odori", and more than 3,000 people appear in the "scroll of the ages" procession on the main day.
| When | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| The Saturday and Sunday in mid-May In Reiwa 8, 16 and 17 May | the Sendai Aoba Matsuri | Nishi Park is the main venue. In the organisers' words, "the 'Sendai Aoba Matsuri' colours Sendai, the City of Trees, in fresh green. Once again this year we hold it with Nishi Park as the main venue, on the theme 'everyone enjoys, the Date quarter'". 141 dance troupes take part in "Sendai Suzume Odori 2026", and on the main day, the 17th, more than 3,000 people appear in the "scroll of the ages" procession — the Sendai float parade, the portable shrine of Lord Masamune and the warrior procession. Reiwa 8 is "the milestone year, 390 years after Lord Masamune's death", and the organisers write that "towards 2036, 400 years after Lord Masamune's death, the restoration of the Otemon gate of Sendai Castle and the campaign to bring an NHK Taiga drama with Date Masamune as its hero are getting under way in earnest, and the will to pass Sendai's history and culture on to the future is growing" |
| 5 August | the Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival | Fireworks let off on the eve of the Tanabata Matsuri. About 16,000 shells colour the Sendai sky each year |
| 6 August, 7 days, 8 days | the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri | 3 days. A festival that has continued since the time of Lord Date Masamune, of which the organisers write that "it combines the grace of Japan's ancient star festival with the splendour of its decorations". There is also a "Sendai Tanabata decoration contest" (voting 6–7 August) and a "Sendai Tanabata digital stamp rally" (6–8 August). For 3 days the covered shopping arcades in the centre are filled with decorations |
| Autumn | Jozenji Street Jazz Festival | In the organisers' words, "an urban citizens' music festival, free in principle and held outdoors", "the stage is the street", "we all make it together, as citizens". 2026 is the 35th. "We hold it in the hope that 'STREETJAZZ' will grow out into the world from this festival on Jozenji-dori in Sendai" — street corners across the city become the stage as they are |
| December In Reiwa 7, 5 to 28 December | SENDAI Pageant of Starlight | About 480,000 LEDs on the 127 zelkovas of Jozenji-dori. In Reiwa 7 (2025) it ran for 24 days, from Friday 5 December to Sunday 28 December, and the lights were on Monday to Thursday 19:00–22:00 / Friday and Saturday 18:00–22:00 / Sunday 18:00–21:00. 2025 was the 40th. As §6 shows, Sendai is cold in December — if you go to see it, dress warmly |
The festivals make the face of the cityThe Aoba Matsuri (May), the Tanabata Matsuri (August) and the Pageant of Starlight (December) — one each in spring, summer and winter, and all of them in the same places in the city centre (Jozenji-dori, the arcades and Nishi Park).
The zelkova avenue of Jozenji-dori becomes a stage for about 480,000 LEDs in December, and a stage for jazz in September. The phrase "City of Trees" is not only about how this street looks — it is about that avenue becoming, several times a year, a stage that draws people. If you live in the centre, expect crowds at these 3 times of year.
Local ties run through the ward and the neighbourhood associationAs §2 shows, the city has 5 wards, with the Miyagi General Branch Office in Aoba Ward and the Akiu General Branch Office in Taihaku Ward. Community centres and libraries are also per ward.
And as §5 shows, this city lived through 11 March 2011. Treat the neighbourhood association and the voluntary disaster-prevention body as carrying more weight here than in other towns. Where the evacuation site is, where the tsunami evacuation facility is, who holds the list — if you show your face at the neighbourhood association in your first month after moving, everything afterwards goes differently.
Clearing snow is a job for the neighbourhoodAs §6 shows, annual snowfall is 59 centimetres and the deepest snow cover 16 centimetres. Only 0.8 days a year stay below freezing, so it usually melts during the day once it has fallen — even so, the slopes freeze in the morning.
As §2 and §4 show, 65% of listings are above 50 metres, and most of them are hilltop estates. The slopes and steps of an estate are cleared by the people who live there. When you view a house, try asking "what do you do about the snow?" The way they answer tells you how close the ties in that neighbourhood are.
The other face of a city full of studentsAs §1 shows, there are 50,234 students at 11 universities (7,799 of them graduate students) and 16,191 at 58 specialised training colleges. 6.2% of the city's population is in higher education. The city writes of Aoba Ward that "the share of residents who are students or foreign nationals is higher than in other wards, and many people also visit for business and tourism, so a great feature of Aoba Ward is that many different kinds of people live and gather here".
People arrive in April and leave in March — the wards with many students (Aoba above all) move to that rhythm. As §10 shows, Aoba Ward has 1.82 people per household, the smallest of the 5. If you are looking for a house to live in as a family, you will be choosing carefully within this ward.
What is community life like?
The year turns on 3 festivals — the Sendai Aoba Matsuri in May (16 and 17 May in Reiwa 8 / 141 dance troupes in the Suzume Odori, more than 3,000 people in the "scroll of the ages" procession), the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri on 6, 7 and 8 August (the fireworks on the eve are on 5 August, about 16,000 shells) and the SENDAI Pageant of Starlight in December (about 480,000 lights on the 127 zelkovas of Jozenji-dori). The local units are the ward and the neighbourhood association, and community centres and libraries are per ward.
CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices
Three things are moving land prices in Sendai. 1. The subway Tozai Line (opened December Heisei 27) — the population grew around its 5 stations in Wakabayashi Ward, and the average price of residential land there, ¥169,500 per square metre, is now the highest of the 5 wards (§9). 2. The redevelopment of Asuto Nagamachi (Taihaku Ward) and east of Sendai Station (Miyagino Ward) — the highest-priced residential point in the prefecture is "Odawara Yuminomachi" in Miyagino Ward at ¥669,000 per square metre, for the 4th year running, and it is also the point that rose most in the prefecture (+12.1%). 3. The rise in industrial land — the city's industrial land rose +17.7%, and Izumi Ward +20.0%. At the same time, the hilltop housing estates are growing older (§10, Izumi Ward -3.2%). Where prices are rising and where they are not have come clearly apart.
1. The subway Tozai Line changed Wakabayashi WardIn the city's words, of Wakabayashi Ward: "the subway Tozai Line, which runs east to west through the ward linking the centre with the Arai area, opened in December Heisei 27, 5 stations were built inside Wakabayashi Ward, and the population has grown greatly, above all along the subway".
Of the area along the subway, it writes: "around Arai Station where the living environment is being developed, around Oroshimachi and Rokuchonome Stations where wholesale, distribution and printing industries are concentrated, around Yakushido Station where town-building draws on historical assets — each station has spread its own character". As a result Wakabayashi Ward leads the 5 wards on §4's median listing price of ¥39,900,000 and median year of construction 2008, and on §9's residential land price of ¥169,500 per square metre as well. The smallest ward has become the most expensive one.
2. The most expensive residential land in the prefecture is in Miyagino WardIn the Reiwa 8 published land prices, the highest-priced residential point in Miyagi Prefecture is "Sendai Miyagino-38 (Odawara Yuminomachi)" at ¥669,000 per square metre, the highest-priced site for 4 years running. What is more, the point that rose most in the prefecture is the same one, at 12.1%.
Odawara is north-east of Sendai Station, right beside the centre. In the city's words, Miyagino Ward is "the area spreading from the district east of Sendai Station, where the will to create new liveliness is growing, to the Port of Sendai-Shiogama, an international hub port", and "east of Sendai Station, with the opening of the subway Tozai Line and the widening of the east–west free passage through the station by private development, a more attractive urban space is being created". Miyagino Ward's population fell by 2,507 (-1.3%) over 5 years, yet its residential land rose +5.6%.
3. Industrial land is rising 4 times as fast as residential landIn the Reiwa 8 published land prices, industrial land in Sendai City rose +17.7% (the previous year also +17.7%). Industrial land in Izumi Ward rose +20.0%, Wakabayashi Ward +17.4% and Miyagino Ward +17.1%. That is 4 times the +4.3% of residential land.
In the city's words, the northern part of Izumi Ward is "a hub leading this city's new industrial development, where companies centred on advanced industries and research institutes with industrial support functions are being brought together". Strong land prices for logistics and factories are a national trend, but in Miyagi Prefecture what stands out is that this is concentrated in Sendai City and its surroundings (§9).
Meanwhile, the hilltop estates are growing olderAs §10 shows, Izumi Ward fell by 6,780 (-3.2%) over 5 years. The city writes that "the population has been trending downwards since Reiwa 7 (2017), and the population aged 65 and under is falling". In §9 too, Izumi Ward's residential land change of +2.9% (the previous year +6.3%) is the lowest of the 5 wards, and its drop the largest.
And as §4 shows, Izumi Ward has 442 listings, the most of the 5 wards. "The hilltop housing estates developed from the latter half of the Showa 30s" (the city's words) have all entered their generational handover at once. Seen from the buying side, there is plenty of choice and prices have settled. Seen from the selling side, there is plenty of competition. Within the same city, the opposite of Wakabayashi Ward is happening.
How will the city change from here?
Three things are moving land prices. 1. The subway Tozai Line (opened December Heisei 27) — the average price of residential land in Wakabayashi Ward, ¥169,500 per square metre, is the highest of the 5 wards. 2. The redevelopment of Asuto Nagamachi and east of Sendai Station — the highest-priced residential point in the prefecture is "Odawara Yuminomachi" in Miyagino Ward at ¥669,000 per square metre, for the 4th year running, and it is also the point that rose most in the prefecture (+12.1%). 3. The rise in industrial land — +17.7% across the city, and +20.0% in Izumi Ward.
CHAPTER 13What this place makes
What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.
¥2,160,060,000
Hometown tax donations received in Reiwa 7 (59,838 donations).
131st of the 1,788 municipalities in Japan, and 5th within Miyagi Prefecture
131st of the 1,788 municipalities in Japan, and 5th within Miyagi Prefecture
What this town names as its own products
Sendai City's farm produce carries the name "Toretate Sendai". In the city's words — "to interest more people in farm produce from Sendai and to expand consumption further, this city runs 'Toretate Sendai', a project that puts out information about local production for local consumption in Sendai". The city's Agriculture Promotion Section runs an official website and Instagram account, putting out interviews with growers, recipes and news of direct sales events. At the heart of the project is the shape of this city: growing and eating happen close together — in the city's words, "making use of Sendai's characteristic closeness between where food is grown and where it is eaten", the "same-morning edamame" picked in the morning reaches restaurants and shops across the city that same day. Farm output in Reiwa 6 was ¥12,890,000,000 (rice ¥5,040,000,000, vegetables ¥3,910,000,000, poultry ¥2,920,000,000). As §7 shows, there are 7 permanent farm shops in the city.Same-morning edamame (the Toretate Sendai project) — "edamame is a vegetable whose freshness is everything: by the day after it is picked, its sweetness and savour have halved", the city writes. "In this project, 'same-morning edamame' picked in the morning within Sendai City is carried by our own distribution system and delivered to restaurants and shops that same day." Supply begins around the end of June each year (in Reiwa 8 it was announced on 29 June). Besides edamame, "Sendai Ido negi" spring onions and "same-morning sweetcorn" travel the same way (same-morning sweetcorn and Sendai baby corn from 17 July) • Yukina (chijimi-yukina) — in the city's words, "'yukina (chijimi-yukina)' is a local speciality vegetable, widely used in school meals and in processed foods". Because its composition had never been analysed, the city commissioned the Japan Food Research Laboratories to analyse it in March Heisei 29, and the result was "included in the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2015 (7th revised edition), Supplement 2018". A vegetable from this city made it into the national food composition tables. It is a leaf vegetable that crinkles and sweetens in winter, and it goes into school meals • Sendai Aoba Gyoza — "the local speciality vegetable, Sendai-grown yukina, is worked into the wrapper, finishing it in the vivid green of the young leaves that 'Sendai, the City of Trees' brings to mind" (the city). "The filling too uses plenty of vegetables, so it is healthy and has a gentle taste that everyone from children to adults can enjoy." It was born in Reiwa-era terms in Heisei 21, when the city commissioned the development of a new product, made its debut at the Sendai Aoba Matsuri in May Heisei 22, and was registered as a trademark in September Heisei 23. The city publishes a "Sendai Aoba Gyoza restaurant map" — at the listed restaurants you can eat them, and at the listed shops you can buy the gyoza or the wrappers to take home • The National Gyoza Festival in Sendai — "an event where famous gyoza from across Japan, starting with Sendai Aoba Gyoza, set up stalls". The next is planned for 3 and 4 October Reiwa 8 (the city) • Rice (the Sendai Plain) — of the ¥12,890,000,000 of farm output in Reiwa 6, rice is the largest at ¥5,040,000,000 (the city's "Statistical Material on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries"). The area planted with rice in Reiwa 7 was 2,671 hectares, the largest category of planted area in the city • Vegetables — output of ¥3,910,000,000 in Reiwa 6. The area planted with vegetables in Reiwa 7 was 333 hectares. Beans and pulses follow with 644 hectares (edamame is included here) • For where to buy, the city lists 7 permanent farm shops — Tanabatake farm shop (2-7-30 Fukumuro, Miyagino Ward; 10:00–18:00; closed Wednesdays) / JR Fruit Park Sendai Arahama (2-17-1 Arahama-shin, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–16:00; closed Tuesdays) / Aqua Ignis Sendai Marche Lien (33-3 Aza Matsu-no-nishi, Fujitsuka, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–18:00, from 9:00 on Sundays and public holidays) / Sendai Agriculture and Horticulture Centre Midori-no-mori (13-1 Aza Kirishinden, Arai, Wakabayashi Ward; 10:00–16:00, until 15:30 from November to February; closed Mondays) / Sendai Harvest Village Miyagi Co-op (9 Aza Tenjin, Kami-iida, Wakabayashi Ward; 9:30–22:00; closed only on 1 January) / JA Sendai Nakada farm shop Misaisen (5-6-3 Nakada, Taihaku Ward; Wednesdays and Saturdays 10:00–15:00) / Akiu Village Agrie-no-mori (32-1 Aza Nakayachi-minami, Moniwa, Taihaku Ward; 9:00–18:00, until 17:00 from December to February). 5 of the 7 are in Wakabayashi and Taihaku Wards — as §2 shows, the sea side and the Natori River side are Sendai's farmland • On the food from the sea, this is what the city writes in the prefecture's relocation guide — "surrounded by sea and mountains, Sendai is a treasure house of fresh, delicious ingredients. Fresh fish, shellfish and vegetables are always available in the supermarkets, and the good rice grown on the Sendai Plain is another attraction. Oysters and sea squirts from Miyagi's fishing ports, magari-negi spring onions and yukina grown in Sendai — you can taste what is in season through all four seasons". "If you want to enjoy looking for ingredients, go to the 'Sendai Morning Market' right beside Sendai Station. Although it is called a morning market it is open from morning until evening, and lively calls always ring out there.".
Source:Sendai City, "Toretate Sendai, a project putting out information about local production for local consumption" (Agriculture Promotion Section, Economic Affairs Bureau / "to interest more people in farm produce from Sendai and to expand consumption further, this city runs 'Toretate Sendai', a project that puts out information about local production for local consumption in Sendai" "in this project we have set up an official Instagram account and website, and actively put out information about Sendai farm produce and its growers, direct sales events, and restaurants serving Sendai produce")／Sendai City, "The Toretate Sendai project" ("developing the 'Sendai Edamame Project' that began with 'same-morning edamame', this project links Sendai farm produce to growers, distributors, shops and consumers, so that people come to know how good local produce is" "edamame is a vegetable whose freshness is everything: by the day after it is picked, its sweetness and savour have halved. In this project, 'same-morning edamame' picked in the morning within Sendai City is carried by our own distribution system and delivered to restaurants and shops that same day" "making use of Sendai's characteristic closeness between where food is grown and where it is eaten, besides edamame we supply freshly picked produce such as 'Sendai Ido negi' and 'same-morning sweetcorn'")／Toretate Sendai (the official website of the Agriculture Promotion Section, Economic Affairs Bureau, Sendai City / news, 29 June 2026 "supply of same-morning edamame is beginning" and 17 July 2026 "supply of same-morning sweetcorn and Sendai baby corn has begun")／Sendai City, "On the results of the food composition analysis of yukina (chijimi-yukina)" ("'yukina (chijimi-yukina)' is a local speciality vegetable, widely used in school meals and in processed foods" "because its food composition had never been analysed, we carried out an analysis with a view to promoting its use further" / analysing body: Japan Food Research Laboratories / date of analysis: March Heisei 29 / "the results were included in the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2015 (7th revised edition), Supplement 2018")／Sendai City, "Sendai Aoba Gyoza" ("the local speciality vegetable, Sendai-grown yukina, is worked into the wrapper, finishing it in the vivid green of the young leaves that 'Sendai, the City of Trees' brings to mind. The filling too uses plenty of vegetables, so it is healthy and has a gentle taste that everyone from children to adults can enjoy" "in Heisei 21, with the aims of promoting agriculture and revitalising the local economy, the city commissioned the development of a new product using farm produce grown within the city, and it was born; it made its debut at the Sendai Aoba Matsuri in May Heisei 22. (Registered as a trademark in September Heisei 23.)" "an event where famous gyoza from across Japan, starting with Sendai Aoba Gyoza, set up stalls. The next is planned for 3 and 4 October Reiwa 8")／Sendai City, "Direct sales of farm produce (permanent farm shops and regular direct sales events)" (7 permanent shops / Tanabatake farm shop, 2-7-30 Fukumuro, Miyagino Ward, 022-388-7318, 10:00–18:00, closed Wednesdays and over the New Year / JR Fruit Park Sendai Arahama, 2-17-1 Arahama-shin, Wakabayashi Ward, 022-390-0770, 10:00–16:00, closed Tuesdays / Aqua Ignis Sendai Marche Lien, 33-3 Aza Matsu-no-nishi, Fujitsuka, Wakabayashi Ward, 022-355-8135, 10:00–18:00 [Sundays and public holidays 9:00–18:00], closing days vary / Sendai Agriculture and Horticulture Centre Midori-no-mori, 13-1 Aza Kirishinden, Arai, Wakabayashi Ward, 022-762-9688, 10:00–16:00 [November to February 10:00–15:30], closed Mondays / Sendai Harvest Village Miyagi Co-op, 9 Aza Tenjin, Kami-iida, Wakabayashi Ward, 022-385-6014, 9:30–22:00, closed 1 January / JA Sendai Nakada farm shop Misaisen, 5-6-3 Nakada, Taihaku Ward, 022-241-1721, 10:00–15:00, open Wednesdays and Saturdays / Akiu Village Agrie-no-mori, 32-1 Aza Nakayachi-minami, Moniwa, Taihaku Ward, 022-302-6081, 9:00–18:00 [December to February 9:00–17:00], closed 1 January)／Sendai City, "Statistical Material on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Sendai City (Reiwa 8 edition)", from "Statistics on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Sendai City" (PDF, June Reiwa 8, Agriculture and Forestry Planning Section, Economic Affairs Bureau / (10) farm output, Reiwa 6: total ¥12,890,000,000 [crops ¥9,420,000,000, of which rice ¥5,040,000,000, vegetables ¥3,910,000,000, cereals and pulses ¥220,000,000, fruit ¥90,000,000 / livestock ¥3,470,000,000, of which poultry ¥2,920,000,000, dairy cattle ¥400,000,000, beef cattle ¥140,000,000] / (11) planted area, Reiwa 7: rice 2,671 ha, beans and pulses 644 ha, vegetables 333 ha, cereals 47 ha, wheat and barley 59 ha, fruit trees 19 ha, potatoes 13 ha, flowers and flowering trees 8 ha, industrial crops 6 ha, other 60 ha)／Miyagi Migration and Exchange Guide (Miyagi Prefecture), "Sendai City" (last updated 23 March 2026, Policy Planning Section, Policy Planning Department, City Planning and Policy Bureau, Sendai City / "★ Fresh food from both the sea and the mountains! Surrounded by sea and mountains, Sendai is a treasure house of fresh, delicious ingredients. Fresh fish, shellfish and vegetables are always available in the supermarkets, and the good rice grown on the Sendai Plain is another attraction. Oysters and sea squirts from Miyagi's fishing ports, magari-negi spring onions and yukina grown in Sendai — you can taste what is in season through all four seasons. If you want to enjoy looking for ingredients, go to the 'Sendai Morning Market' right beside Sendai Station. Although it is called a morning market it is open from morning until evening, and lively calls always ring out there")/ Verified 2026-08-25You can support a town without living there
Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.
Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14What are Sendai City's local specialities?
The city puts out its farm produce under the name "Toretate Sendai". 🔴 At its heart is the closeness between where food is grown and where it is eaten — "same-morning edamame" picked in the morning reaches restaurants and shops across the city that same day. There is also yukina (chijimi-yukina), "Sendai Aoba Gyoza" with that yukina worked into the wrapper, and rice. Farm output in Reiwa 6 was ¥12,890,000,000. Hometown tax donations received came to ¥2,160,060,000 (59,838 donations), 131st in Japan and 5th within Miyagi Prefecture.
CHAPTER 14A message from Sendai City
The headline Sendai City gives on the prefecture's relocation portal, the "Miyagi Migration and Exchange Guide", is "Sendai: an easy city to work in and to live in". In the city's words — "convenient transport and an abundance of shops and restaurants go without saying, but a life in harmony with nature — the zelkova avenues in the centre, the Hirose River — is another attraction. The wealth of educational and research institutions, starting with Tohoku University, and the seasonal events through which you feel the culture and history, are also valued, and Sendai has taken 4th place in the 'places people want to live' ranking for 6 years running. Please do consider moving to Sendai City". The contact point is the Policy Planning Section, Policy Planning Department, City Planning and Policy Bureau (022-214-1245). 🔴 And for those moving from the 23 wards of Tokyo, there is a relocation grant — ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, plus ¥1,000,000 for each child under 18. Applications for Reiwa 8 have opened (the deadline is 31 January Reiwa 9, to arrive by that date).
What the city puts forward as "the attraction of living here" is the climate and the rentHere are the city's own words — "★ A climate that is comfortable all year round. Sendai's summers have hardly any days above 35°C. With so many street trees, there is a moment's relief in the shade even under a blazing sun. Winters too have many clear days, and it is rare for a day to stay below freezing. Although it is in the Tohoku region, another feature is how little snow falls. It is an environment where both summer and winter are comfortable" (as §6 shows, the Japan Meteorological Agency normals also give 0.9 days above 35°C and 0.8 days entirely below freezing).
The other is rent — "★ Rent is light! In the 23 wards of Tokyo a 1LDK, 2K or 2DK averages ¥149,000, while in Sendai City it averages ¥59,000, less than half. For a family-sized 3LDK, 4K or 4DK, the average is ¥309,000 in the 23 wards of Tokyo and ¥97,000 in Sendai, so whether you live alone or as a family you can live with room to spare" (the source is material from the All Japan Real Estate Association, compiled by Sendai City as of 5 June Reiwa 7).
"Commuting takes about 60% of Tokyo's time" — this is what the city pushesIn the city's words — "★ Commuting takes about 60% of Tokyo's time! The median commute is under 30 minutes. That is about 60% of Tokyo's, and trains and buses tend to be less tightly packed. Because commuting takes less time, you should be able to keep plenty of time for hobbies and for your family" (compiled by Sendai City from the Reiwa 5 Housing and Land Survey).
It goes on — "★ From Sendai Station to Tokyo Station is 94 minutes on the Hayabusa on the Tohoku Shinkansen! It is close enough for a day trip on business, so you can base yourself in Sendai while working with the capital region in view". As §3 shows, the actual fastest is 1 hour 33 minutes, no changes, ¥11,630. In other words, the city itself recommends the arrangement of "climate and rent in Tohoku, work in the capital region".
The relocation grant — ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, ¥1,000,000 per childIn the city's words, "a scheme that pays a grant to those who move to Sendai City from the Tokyo area. Sendai City is the point of contact, and the national government, Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City share the cost between them". "¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, plus ¥1,000,000 for each child under 18." — a couple with 2 children comes to ¥3,000,000.
There are 3 sets of requirements — where you move from, where you move to, and employment or starting a business — and there are 4 routes for the employment part: 1. new employment (through a job on the Miyagi Migration and Exchange Guide, or through the specialist talent scheme), 2. teleworking, 3. connected population (agriculture, forestry and fisheries; succeeding a family business; or attending a designated UIJ-turn event and taking a job with a Sendai company), and 4. starting a business (through the Miyagi business start-up promotion scheme). 🔴 Before applying you can check the 3 sets of requirements on the "self-check sheet" the city provides. The application deadline for Reiwa 8 is 31 January Reiwa 9 (to arrive by that date), and "the relocation grant is paid within the budget. Once the budget is exhausted, applications will close".
What to know after you receive itThe city sets out the repayment conditions in advance too — full repayment applies if "you received the relocation grant by false or other improper means", "you move out to a municipality outside the prefecture less than 3 years after the date of application" or "you leave the job that met the requirements within 1 year of the date of application", among others. Half repayment applies if "you move out to a municipality outside the prefecture between 3 and 5 years after the date of application".
In other words, the scheme assumes you will go on living in Sendai for at least 5 years. If you move to another municipality within 5 years of the date of application, you must file a change-of-address notification (including a move to another municipality within Miyagi Prefecture). If you intend to use this scheme, look at the self-check sheet before you start house-hunting in §4.
| What kind of support | How much, and what it covers | Where to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Migration support grant | Single person ¥600,000 Household ¥1,000,000 Plus ¥1,000,000 per child under 18 | Commerce and Human Resources Support Section, Industrial Policy Department, Economic Affairs Bureau (Sendai Park Building 9F, 3-6-1 Kokubuncho, Aoba Ward), 022-214-1007, email ijushienkin@city.sendai.jp. It covers those living in the 23 wards of Tokyo, or living in the Tokyo area and commuting into the 23 wards. The application deadline for Reiwa 8 is 31 January Reiwa 9 (to arrive by that date) |
| When you build a house | Part of the building cost is subsidised | A detached house that is a ZEH or ZEH+ house and meets the city's own insulation standard = Decarbonisation Policy Section, Environment Bureau, 022-214-8682 / a new wooden house using a set proportion of timber produced in Sendai City = Agriculture and Forestry Planning Section, Economic Affairs Bureau, 022-214-8264 |
| When you buy a second-hand house | A grant and other support | The Sendai City relocation support scheme for young and child-raising households — in the city's words, "a scheme that provides grants and other support to young households or child-raising households that acquire a detached house within the city, with the aims of promoting the circulation of existing housing and encouraging young people to settle in this city". Housing Policy Section, Urban Development Bureau, 022-214-8330 |
| Insulation work | Part of the work cost is subsidised | Two schemes: whole-house work (insulating a whole detached house) and partial work (windows, floors, walls, ceiling or roof). Decarbonisation Policy Section, Environment Bureau, 022-214-8682. As §6 shows, there are 65.1 days a year below freezing — insulation feeds straight into your heating bill |
| When a child is born | A catalogue gift worth ¥30,000 | In the city's words, "an online catalogue gift worth ¥30,000, from which baby goods and items connected with Sendai can be chosen, is sent to celebrate a household in which a child has been born". Childcare Support City Promotion Section, Children and Youth Bureau, 022-214-2129 |
| When a third or later child starts school | A ¥30,000 gift (application required) | "When a third or later child enters primary school, a gift of ¥30,000 is paid to the parent or guardian resident in Sendai City." |
| Where to ask about moving here | About the city as a whole | Policy Planning Section, Policy Planning Department, City Planning and Policy Bureau (3-7-1 Kokubuncho, Aoba Ward), 022-214-1245, email mac001620@city.sendai.jp. In Tokyo, the "Miyagi Migration Support Center" (Yurakucho, Tokyo) takes enquiries as "the general consultation desk for moving to Miyagi Prefecture" |
Is there any relocation support?
🔴 For those moving from the 23 wards of Tokyo, there is a relocation grant — ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, plus ¥1,000,000 for each child under 18. The application deadline for Reiwa 8 is 31 January Reiwa 9 (to arrive by that date), and the contact point is the Commerce and Human Resources Support Section, Economic Affairs Bureau (022-214-1007). There are also subsidies for a new ZEH house or one using timber produced in Sendai City, the relocation support scheme for young and child-raising households, subsidies for insulation work and a catalogue gift worth ¥30,000 when a child is born.
CHAPTER 15A year in Sendai
The year in Sendai is marked out by 3 festivals, in May, August and December. The Aoba Matsuri (May), the Tanabata Matsuri (August) and the Pageant of Starlight (December) — all held on the same streets in the city centre (§11). As for climate, the coldest month is January (mean 2.0°C, daily low -1.3°C) and the hottest August (mean 24.4°C, daily high 28.2°C). 🔴 And the wettest month is September with 192.6 mm — the typhoon month of September gets more than the rainy-season month of July (178.4 mm). The driest is February with 33.9 mm. For food, "same-morning edamame" comes at the end of June, "same-morning sweetcorn" in July and "yukina" in winter — as §13 shows, there is a system that picks in the morning and delivers around the city the same day.
| Month | Climate (normals) | The town at that time of year |
|---|---|---|
| month 1 | Mean 2.0°C daily high 5.6°C / daily low -1.3°C rain and snow 42.3 mm | The coldest month of the year. As §6 shows, there are 65.1 days a year below freezing, and most of them fall in this period. Annual snowfall totals 59 centimetres and the deepest snow cover is 16 centimetres — and since only 0.8 days a year stay below freezing, the snow usually melts during the day even once it has settled. Even so, the slopes freeze in the morning. As §2 and §4 show, 65% of listings are above 50 metres — if you live on the hills, you need studless tyres |
| month 2 | Mean 2.4°C daily high 6.5°C / daily low -1.1°C rain and snow 33.9 mm | The driest month of the year (33.9 mm). In the city's words, "winters too have many clear days, and it is rare for a day to stay below freezing. Although it is in the Tohoku region, another feature is how little snow falls" (§14). It is a month when the winter sun reaches you well, and you begin to learn this place's winter from how the washing dries and how fast the kerosene goes down |
| month 3 | Mean 5.5°C daily high 10.0°C / daily low 1.4°C rain 74.4 mm | The mean rises above 5°C and the daily low leaves freezing behind. 🔴 11 March is a special day for this city (§5). In Arai, Wakabayashi Ward, the city runs the "Sendai 3.11 Memorial Community Center" inside the building of Arai Station on the subway Tozai Line (85-4 Aza Kutsukata, Arai, Wakabayashi Ward, 022-390-9022) — once you have moved here, go there once. Maps and photographs show what happened on the eastern side of this city |
| month 4 | Mean 10.7°C daily high 15.5°C / daily low 6.3°C rain 90.2 mm | The month of cherry blossom and of changeover. As §7 shows there are 125 primary schools and 74 lower secondary schools, and as §1 shows 50,234 students at 11 universities. People arrive in April and leave in March — Aoba Ward, with its many students, moves to that rhythm (§11). If you are looking to rent, expect things to move fast around this time. |
| month 5 | Mean 15.6°C daily high 20.2°C / daily low 11.7°C rain 110.2 mm | The Sendai Aoba Matsuri (in Reiwa 8 on 16 and 17 May). Nishi Park is the main venue, 141 dance troupes take part in "Sendai Suzume Odori 2026", and on the main day, the 17th, more than 3,000 people join the "scroll of the ages" procession. Reiwa 8 is "the milestone year, 390 years after Lord Masamune's death". It is also when the fresh green of the zelkova avenues is at its finest |
| month 6 | Mean 19.2°C daily high 23.1°C / daily low 16.1°C rain 143.7 mm | The rainy season begins and the rain increases. 🔴 And at the end of the month the supply of "same-morning edamame" begins (in Reiwa 8 it was announced on 29 June) — a system in which edamame picked in the morning within the city reaches restaurants and shops that same day (§13). In the city's words, "edamame is a vegetable whose freshness is everything: by the day after it is picked, its sweetness and savour have halved" |
| month 7 | Mean 22.9°C daily high 26.6°C / daily low 20.2°C rain 178.4 mm | The second half of the rainy season, and the second wettest month of the year. The supply of "same-morning sweetcorn" and "Sendai baby corn" begins (in Reiwa 8 on 17 July). As §6 shows, the July daily high is 26.6°C — before the rainy season lifts, Sendai is still on the cool side |
| month 8 | Mean 24.4°C daily high 28.2°C / daily low 21.6°C rain 157.8 mm | The hottest month of the year. Even so, the daily high of 28.2°C is 3.1°C lower than Tokyo, with 0.9 days a year above 35°C and 2.7 tropical nights a year (§6). The Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival is on 5 August (about 16,000 shells each year), and the Sendai Tanabata Matsuri on 6, 7 and 8 August. 🔴 For 3 days the covered arcades in the centre are filled with decorations. In the organisers' words, "it combines the grace of Japan's ancient star festival with the splendour of its decorations" |
| month 9 | Mean 21.2°C daily high 25.0°C / daily low 18.0°C rain 192.6 mm | The wettest month of the year (192.6 mm). 🔴 The typhoons bring more than the rainy season — once you move, look at the hazard map for that address once in September (§5). The Jozenji Street Jazz Festival is the 35th in 2026. About 40 street corners across the city become stages over 2 days — in the organisers' words, "an urban citizens' music festival, free in principle and held outdoors" "the stage is the street" |
| month 10 | Mean 15.7°C daily high 19.8°C / daily low 11.9°C rain 150.6 mm | Mornings and evenings begin to cool. The "National Gyoza Festival in Sendai" is planned for 3 and 4 October Reiwa 8 — gyoza from across Japan appear, starting with Sendai Aoba Gyoza (the green gyoza with Sendai-grown yukina worked into the wrapper) (§13). 🔴 This is the month to start getting the heating ready. |
| month 11 | Mean 9.8°C daily high 14.1°C / daily low 5.6°C rain 58.7 mm | The rain drops away sharply and so does the temperature (from a mean of 15.7°C in October to 9.8°C). 🔴 This one month's fall is the greatest feature of autumn in Sendai. Treat this as the month to change to winter tyres. |
| month 12 | Mean 4.5°C daily high 8.3°C / daily low 0.9°C rain and snow 44.1 mm | The SENDAI Pageant of Starlight. About 480,000 LEDs are lit on the 127 zelkovas of Jozenji-dori. In Reiwa 7 (2025) it ran for 24 days, from 5 to 28 December, and 2025 was the 40th. The lights are on Monday to Thursday 19:00–22:00 / Friday and Saturday 18:00–22:00 / Sunday 18:00–21:00. 🔴 As §6 shows, Sendai is cold in December — if you go to see it, dress warmly |
Three months worth rememberingFebruary = the driest month (33.9 mm). August = the hottest month (daily high 28.2°C). September = the wettest month (192.6 mm).
And November = the month the temperature falls most (from a mean of 15.7°C in October to 9.8°C, 5.9°C in one month). 🔴 Keep these four in mind and it becomes easier to decide when to view and when to move — January or February if you want to know how cold the house is, January if you want to know the snow on the slope, and September if you want to know how the water runs.
On festival days, people gather in the centre16 and 17 May (the Aoba Matsuri), 5 August (the fireworks) and 6 to 8 August (Tanabata), early to late December (the Pageant of Starlight) — all three are held in the same places in the centre: Jozenji-dori, Nishi Park and the covered arcades.
🔴 If you live in the centre, expect crowds at these times. Conversely, as §2 shows, if you live in a hilltop residential area the festivals become "something you go out to". Which you choose changes how you spend the year.
The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.
Which season needs the most care?
🔴 September. The wettest month is September with 192.6 mm, more than the rainy-season month of July (178.4 mm) — it is the typhoon month. Next is January — there are 65.1 days a year below freezing, and the slopes freeze in the morning. In November the mean temperature falls 5.9°C in a single month (15.7°C to 9.8°C), so change to winter tyres within that month. The driest month is February with 33.9 mm.
CHAPTER 16The people who run this city
When you are thinking of moving, who is running this city now, and where they are trying to take it, is something a future resident probably wants to know more than a current one. This chapter lists, with sources, only what Sendai City itself publishes. 🔴 As of 25 August 2026, following the official website, I (the AI) was able to find 4 of the 6 below. The mayor of Sendai City is Kori Kazuko (confirmed on Sendai City's own page).
| What is published | Published | What you can read |
|---|---|---|
| About the mayor | Welcome to the Mayor's Office | Name, career, greeting |
| Policy address | Policy address | What they say they will do this year |
| List of council members | Could not find one | Who the members are, and their groupings |
| Council broadcasts and recordings | Could not find one | Whether you can watch the council in session |
| Searchable minutes | Minutes (PDF: 217KB) | Whether you can search past debates by wording |
| Master plan | Sendai City Comprehensive Plan Council | How many years ahead this town has decided |
The mayor of Sendai CityKori Kazuko .
🔴 Mayor Kori Kazuko began her third term in August Reiwa 7.From the city's "Mayor's profile" — Born 31 March Showa 32 (1957), from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Tohoku Gakuin University。She joined Tohoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd. in April Showa 54, and became head of the News Production Division at Tohoku Broadcasting in April Heisei 17。She was first elected to the House of Representatives in September Heisei 17, and was re-elected 4 terms in a row。In September Heisei 23 she was Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and head of the Miyagi local response headquarters、and in February Heisei 24 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office and concurrently Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction.She took office as the 35th mayor of Sendai City in August Heisei 29 (first term), the 36th in August Reiwa 3 (second term) and the 37th in August Reiwa 7 (third term). In her own words, "I have entered my third term as mayor of Sendai City. Since taking office in August Heisei 29, I have run the city's affairs with the belief that 'people are at the centre of the city'"、"I want to go out to where things are happening, listen to what residents say, and build together a city full of smiles". His motto is "Sincere and resolute", her hobby is watching sport, her favourite foods are "shiokara and same-morning edamame" (the "same-morning edamame" of §13), and her favourite places in the city are "Akiu Great Falls, Jozenji-dori"。Source:Sendai City, "Mayor's profile" (Secretarial Section, General Affairs Bureau / Kori Kazuko / greeting: "I have entered my third term as mayor of Sendai City. Since taking office in August Heisei 29, I have run the city's affairs with the belief that 'people are at the centre of the city'. I will do all I can to build an environment in which residents can live with peace of mind and a city in which everyone can be themselves and thrive, and at the same time to send out its appeal and raise its presence as a city chosen by the world. I want to go out to where things are happening, listen to what residents say, and build together a city full of smiles." / date of birth 31 March Showa 32 (1957) / birthplace Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture / final education graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Tohoku Gakuin University / career April Showa 54 joined Tohoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.; April Heisei 17 head of the News Production Division, Tohoku Broadcasting; September Heisei 17 first elected to the House of Representatives (re-elected 4 terms in a row thereafter); September Heisei 23 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and head of the Miyagi local response headquarters; February Heisei 24 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office and concurrently Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction; August Heisei 29 took office as the 35th mayor of Sendai City (first term); August Reiwa 3 took office as the 36th mayor of Sendai City (second term); August Reiwa 7 took office as the 37th mayor of Sendai City (third term) / motto sincere and resolute / hobby watching sport / favourite foods shiokara, same-morning edamame / favourite places in Sendai City Akiu Great Falls, Jozenji-dori)/ Verified 2026-08-25
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Sendai City introduction page →
🔴 Mayor Kori Kazuko began her third term in August Reiwa 7.From the city's "Mayor's profile" — Born 31 March Showa 32 (1957), from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Tohoku Gakuin University。She joined Tohoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd. in April Showa 54, and became head of the News Production Division at Tohoku Broadcasting in April Heisei 17。She was first elected to the House of Representatives in September Heisei 17, and was re-elected 4 terms in a row。In September Heisei 23 she was Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and head of the Miyagi local response headquarters、and in February Heisei 24 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office and concurrently Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction.She took office as the 35th mayor of Sendai City in August Heisei 29 (first term), the 36th in August Reiwa 3 (second term) and the 37th in August Reiwa 7 (third term). In her own words, "I have entered my third term as mayor of Sendai City. Since taking office in August Heisei 29, I have run the city's affairs with the belief that 'people are at the centre of the city'"、"I want to go out to where things are happening, listen to what residents say, and build together a city full of smiles". His motto is "Sincere and resolute", her hobby is watching sport, her favourite foods are "shiokara and same-morning edamame" (the "same-morning edamame" of §13), and her favourite places in the city are "Akiu Great Falls, Jozenji-dori"。Source:Sendai City, "Mayor's profile" (Secretarial Section, General Affairs Bureau / Kori Kazuko / greeting: "I have entered my third term as mayor of Sendai City. Since taking office in August Heisei 29, I have run the city's affairs with the belief that 'people are at the centre of the city'. I will do all I can to build an environment in which residents can live with peace of mind and a city in which everyone can be themselves and thrive, and at the same time to send out its appeal and raise its presence as a city chosen by the world. I want to go out to where things are happening, listen to what residents say, and build together a city full of smiles." / date of birth 31 March Showa 32 (1957) / birthplace Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture / final education graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Tohoku Gakuin University / career April Showa 54 joined Tohoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.; April Heisei 17 head of the News Production Division, Tohoku Broadcasting; September Heisei 17 first elected to the House of Representatives (re-elected 4 terms in a row thereafter); September Heisei 23 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and head of the Miyagi local response headquarters; February Heisei 24 Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office and concurrently Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction; August Heisei 29 took office as the 35th mayor of Sendai City (first term); August Reiwa 3 took office as the 36th mayor of Sendai City (second term); August Reiwa 7 took office as the 37th mayor of Sendai City (third term) / motto sincere and resolute / hobby watching sport / favourite foods shiokara, same-morning edamame / favourite places in Sendai City Akiu Great Falls, Jozenji-dori)/ Verified 2026-08-25
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Sendai City introduction page →
How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
How many years ahead has been decidedIn Sendai City,Sendai City Comprehensive Plan Council. A master plan usually sets outwhat the town has decided to do and by whenand ,where it intends to halt its population decline. 🔴 The period and the population target are not copied out on this site — plans get revised, and a misreading changes the meaning.Please check the official text from the link below.Sendai City Comprehensive Plan Council →
🔴 What I do not do in this chapter① I do not try to guess sex or age from a name. Only what is published is shown. ② I do not write judgements of good or bad. Only "what they set out" and "the source for it". ③ I do not compare election candidates.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date checked (25 August 2026), and reopens the original page each time to verify by machine that the name is still there. If you notice that it has nevertheless gone out of date, please let us know.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date checked (25 August 2026), and reopens the original page each time to verify by machine that the name is still there. If you notice that it has nevertheless gone out of date, please let us know.
Who runs Sendai City now?
The mayor of Sendai City is Kori Kazuko (confirmed on Sendai City's own page on 25 August 2026). What this site looks at is the introduction of the head of the municipality, the policy address, the list of council members, the broadcast of council meetings, the minutes search and the comprehensive plan — 6 things. 🔴 We make no judgment of good or bad. Only whether it is published or not.
CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off
What never shows up in the house-hunting figures, yet feeds straight into how satisfied you are once you live there, is your days off. This chapter counts, on the same yardstick across every area, where you can go on a day off in Sendai and where family or friends can stay when they visit. This area currently has 19 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 5 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, and 2 RV parks. 🔴 All the counts are the number registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may be more.
| What | Number counted, and names |
|---|---|
| ♨ Hot springs and day baths | Ashiyu, Tsuru-no-yu, Moniwa Onsen, Akiu Onsen Kyodo Yokujo, Yamabiko-no-yu, Tennen Onsen Sendai Corona-no-yu, Sendai Yudokoro Sunpia-no-yu, Spa Metsa Sendai Ryusenji-no-yu and others, 19 in all |
| 🏯 Castles and castle sites | Iwakiri Castle ruins, Kitanome Castle ruins, Goroku Castle ruins, Imaizumi Castle ruins, Sendai Castle (5 sites) |
| 🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums | Smile Glico Park, Yagiyama Benyland, Yagiyama Zoological Park Fujisaki-no-mori, Aqua Terrace Nishikigaoka, Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium (5 sites) |
| 🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls | Tohoku University Botanical Garden, Kamei Museum of Art, Sendai War Reconstruction Memorial Hall, Sendai Anpanman Children's Museum & Mall, Sendai Literature Museum, Mori-no-Miyako Brick Sewer Cave, Nakamoto Seiji Museum of Contemporary Art, Sankyozawa Electricity Centenary Museum and others, 37 in all |
| ⛩ Shrines and temples | Shinto shrines 261, Buddhist temples 228. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Toun-ji, Hakusan Shrine, Nichijo-ji, Akiu Shrine, Myohen-ji, Taga Shrine, Shioname Shrine and Kameoka Hachimangu |
| 🚗 Roadside stations | Not found in the map data |
| 🐕 Dog runs | Dog Field and others, 4 in all |
Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels
| What | Number counted |
|---|---|
| 🏨 Hotels and ryokan | 132 |
| 🏠 Guesthouses and hostels | 16 |
| ⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites | Sakunami Keiryu Tsuriba, Tateishizawa, Gogome, 7-gome, Izumigatake Zero Mura, Futakuchi Campsite, Dorokyan Nikkawa, IZUMI PEAK BASE and others, 14 in all |
| 🏕 Glamping | Not found among the campsite or hotel names |
| 🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle) | RV Park Aqua Ignis Sendai, RV Park Izumigatake Ski Resort |
This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.
Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations/ Verified 2026-08-25Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?
Counting from the map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists of the Japan RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are 19 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 5 amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, 132 hotels and inns and 2 RV parks. Facilities not on the map are not counted, so in reality there may be more (see §17 for details).
What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site
This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100, measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. What was measured is the official website of Sendai City, and the total was 49 points (measured 26 August 2026).
"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.
| Area | Score | What was found |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started with a move | 0 / 20 | Not found |
| Housing | 0 / 15 | Not found |
| The money side of living here | 7 / 15 | Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax |
| Disaster information | 20 / 20 | Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more |
| Industry and local produce | 10 / 10 | A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry |
| Transport | 5 / 10 | There is a community bus timetable; fares are stated |
| Can an AI read it? | 7 / 10 | Every page carries an updated date; there is a sitemap.xml; statistics are published as Excel or CSV; and 1 more |
See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them
0 / 3 There is a relocation and settlement pageNot found 0 / 3 There is a dedicated relocation site
Only pages within the official site 0 / 3 A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
0 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated 0 / 5 Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Not found 0 / 3 There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Not found 0 / 3 Vacancies in trial housing are published
Not found 0 / 4 There is an akiya bank
Not found 0 / 4 Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
There is no property data this site can take in 0 / 4 Completed deals are organised
As above 0 / 3 The conditions of use are stated
Not found 1 / 5 Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
There is a water and sewerage page Go and see → 3 / 5 Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
Grants are described Go and see → 3 / 3 There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Both the rates and the amounts are stated Go and see → 0 / 2 Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5 Hazard maps are published by district
40 documents by district Go and see → 5 / 5 Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Flood / landslide / earthquake Go and see → 3 / 3 The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
29 May Reiwa 8: "For real estate agents" updated Go and see → 4 / 4 Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
Viewable in a map system Go and see → 3 / 3 Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media Go and see → 5 / 5 A list of local speciality products is on the official site
8 items (the city's official site) Go and see → 3 / 3 Hometown tax results are published year by year
Entries for 8 fiscal years Go and see → 2 / 2 There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Support for small and medium-sized businesses Go and see → 2 / 4 There is a community bus timetable
There is a page Go and see → 3 / 3 Fares are stated
Go and see → 0 / 3 The date of the last revision is given
Not found Go and see → 3 / 3 Every page carries an updated date
17 of the 20 pages read Go and see → 2 / 2 There is a sitemap.xml
Go and see → 0 / 2 Site search runs on the server side
It was a Google custom search Go and see → 1 / 2 Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page Go and see → 1 / 1 Open data is published
Go and see →
Compare with other towns → For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →
Measurement by this site. The URL of each official website comes from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good a place is to live / checked 26 August 2026Compare with other areas
Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.
Areas in Hokkaido and Tohoku
Yamagata (2 hours 45 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen; Zao and safflower)Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecturelistings203 listings / ¥1,000,000–Hakodate (a town of slopes and a harbour)Hakodate City, Hokkaidolistings234 listings / ¥880,000–Sapporo (a designated city of 10 wards; 0.1 days a year above 35°C and 0.1 tropical nights)Hokkaido, Sapporo Citylistings1,786 listings / ¥1,200,000–Aomori (3 hours 5 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen; the town of Nebuta and Hakkoda)Aomori City, Aomori Prefecturelistings269 listings / ¥1,300,000–Places you could look at for a similar price
Ayabe (the Yuragawa and the villages at the headwaters)Ayabe City, Kyotolistings29 listings / ¥1,000,000–Fukuyama (a castle town where the Nozomi stops; the city of a million roses)Fukuyama City, Hiroshimalistings551 listings / ¥1,000,000–Kochi (yosakoi, the Sunday market and the trams)Kochi City, Kochilistings823 listings / ¥1,000,000–Sasebo (the Kujukushima islands and Huis Ten Bosch, 1 hr 46 min to Hakata)Sasebo City, Nagasakilistings65 listings / ¥1,000,000–Is there a mistake on this page?
This page is made by an AI. A number transposed, a scheme that has since changed, a link that no longer works — if you find one, please tell us. No name and no email address are needed. Just what is wrong, and how.
Anything you report is checked by me (an AI) against the primary source before it is corrected. When it is corrected, the "Last verified" date on this page changes.
CCN Machi-erabi is run by CCN CO., LTD. About us