Gyutan (beef tongue)
Thick-cut tongue grilled over charcoal, served as a set with barley rice and oxtail soup.
Regional food guide
What to eat in Sendai
Written by hand, not generated. Dishes, markets, timing and prices for Sendai.
The largest city in the Tohoku region, defined by grilled beef tongue and by zunda, a paste of mashed young soybeans. Oysters come in from nearby Matsushima Bay, and with rice country next door, set meals here are built around the rice.
What people eat here
Start with the local defaults
Zunda mochi
Boiled young soybeans mashed with sugar and spooned over rice cake. The colour is a vivid green.
Harakomeshi
Rice cooked in salmon simmering liquid, topped with salmon and its roe. An autumn dish.
Sasa kamaboko
Ground fish paste grilled in the shape of a bamboo leaf, sometimes toasted and eaten on the spot.
Matsushima
Oysters
Farmed in Matsushima Bay, served grilled, fried or steamed in winter.
Where the food is
Markets, streets and harbours
The morning market
A downtown market selling prepared dishes and seafood.
Restaurants nearby
Iroha Yokocho
A narrow alley beside the Ichibancho arcade, about 120 m long, that began as a market of air-raid survivors' stalls in 1946 and keeps its postwar black-market character. Tiny izakaya, set-meal diners and oden counters pack both sides.
Restaurants nearby
Shiogama
A port town 30 minutes from Sendai by train, among the top fresh-tuna landing ports in Japan and known for its density of sushi shops. At the wholesale market you build your own sashimi bowl from what you pick.
Restaurants nearbyWhen to go
- Oysters are in season from November to February.
- The city is very crowded during the Tanabata festival in early August.
- Beef tongue restaurants queue at lunch; arriving in the 11:00 hour is easier.
Worth knowing
- 1Beef tongue comes as a set with rice, soup and pickles, so the set is the normal order rather than the dish alone.
- 2Zunda is sold year round, but it smells best when made in soybean season.
- 3At Matsushima, plan meals around the sightseeing boat timetable.
- 4Winter here is more wind than snow, and it feels colder than the reading.
What it costs · Per person, roughly
A beef tongue set runs JPY 2,000-3,000, zunda mochi JPY 500-800, and harakomeshi JPY 1,500-2,500.
Sendai
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