The east entrance to Sendai Station was redesigned and built last year. 10 years ago, there was practically nothing there, just a flight of stairs, a small parking lot and a taxi stand. Now, there's an amusement center, McDonalds, Starbucks, a building full of restaurants, a concert venue, and one of my favorite hangouts, Yodobashi (a camera, electronics, multimedia superstore).

This is the view that greets most people who come to Sendai when they first step out of the train station. The first time I saw this view was more than 13 years ago, when I was still a teenager. I practically spent all my years in college in this city and experienced a whole lot of things associated with college life here. Now, I'm still here and I still love the place. It doesn't have the modern chaos of cities like Tokyo or Osaka or the inconvenience of the 'inaka' (countryside), it's just right, not too big, not too small...just right.