Sendai Castle
There used to be a Sendai castle (aka Aoba castle) in my hometown Sendai. It was the castle where the first daimyo of Sendai Domain, Date Masamune, lived. But the castle was destroyed repeatedly by earthquakes and fires. The castle was different from others, it was a one-story building. Now there is no castle building, but it's a popular tourist spot. I always think, if there was a castle, Sendai could have attracted more people...
Although, this site is located on the top of small mountain (Aoba mountain), and it provides a fabulous view of Sendai city and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
As an aside, there is a bridge famous for suicides near there. There are many ghost stories from there...
On the last day in Sendai, we visited the ruins of the castle with my family. It was the first time to visit there after the great earthquake for me. There was a heavy and huge statue of a black kite on the stone pedestal previously, but it fell off during the 2011 earthquake!
This must be new.
There is Gokoku Shrine, which is the Sendai branch of the Yasukuni shrine.
I missed to take a photo of a huge part of stone walls, but they were reconstructed and you can feel how great the castle was.
In Sendai, it had just started to bloom cherry blossoms at that time. I was glad that we visited Sendai in such a season. I don't know when we can see this view next time.
Although, this site is located on the top of small mountain (Aoba mountain), and it provides a fabulous view of Sendai city and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
As an aside, there is a bridge famous for suicides near there. There are many ghost stories from there...
On the last day in Sendai, we visited the ruins of the castle with my family. It was the first time to visit there after the great earthquake for me. There was a heavy and huge statue of a black kite on the stone pedestal previously, but it fell off during the 2011 earthquake!
This must be new.
There is Gokoku Shrine, which is the Sendai branch of the Yasukuni shrine.
I missed to take a photo of a huge part of stone walls, but they were reconstructed and you can feel how great the castle was.
There was an old Otemon (gate), but it was also destroyed completely by the fire of Sendai bombing on 10 July, 1945. It was a commanding presence, and I always think that I wanted to see it.
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| Source; Wikipedia |
