Sendai had always been pinned on my map. There is no great reason for this, only that everyone I knew who had ever visited said it was a fantastic city.
On the face of it it looked like any other Japanese city; thick vines of electricity cables dropping their way across the city; tall grey apartment blocks and hotels rising over the streets; bicycles weaving haphazardly among pedestrians and signs for bars, restaurants, hostess cafés stacked high and hung from a nondescript building.
But underneath there was something cool going on. A vibe, like Osaka has but Kyoto doesn’t, was finding its way to my bones. I felt good, I felt like having a good time and I felt like eating.
Sendai is famous for beef tongue. It is cooked like a steak and served in chopstick-manageable pieces and it is divine. It’s tongue so it’s a little bit chewy but it just oozes flavor and dissolves slowly in your mouth.
In nearby Matsushima I had fresh sushi and the quality is in the taste and it’s in the softness of the fish. Top notch!