Sendai Mitsukoshi

photo by Caveman2 · Public domain

photo by Caveman2 · Public domain

In November 1971, at the entrance to the renovated toilets on the fourth floor, the first International Symbol of Access (車いすマーク) ever seen in Japan was put up.

The store opened on 1 April 1933 as ‘三越仙台店’ and was razed to the ground in the bombing of Sendai on 10 July 1945; it reopened, on a smaller scale, as early as 1 August of the same year. The current seven-storey building dates from 1963. The 1971 accessibility symbol, placed on the fourth-floor toilet after work to make it usable by wheelchair users, is remembered as the first to appear on a building anywhere in the country.

Department store in Sendai's Ichibanchō neighbourhood (青葉区一番町四丁目8番15号), opened on 1 April 1933 as ‘三越仙台店’. The building was completely destroyed in the bombing of Sendai on 10 July 1945, and business resumed on a reduced scale on 1 August of the same year. The modern building, with seven floors above ground, was completed in 1963. Since 1 October 2009 the store has been run by the independent company Sendai Mitsukoshi, 100% owned by Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings. It is directly connected to Kōtōdai-kōen metro station, on the Namboku Line.

ℹ️ Open from 10:00 to 19:00, with hours extended to 19:30 for the basement and the first floor, which are given over to food. Connected underground to Kōtōdai-kōen Station; nearby there are 14 partner car parks, with discounts on hourly parking based on what you spend in the store.

🚉 Kotodai-Koen · 4 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · mitsukoshi.mistore.jp · mapfan.com

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