The roofed shopping street Hirose-dori starts right across the road from the West Exit of Sendai JR Station and stretches almost until Nishi Park. It’s very comfortable to stroll along in any weather.
On the street you will find all sorts of shops, including large ones like AEON and small speciality ones. Among them is a very nice shop called SHIMANUKI offering handmade Japanese souvenirs like kokeshi dolls famous in Tohoku, ceramic figurines, fine pottery, pictures, silk goods, woodwork, and post cards. Part of the shop is a gallery with different exhibitions that you can observe for free. On my visit there was an exhibition about kokeshi artist Watanabe Kunihiko whom visitors could meet in person.
Other speciality shops include kimono, local pottery, mirrors, youth fashion, expensive delicious sweets and more. Many brand shops are also located on Hirose-dori such as Soft Bank, Zara, Clarie’s, Disney and a few others. Featured discounts stores like DAISO and Don Quijote have quite a large variety of goods.
There are also many different restaurants catering to almost any taste. Ones specialising in Sendai’s famous gyutan beef tongue dishes exist as do other popular Japanese foods such as sushi, gyoza, tempura, and ramen. For home cooking you can always pick up some vegetables from the local market right there on the street.
Hirose-dori is used for public meetings and events too like the "NEWSPAPER CAMPUS 2018 in Sendai" event that I witnessed. At this particular event, Yuzuru Hanyu, the famous figure skater, was announced as the person of the local newspaper “Happy News.” For fun there are TAITO game stations, karaoke bars and all sorts of entertainment. I particularly liked Cartoon Studio with its display of large figures at the entrance.
Strolling along Hirose-dori is always nice as it’s never as crowded as, for example, Shibuya in Tokyo. There are benches for rest and music playing popular jazz tunes. All in all, a lovely place to spend some relaxing window shopping time.
