Sendai Station has very clear direction for mapping, including exit numbers and their mapping directions. It links Sendai City Center to Sendai Airport and other major tour attractions, such as Matsushima Island, and other cities with bullet trains.
There is a tourist information office, located inside with JR ticketing customer office.
While Sendai Station is very clean and well maintenance, it is very crowded at space near certain specific exits, probably because locals, friends, etc., like to use Sendai Station as gathering points for parties, dinner, shopping and other activities. Thus, when Sendai has hotter weather, Sendai Station can be even more crowded with young people waiting at near Exits.
For people who stop over Sendai Station in early August, they may get the chance to enjoy the view of Sendai Tanabata [Starlight] Festival, with Tanabata Decoration [Streamer] displays. Compared to more colorful and more exaggerated styles of Tanabata decorations at other sites, such as Chuo-dori and Ichibancho-dori in the Sendai city center, Tanabata decorations at Sendai Station are relatively compact, shorter and thinner, less exaggerated. But they probably serve as the first shock of experiencing Tanabata decorations for the tourists who stop over Sendai, either they visit Sendai by JR bullet trains or by airplanes and transfer to Sendai by train again.
There are gift shops, restaurants, bakeries, etc. at the 1st and 2nd floors of the Sendai Station, and almost every exit will lead visitors to different dining quarter or shopping mall’s...
Read moreI walked for 30 minutes to get to Sendai station so I could get the one day pass for Sendai. I went to the JR East travel service center and the woman ABE who works there was not nice at all. I showed her the map and the pass I wanted to get. On the map it doesn't say that you need to show your passport. It also says short term visitor. I didn't bring my passport with me because of the information on the map. She was not supportive at all and didn't care that I walked 30 minutes out of my way to get the ticket. The man in the Sendai information center was really nice and tried to make several phone calls for me to see if anything could be done. In the end nothing could be done but I really felt that he was the ONLY one who cared that I had wasted my time with the walk and really wanted to help me out. If you can, don't get your tickets from ABE. The lady XU was much nicer and in the end I had to get the 2 day pass even though I'm in Sendai for just one day. I was asking Xu a question about a free postcard and ABE jumped in and said that I couldn't get the postcard because I was getting the 2 day pass and not the 1 day. She really wanted to make my life difficult and didn't want to help at ALL!!!! Maybe a postcard just for all my troubles would've been nice. If you are debating about going to Sendai, I recommend traveling somewhere else. ABE put a real bad taste in my...
Read moreI couldn't pay for the vending machine because I didn't have Japanese cash, so I went to the ticket office to pay with my credit card.
There was a young female worker with short hair (her name maybe Sato?) , but she was very slow at work. So I missed two trains to the airport, and when my flight was imminent, so I tried to use a translator to ask for help, but she never looked at the translator and shouted very unkind Japanese words that I couldn't understand.
It came to my turn at 10:47 and I ran right to the counter and show her my translation that I have to take the 10:50 train, but she dragged for two minutes looking for a past number customer. I felt it was very intentional.
When my ticket issued, the train had already left and I missed the plane. I feel like the end of my Sendai trip definitely ruined because of her terrible service.
I just showed her a translator after waiting quietly for a long time, does she need to shout at a foreigner...
Read more