Enjoy a cheap drink and snack at Sendai Station! Standing bars, pubs, and takeout from station breweries [Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture]

JR Sendai Station's "station concourse" area boasts numerous restaurants, including Sendai's famous beef tongue restaurants and sushi bars. But did you know that there are also establishments where you can stand and drink?

This time, we'll bring you a firsthand report of our visits to popular standing bars and pubs inside Sendai Station

Please note that the prices mentioned in this article are inclusive of tax as of August 18, 2026

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Where does the "station concourse" area at JR Sendai Station begin and end?

Sendai Station's food court area generally refers to the "tekute Sendai" and "Michinoku Umaimon Dori tekute dining" areas on the first floor of the station building, the area around the central ticket gate on the second floor with souvenir shops and restaurants, the "Gyutan Dori," "Sushi Dori," and "Zunda Komichi" areas on the third floor, and the restaurant area inside the Shinkansen Central Exit ticket gate

However, since the main building and east building of the station complex "S-PAL" are directly connected to the station premises, this article treats them as "station-based" in a broad sense

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Mutouya Kakuchi Puratto (Tekute Sendai, 1st floor, West Exit of Sendai Station)

Mutouya, a liquor store with its main branch in Matsushima, is a retailer that handles local sake and hidden gems from breweries throughout Miyagi Prefecture. As its slogan "Miyagi's Specialty Sake Shop" suggests, it boasts a wide selection of local sake from Miyagi Prefecture

In addition to local sake, we also have a wide selection of craft beers from Miyagi Prefecture and wines from the Tohoku region

The standing bar service offered at the main store can also be enjoyed at the Sendai Station branch, which is bustling with local regulars as well as business travelers and tourists who enjoy drinking while buying local sake as souvenirs

This bar offers non-alcoholic homemade amazake (sweet rice drink) and shakes made with it, as well as salted soft serve ice cream, making it a place where people who don't like alcohol and children can enjoy drinking together

A standing bar where you can sample 50ml of local sake from 25 breweries in Miyagi Prefecture for 400 yen

You can purchase recommended sake from 25 different breweries starting from 50ml, with prices increasing as you buy more: 90ml for 600 yen, and 180ml (1 go) for 900 yen

They also offer a variety of reasonably priced set menus, including a "tasting set" where you can choose three types of high-quality sake, such as Junmai Daiginjo and Kijoshu

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Miyagino Junmai Sake Center Shimauma Sake Shop (Tekute Dining, 1st floor, West Exit of Sendai Station)

On March 28, 2024, a restaurant zone called "Michinoku Umaimon Dori tekute dining" opened on the north side of "tekute Sendai" on the 1st floor of the west exit

There are izakayas and restaurants with ties to the Tohoku region, and many of them are open from 11am to 11pm, so you can enjoy a drink during the day or stop by and relax after work

Located right inside "tekute dining" from the ticket gate side, Shimauma Sake Shop offers both a cash-on-delivery standing bar and a seated bar with tables and counter seats where you can relax and enjoy your drinks

In addition to enjoying the perfect pairing of creative Chinese cuisine with a wide selection of local Miyagi sake, you can also savor original sake brands created in collaboration with local breweries such as "Kawakei Shoten" and "Hagino Shuzo."

Furthermore, "Shimauma Sake Shop" operates eight stores of various types within Aoba Ward, and all of them are popular establishments

Local sake and rice ball set (1,280 yen)

This set, available only in the standing bar area, includes one glass of sake, a rice ball topped with plenty of shredded salmon flakes, Chinese soup, and your choice of one appetizer from the following six options

• Sanriku sardines marinated in sweet and sour sauce
• Sea squirt salted
• Miyagi salmon with salt koji dressing
• Cucumber and Sendai miso mayonnaise shichimi
• Tome/Izunuma Agricultural Products: Snack Ham
• Pickled edamame with sansho pepper

The rice ball comes with pickles and sweet, delicious pickled plums from Zao Town, making it a great value set that can satisfy your hunger or serve as a snack

For this occasion, I selected "Koganezawa" Yamahai Junmai Nama Genshu, an original sake created by Shimauma Sake Shop and Kawakei Shoten, a sake brewery in Kawasaki, as recommended by the shop staff

This sake was brewed using the Yamahai method, which involves dissolving the rice in the koji without grinding the yeast starter rice ("Yamaoroshi"). The result was a fine sake with a rich umami flavor and excellent balance of acidity

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Fermenteria (Tekute Dining, 1st floor, West Exit of Sendai Station)

The name of this shop, located next to "Zebra Liquor Store," is pronounced "Fermenteria." This is a coined word combining "Fermentation" and "eria," the Latin suffix meaning "shop."

This is a unique and innovative "station-based brewery" where you can enjoy freshly brewed "craft sake" on-site and take it to go

Craft Sake "Original" (S size 800 yen) and "Migaki Ichigo" (S size 830 yen)

I sampled the four flavors of craft sake that were on sale, and took home the normal "Original" made from rice and rice koji, and the strawberry-flavored "Migaki Ichigo"

This craft sake with an alcohol content of 5%, which could be called the "baby" version of "Junmai Ginjo sake," has been given the nickname "Sake Baby."

At over 800 yen for a small size (140ml), it's not quite the same as a "senbero" (cheap drinks and snacks) offering, but the sweet and sour, fizzy, and refreshing "Sake Baby" with its delightful rice grain texture is definitely a drink you should try at least once

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Fujiwara-ya Michinoku Sake Journey (S-PAL Sendai East Building, 2nd Floor, Date no Komichi)

This shop is a liquor store located in "Date no Komichi" inside the S-PAL East Building at the east exit of the station, and it sells local sake from the six prefectures of Tohoku. Inside the store, there is a "local sake vending machine" where you can sample 30ml of local sake for 100 yen

Local sake vending machine inside the train station

This vending machine comes equipped with five recommended local sake brands sold in the store. Simply place a plastic cup in the spout, insert a 100 yen coin, and press the button to dispense 30ml

Many users probably forget to place their cups at this time. There was a sign on the vending machine's spout that read, "Have you placed your cup?"

It's a great place to stop by while waiting for a train like the Shinkansen, and you can enjoy a "senbero" (drinking and eating for 1,000 yen) by trying 60ml each of five different local sakes for a total of 300ml

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Kanezakiya Espal Sendai East Building Store (Espal Sendai East Building, 2nd Floor, Date no Komichi)

This is a sister store of "Kanezaki," a maker of sasakama (fish cake) known for its commitment to the original taste of fish paste, without using starch, egg whites, or artificial seasonings

This shop, which has inherited the original name "Kanezakiya" from when it was founded, has a counter that seats about seven people facing the passageway of "Date no Komichi," where you can sit and enjoy the pairing of sasakama (fish cake) and local sake at your leisure

Grilled Sasakama "Kanesasa" Set (500 yen)

Kanesazaki's signature dish, "Kanesasa," is grilled on a bamboo skewer and served with wasabi soy sauce and a broth made from the bones of white fish

Beer (Premium Malt's) and local Miyagi sake are available in 0.5 go (1.5 liter) portions for 600 to 850 yen, and a sake tasting set with three different brands is available for a bargain price of 1,000 yen

Kanezakiya Special Junmai (600 yen) and Hidaka-mi "Summer Junmai Ginjo" (700 yen)

This junmai sake, brewed by Abe Kanshuzo in Shiogama, has a good balance of sweetness and dryness, making it a perfect match for sasakama (fish cake)

The Hidaka-mi "Summer Junmai Ginjo" had an elegant aroma, a deep umami flavor, and a clean finish, and it also paired exceptionally well with the sasakama (fish cake)

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"LiViT" oversees the shops inside the JR Sendai Station building

The stores introduced here, as well as "Gyutan-dori/Sushi-dori," "Zunda-koji," "tekute Sendai," and "tekute dining" within JR Sendai Station, are all operated by "LiViT," a store brand of JR East Tohoku General Service Co., Ltd. They also operate souvenir shops in various locations, providing comprehensive support for dining and shopping at Sendai Station

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summary

Sendai Station offers a variety of places to enjoy alcoholic beverages casually, including standing bars, shops where you can take away products from the station's own brewery, and more. Why not enjoy your own "senbero" (drinking and eating for around 1000 yen) at Sendai Station while waiting for your train, on your way home from work, or as a final stop on your trip?

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