アウトフォーカス Ichi Ni San Yokochō / 壱弐参横丁
Street photography in Sendai Part 2, the Ichi Ni San Yokocho area As I introduced in the previous edition of Soft Focus, Japan is a great location for street photography, and Sendai is especially so. On my way to Aomori and Iwate prefectures for their outstanding onsen and scenery, I often stop at Sendai. One of the great things of having a father-in-law who used to work in Sendai during the week from a tiny apartment while returning to the family home in the weekends, is that my father-in-law
knows all the best restaurants and obscure locations in Sendai. He introduced us to the best yakitori restaurant in Sendai,Tanuki (狸) in a basement around the Sendai JR station area which has now moved, cleaned up, and is not the same anymore Another place he introduced us to was the Akebono (明ぼ乃) unagi restaurant in the Ichi Ni San Yokochō area which was why we first got to visit this area. It was love at first sight! The area is a true maze and it takes a lot of asking around if you’re looking for a specific
place but it is a very popular place for salarimen to go after work and grab some good food and beers. The photo below shows the master of the Akebono restaurant and his mother kindly posing for a photo after we finished our meal, he is the 4th generation master of this restaurant in the family. The unagi was great and recommended, the eel is harvested from a pond behind the restaurant that has was put in there generations ago and used during WWII to extinguish fires. When we passed the last few times, the restaurant was still there but always closed. The Ichi Ni San Yokochō is perfect for
street photography and a diner and a few drinks if you feel like it. And don’t hesitate to talk to people, like the guy with the distinctive cap we ran into outside a karaoke place waiting for his friends to show up and for his reserved time slot. Everybody is so friendly, the place really feels like it is outside the big town of Sendai, it really has a tiny village feel to it.
Visiting Sendai Sendai is becoming a more and more important tourist destination as it is the gateway to touristy Matsushima. But also in itself, it has plenty of reasons for a tourist stop-over. Apart from the normal tourist sights, Sendai is also known for its food, I love the gyu-tan and the zunda-mochi! It is also home to one of the most famous festivals of Tōhoku, the Tanabata Matsuri. As for street photography in Sendai, the areas I like to hang out in are the Asaichi Market, the maze of bars and restaurants known as Ichi Ni San Yokochō (壱弐参横丁), Clis Road and
the other area with lots of bars and restaurants, Inari Kōji. (稲荷小路). These will be covered in a next edition of Soft Focus.
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