Sendaijo Castle, the symbol of Sendai city, was constructed by famous daimyo Masamune Date, leader of the Date clan in 1601. The castle is also known as Aoba Castle or “Aobajo” in Japanese, as the castle is located on Mt. Aoba, a small mountain in the city. Over its 400 years of existence, the castle has endured anti-feudal resistance during the Meiji period, a huge fire in 1882 and carpet bomb attacks in 1945. Now all that remains are the outer stone walls and a guard tower. At the Aobajo Museum located at the site of the original main keep of the castle, you can see a CG reconstruction of the original castle. Be sure to try local sweet delicacy Zunda Mochi while you are in the area too!

Photograph provided by Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association