Miyagi Prefecture

(June 26, 2011) This week’s article is about Miyagi Prefecture which is part of an area that has been has been in the news a lot since March. Sendai and the cities nearest it that were devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are in Miyagi Prefecture. Sendai, the nearest major city to the epicenter, is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and is one of two cities north of Tokyo, along with Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido, with a population greater than one million. Miyagi Prefecture with its 36 towns and cities offered a rich history and cultural experience to visitors prior to the earthquake and tsunami.  Matsushima which is located on Sendai Bay a half hour by train northeast of Sendai was noted for its scenic beauty and was designated as one of the three most scenic coastal places in Japan.  The bay at Matsushima was dotted with hundreds of pine clad islands. My wife, Kayo, and I took a sightseeing boat tour through the bay some twenty years ago with Tamami Saito who had attended Stillwater High School as a Rotary Exchange Student a few years earlier. There was great concern for Tamami and her family for several weeks after the tragedy but she and her family were eventually found to be okay.  No doubt Matsushima suffered heavy damage as did the entire coastline of Miyagi Prefecture.  Sendai was home to three professional sports teams, the Rakuten Golden Eagles baseball team, the Vegalta Sendai soccer team and the Sendai 89ers basketball team. One of the two Rotary International exchange students from Sendai we hosted in March 2010 was a involved with the Rakuten Golden Eagles is some capacity, maybe as a bat girl, and she loved it.