Sendai & Matsushima, Miyagi

Sendai is the biggest city in northeastern Japan. It's also the hometown of Kumiko Mori, a popular singer and entertainer who appearis frequently on stage and TV. She meets up with NHK WORLD reporter Vincent Giry, and they visit many spots connected with the samurai warlord Date Masamune, who founded Sendai some 400 years ago as his castle town and military base. Every summer from August 6-9, the city celebrates the Sendai Tanabata Star Festival. During the three-day event, the covered shopping arcade near Sendai railway station is decorated with around 3,000 massive decorations, over 10 meters high. These colorful decorations are all are made by hand. Kumiko takes Vincent to one of the workshops where they are made. Next they travel to Matsushima, a coastal area known since ancient times as one of the three most beautiful places in Japan and one that Date Masamune loved. It is famous for its views of the more than 260 small islands that dot the bay and is now is a top tourist destination, drawing as many as 3.7 million people a year. Matsushima has many interesting sites, including an island with great spiritual significance, and a Buddhist temple that was rebuilt by Date Masamune and which is designated as a national treasure. On their last day, Kumiko and Vincent visit a small school on a remote island in Matsushima Bay, where they look in on one of the classrooms. The 34 elementary and junior high school students welcome them with a dynamic performance of traditional drumming. At the end of their, trip, they have a chance to sample one of the local delicacies - oysters harvested from the Matsushima Bay.