Sendai

Sendai (仙台市, Sendai-shi) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku region, and the second largest city north of Tokyo. In 2010, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyo Date Masamune, and is nicknamed the City of Trees (杜の都, Mori no Miyako); there are about 60 zelkova trees on Jōzenji Street (定禅寺通, Jōzenji dōri) and Aoba Street (青葉通, Aoba dōri).

In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight (光のページェント), lasting through most of December.

On March 11, 2011, coastal areas of the city suffered catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake which triggered a destructive tsunami.

History

Edo period

Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, when the daimyo Date Masamune relocated to Sendai. Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, Iwadeyama. Iwadeyama was located to the north of his territories and was also difficult to access from Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon a major road from Edo, and near the sea. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aoba-yama (Mount Aoba), Sendai after the Battle of Sekigahara. The previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama.

Sendai (disambiguation)

Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Sendai may also refer to:

See also

3133 Sendai

3133 Sendai, provisional designation A907 TC, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer August Kopff at Heidelberg Observatory, southern Germany, on 4 October 1907.

The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,176 days). Its orbit is tilted by 7 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.16. In 2010, two photmetric light-curve observations by the Palomar Transient Factory and by amateur astronomer Ralph Megna at Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station (G79) have rendered a rotation period of 5.78 and 5.75 hours, respectively.

According to the surveys carried out by the U.S. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its NEOWISE mission, the asteroid's surface has an albedo of 0.21 and 0.31, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes an intermediate albedo of 0.24, which is identical to the albedo of the Flora family's namesake, the asteroid 8 Flora.

Coffeehouse

A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment which primarily serves hot coffee, related coffee beverages (e.g., café latte, cappuccino, espresso), tea, and other hot beverages. Some coffeehouses also serve cold beverages such as iced coffee and iced tea. Many cafés also serve some type of food, such as light snacks, muffins, or pastries. Coffeehouses range from owner-operated small businesses to large multinational companies such as Starbucks.

In continental Europe, a café is a traditional type of coffeehouse, but elsewhere the term "café" may also refer to a tea room, "greasy spoon" (a small and inexpensive restaurant, colloquially called a "caff"), transport café, or other casual eating and drinking place. A coffeehouse may share some of the same characteristics of a bar or restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. Many coffee houses in the Middle East and in West Asian immigrant districts in the Western world offer shisha (nargile in Greek and Turkish), flavored tobacco smoked through a hookah. Espresso bars are a type of coffeehouse that specializes in serving espresso and espresso-based drinks.

Coffea

Coffea is a genus of flowering plants whose seeds, called coffee beans, are used to make coffee. It is a member of the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded commodity crops and is an important export product of several countries, including those in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Cultivation and use

Several species of Coffea may be grown for the seeds. Coffea arabica accounts for 75-80 percent of the world's coffee production, while Coffea canephora accounts for about 20 percent.

The trees produce edible red or purple fruits called "cherries" that are described either as epigynous berries or as indehiscent drupes. The cherries contain two seeds, the so-called "coffee beans", which—despite their name—are not true beans. In about 5-10% of any crop of coffee cherries, only a single bean, rather than the usual two, is found. This is called a peaberry, which is smaller and rounder than a normal coffee bean. It is often removed from the yield and either sold separately (as in New Guinea peaberry), or discarded.

Greasy spoon

Greasy spoon is a colloquial term for a small, cheap restaurant or diner typically specialising in fried foods. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term originated in the United States and is now used in various English-speaking countries.

The name "greasy spoon" is a reference to the typically high-fat, high-calorie menu items such as eggs and bacon. The term has been used to refer to a "small cheap restaurant" since at least the 1920s.

United States

Many typical American greasy spoons focus on fried or grilled food, such as fried eggs, bacon, burgers, hash browns, waffles, pancakes, omelettes, deep fried chicken, and sausages. These are often accompanied by baked beans, french fries, coleslaw, or toast. Soups and chili con carne are generally available.

Since the 1970s, many Greek immigrants have entered the business. As a result, gyro and souvlaki meats are now a common part of the repertoire, often served as a side dish with breakfast and as a replacement for bacon or sausage.