A photo tour into one of Japan's oldest establishments

Location Courtesy: Shoukeikaku, Sendai

Much like the Rajbari in Kolkata, the Shoukeikaku in Sendai is a walk down history and cultural lane. Situated in the Tohoku region, the Shoukeikaku is a beautiful Japanese restaurant built over 100 years ago, that serves authentic Japanese local cuisine. Considered to be the residence of Emperor Showa in 1947, the establishment was later converted into a beautiful restaurant for the public. The restaurant is divided into various rooms that emit the Date culture. If you are looking forward to a calm, relaxing and serene lunch amidst history and culture, the Shoukekikaku is the best option.

Picture courtesy: Aniko Karpati

This double storey establishment is like a maze, which houses the restaurant on the first floor and a museum on the second. Through the detailed guided tour given to us, we were shown secret doors, made especially for the emperor, that could be used as a mode of escape in case of a threat. There were secret adjoining rooms as well which were connected to the emperor's relaxation space, from where his guards could protect him. The picture above is of a room used by the emperor and his wife which overlooked the beautiful gardens of Shoukeikaku. The interesting feature of this room was that it could not be seen from the exterior of the establishment at all. 

The garden that welcomes you at the entrance

The beautiful gardens that could be seen from the second floor

After the tour, we were served matcha cream cheesecake with wine sauce. Now, this cheesecake was definitely one of the major highlights of this trip. Phenomenally light and delicious, this cheesecake tasted so well with the red wine sauce. It was also served with pieces of pear which were most probably soaked in some sort of liquor ( I am guessing wine) which was much loved by our tastebuds. We were then given the option of either green tea or black coffee, I went for the authentic Japanese green tea. 

An amazing feature of this restaurant is that food is served in small little drawers of a chest. On request, the restaurant also serves Halal food.

Matcha Cream Cheese cake with Wine sauce

The chest of food

With our happy little tummies it was now time to try out the imperial guard outfits, in other words, the Samurai outfits. All in all, the Shoukekikaku is a must visit if you are looking for some peace and quiet from your busy life. Opposite this restaurant, there is an onsen which is also a definite go experience when in Japan.

The samurai outfits are available for trial at the entrance.

Trying out the Samurai outfit 

Picture courtesy: Me me me

How to get there

From Tokyo, Sendai is a 90-minute shinkansen ride or a 50-minute flight away.

After you reach Sendai station, there is a free pick up and drop service that you can reserve.

The free shuttle service is available from 10:20-15:00.

In case you are coming in by flight, you may contact the restaurant and they may provide you with a pick and drop service.

Contact details

Phone number: +81- 120-085-077

Email address: mrh@dream.jp

Website: https://shoukeikaku.jp/