Sendai Akiu Onsen Takinoyu

Sendai Akiu Onsen Takinoyu is one of the premier hot spring destinations serving Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region and the historic castle city that was the seat of the powerful Date clan, whose most celebrated lord Date Masamune — the One-Eyed Dragon — built the Aoba Castle on the forested bluffs above the Hirose River and created a domain of extraordinary cultural ambition that sent the first Japanese diplomatic mission to Rome and Spain in 1613. Akiu Onsen itself is a traditional spa valley south of Sendai acclaimed since the late Heian period, featuring the dramatic Akiu Otaki waterfall designated one of Japan's hundred finest waterfalls and the Rairaikyo gorge where vermilion autumn foliage reflects in the clear mountain pools. The sodium-bicarbonate thermal waters of Takinoyu have welcomed generations of Sendai citizens seeking weekend recovery in a beautiful mountain valley whose distinguished history connects the greatest city of Tohoku to one of its most celebrated ancient hot spring retreats.