Furukawa was re-established as a branch in 2001. Missionaries first were assigned here in the late 1970s but the small area (population 75,000) just north of Sendai has had an off-again on-again history of missionaries assigned and members meeting here. Meetings have been held since mid-2008 at this leased space at Park Hills #101, 1-7-1 Fukunuma, Ohsaki-shi, Miyagi-ken 989-6105. (map) Meetings are held in space rented on the ground floor of this apartment building, located just adjacent to the Touhoku Shinkansen elevated tracks about one mile north of the Furukawa eki (station).

This rented building is currently used for church meetings in Ishinomaki. Prior to around 2005, only the second floor was used as the ground floor was an office building. The meetinghouse is located at Nishiyama Chou 6-39, (map) about a 10-15 minute walk from the eki. This location is right next to the Nishiki-cho neighborhood where the meetinghouse was located in the 1970s. The Ishinomaki Branch meetinghouse was reportedly not severely affected by tsunami flooding from the March 2011 Higashi Nihon Daishinsai disaster.

Izumi Ward building - April 2011 (photo: Roger Lyman)

The Izumi Ward (one of three wards within the city of Sendai) is located about 5 minutes walk from the Yaotome Subway Station, the second-to-last station going north, at Yaotome chuou 4-6-26. (map) This building was completed in 1983 and was expanded in 2006. The new steeple and elevator remodel was done in 2010. Sendai is a city of just over 1 million.

Sendai-Kamisugi-- (map) This good 'ol red brick building located at Kamisugi 1-4-5 (picture taken November 2007) was dedicated in April 1971 and until the 1980s was the only 'church-built' meetinghouse in the mission. Although this building remains mostly unchanged since it was built, a few things have changed--the building in back that used to house six to ten missionaries was used for many years as the Sendai Stake offices, but I learned in 2010 that it is now used as an "outreach center" for fellowshipping activities. Sendai became a stake in November 1980. In 1974 we called this meetinghouse the Sendai Shibu (branch), but now it's simply referred to as the Kamisugi Ward. There used to be a nice tree and lawn along the right side, then a covered bicycle parking area--all of which have been removed to squeeze in more cars. A very large Nihon Kirisuto Kyoudan (Japanese Church of Christ) building is now located nearby, a little closer to the eki, and undoubtedly adds some confusion to descriptions of where the church is located.

The Nagamachi Ward, dedicated in August 1990, is located on the south side of Sendai at Nagamachi Minami 1-19-30, (map) about 10 minutes walk from the second-to last station on the south end of the Sendai Subway, the Nagamachi Minami Station, and about 15 minutes walk from the JR Nagamachi station. The building was enlarged in late 2008 and rededicated April 2009. The remodel included adding the addition on the left, which includes an elevator and classroom, together with a new larger more traditional-looking steeple. The building was previously a tan color, but when remodeled became this whiter color-a big improvement!

The Tagajo Ward building is the mission's newest, dedicated in February 2001. The building is located about 5 minutes walk from the Tagajo eki (station) on the Senseki-sen (line), on the street behind a local landmark, Royal Pachinko Hall, which is shaped like a big ship. The address is Yahata 4-4-56. (map) Tagajo city and its next-door neighbor, Shiogama, are famous for nearby Matsushima (pine-islands). They are both cities of less than 100,000 people and are relatively densely populated next to the harbor that serves the Sendai area.
Tagajo's meetinghouse was the most severely damaged by the tsunami that occurred on 11 Mar 2011. The building's front glass doors cracked, allowing water to flood the ground floor to a level about five feet deep. Meetings are temporarily being held at Kamisugi until repairs/refurbishments are completed.

The Honbu (mission home) was completed in December 1976 after five months of construction. Mission offices and staff living quarters are in the building on the left. The building on the right houses the dendoubu kaichou (mission president (prior to 2006 the term dendou buchou was used)) and his family and also includes guest quarters for visiting church authorities. It is located near the Niseki Byoin (Japan Red Cross Hospital) at Yagiyama Minami 3-1-5. (map)

Historic Honbu
From when the mission was created in 1974 until the new honbu was completed, the Mission Offices occupied the far left two units on the second floor of this apartment building. Missionaries assigned to the mission offices lived in apartments on the third floor, and the mission president lived in a rented house nearby. The address is Mukaiyama 3-1-8 (Shogetsu Biru), (map) and it is located near the Yagiyama Iriguchi bus stop on the way to the permanent honbu.

Composite Sendai Area LDS Buildings Map

Link back to Meetinghouse Index Map.