Perfect as a Home Base for Sightseeing! 7 Popular Places to Stay in Sendai and 3 Recommended Hot Spring Areas

A highly convenient hotel directly connected to JR Sendai Station—ideal for both sightseeing and business.
Under the concept “Tohoku Rokkans: SENSE OF TOHOKU,” it welcomes guests with facilities and services designed to evoke “anticipation, a sense of place, heartfelt hospitality, a break from the everyday, peace of mind, and a hint of what’s to come.”
Its 282 rooms come in nine types, from single, double, and twin rooms to suites. All rooms feature separate bath and toilet areas, so you can relax and recover from your trip in comfort.

Located a 3-minute walk from JR Sendai Station, this hotel also offers easy access to nearby shopping and dining.
It’s recommended not only for sightseeing and business in Sendai, but also as a convenient base for exploring Tohoku.
All rooms include a bathroom separate from the toilet. Concept rooms featuring materials from Miyagi and traditional crafts—along with designs inspired by Date Masamune and the ria coastline—are especially popular with travelers.

Richmond Hotel Premier Sendai Ekimae is just a 3-minute walk from JR Sendai Station.
With free Wi-Fi, humidifying air purifiers in every room, and multi-device phone chargers, it’s well equipped for both business travelers and tourists.
The rooms feature clean, simple design and “duvet style” bedding—where the entire comforter is wrapped in a sheet—helping you enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep and an easy morning.

A business hotel located a 5-minute walk from JR Sendai Station. It also offers good access to top Sendai sights such as the Aoba Castle Ruins (Sendai Castle Ruins) and Jozenji-dori Avenue, making it a popular base for exploring the city.
Across its 141 rooms, calming, understated interiors are designed to help guests relax as if at home. The “duvet style” bedding made with endless fiber is also used, creating a comfortable sleep experience.

A hotel known for its large natural hot spring bath and a space wrapped in a distinctly Japanese atmosphere.
Not only the guest rooms, but the entire building—including the lobby and hallways—is covered in tatami mats. After taking off your shoes at the entrance, you can unwind in a ryokan-like setting.
The large natural hot spring bath is on the 14th (top) floor. In a modern indoor bath featuring a monument inspired by Date Masamune’s helmet and a stone open-air bath, you can enjoy natural hot spring water brought in from an affiliated Sendai hotel with its own spring source.

A resort hotel with a striking look reminiscent of a classic European manor house.
Although it’s located Approx. 30 minutes by car from Sendai Station, its spacious English-style gardens create an elegant, getaway-like atmosphere.
Guest rooms come in two different views: “Garden Side Rooms” overlooking the beautiful gardens, and “Forest Side Rooms” where you can enjoy seasonal scenery across the surrounding mountains.

A luxury hotel located on the upper floors of the 37-story Sendai Trust Tower near the business district in central Sendai.
Within walking distance of JR Sendai Station, it’s convenient not only for sightseeing around the prefecture, but also for traveling across Tohoku.
From the upscale guest rooms, you can take in sweeping views of nearby mountains, the cityscape, and the Pacific Ocean.

A hot spring town along the Natori River gorge in western Sendai City, lined with everything from high-end ryokan to affordable, no-meals accommodations.
It’s easily accessible—Approx. 30 minutes by car from central Sendai—and the surrounding area also offers plenty of leisure activities.
At Futakuchi Gorge upstream on the Natori River, you can enjoy hiking, canyoning, camping, and more.

Naruko Onsenkyo is a hot spring area made up of five districts: Naruko, Higashi-Naruko, Kawatabi, Nakayamadaira, and Onikobe.
A record in the historical text Shoku Nihon Koki notes that hot springs gushed forth due to a volcanic eruption in Jowa 4 (837).
What makes Naruko Onsenkyo special is the chance to enjoy an exceptionally wide variety of waters. It’s known as one of Japan’s leading hot spring areas, with seven of Japan’s ten spring types (according to the Ministry of the Environment’s “Anshin-Anzen na Onsen Riyou no Iroha”) found here.

A hot spring area that first opened over 400 years ago and prospered as a therapeutic bath destination.
It sits on a plateau at an elevation of Approx. 330 m. Based on long-preserved legends, it’s said to be effective for ailments of the legs and lower back.
The townscape—lined with 14 hot spring inns, souvenir shops, and restaurants—has a charming retro feel that invites a nostalgic mood.

Osaki Hachimangu Shrine was relocated to the northwest (inui) by order of Date Masamune during the construction of Sendai Castle.
Since then, it has been revered as Sendai’s guardian shrine, and in particular as a protective deity for those born in the Years of the Dog and Boar.
The main highlight is the National Treasure shrine building, often called a masterpiece of Momoyama architecture.
While the worship hall has a calm atmosphere with its overall black lacquer finish, the roof and bracket complexes feature vivid, intricately designed decorations.

The mausoleum of Date Masamune, founder of the Sendai Domain. Following Masamune’s final wishes after his death in Kanei 13 (1636), it was built the next year by Tadamune, the second domain lord.
Around Zuihoden, you’ll also find mausoleums of the Date family—such as Kansenden, the mausoleum of Date Tadamune, and Zenoden, the mausoleum of Date Tsunamune—along with an attached museum. The entire area is designated a Sendai City historic site as the Kyogamine Date Family Cemetery.

Sendai Castle was built by order of Lord Date Masamune. Also known as “Aoba Castle,” it served as the center of domain governance for 270 years.
After the Meiji era, however, it became army land and many buildings were dismantled, and most remaining structures—including the Otemon Gate—were destroyed in the Sendai air raid during World War II.
Today, the area is maintained as a park, where you can see stone walls, the reconstructed Otemon Gate side turret, and the earthen wall on the north side of the Otemon Gate.