Azure Travelers Sendai: The Meetup and Four Days in Yamagata and Matsushima

On January 24, 2026, we held our eighth Azure Travelers meetup, the “Sendai Trip,” at Microsoft Base Sendai.

I did not give a talk this time. Instead, I helped behind the scenes with the venue operations. やまささん, the event owner, took care of organizing the social gathering, so most of my work was on-site support.

Before the meetup, I went snowboarding in Yamagata, and the day after the event I made a trip out to Matsushima. As always, I wanted to record both the event and everything I ate and saw along the way.

Table of Contents

• The Meetup
  • Event Overview
  • Scenes from the Day
  • Working Behind the Scenes
  • A Roll of the Dice Sends Us to Hiroshima
• The Journey
  • January 22
  • January 23
  • January 24
  • January 25
• Wrapping Up

The Meetup

Event Overview

Azure Travelers is a community built around a simple idea: travel to different parts of Japan and hold enjoyable meetups together with the local tech community. We began in Sapporo in January 2024, then traveled to Kobe, Yamagata, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Ehime, and Tokyo. Sendai became our eighth destination.

8th Azure Travelers Meetup: Sendai Trip with 株式会社ASAHI Accounting Robot研究所

• Date and time: Saturday, January 24, 2026, 10:30 AM–6:00 PM
• Venue: Microsoft Base Sendai (4th Floor, Shin-Sendai Building, 1-1-30 Omachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai)
• Admission: Free
• Theme: AI
• Hashtag: #AzureTravelers
• Event page: connpass

Posts from attendees are collected in this Posfie recap. It is another good way to revisit the sessions and get a feel for the atmosphere at the venue.

Scenes from the Day

The morning featured an introduction to the community and a panel discussion. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to AI, with sessions on Azure Copilot agents, modernizing applications with GitHub Copilot, energizing regional tech communities, and the Microsoft Agent Framework.

We also held a lightning talk session over snacks that people had brought from around Japan, followed by our customary Azure quiz. It was a full day with a wide range of topics.

Schedule

Azure Travelers is all about meeting people in each destination, so only the two morning sessions were streamed online. The community introduction and panel discussion are available in the YouTube archive.

Working Behind the Scenes

I did not give a presentation this time. Instead, I helped wherever I was needed at the venue, including setup, registration, keeping the program moving, and cleanup.

I often help arrange the social gathering as well, but this time the event owner handled all the preparations. That left me free to focus on supporting the event itself. My role was lighter than usual, and it was a welcome reminder of how much it helps to be able to rely on the rest of the organizing team.

A Roll of the Dice Sends Us to Hiroshima

At Azure Travelers, we have a tradition of rolling a large die to decide where we will go next. We rolled it at the Sendai event, and Hiroshima was chosen as one of our next destinations.

Watching the die together and waiting to see where it will land always gets the whole room excited. This time, we also managed to capture the moment on video.

The Journey

I arrived in Yamagata two days before the meetup to enjoy some snowboarding and local food, then continued on to Sendai. The day after the event, I went sightseeing in Matsushima. Altogether, it was a four-day journey through Yamagata and Miyagi.

January 22

I traveled to Yamagata that day. There was only a light covering of snow around Yamagata Station. I arrived late, so I found a restaurant that was still open and settled in for dinner.

漁師小屋「網元」山形番屋 | Official Website | Tabelog

My first stop was 山形番屋 near the station. I had sashimi and a drink to unwind after the journey. Finding somewhere that still serves a proper meal late at night is always a relief.

中華そばすみ田 山形駅前店 | Tabelog

Afterward, I went to 中華そばすみ田 for ramen. Apparently a late dinner was not enough, so I finished the night with another bowl. I was already overeating on the first day, and that pattern would continue for most of the trip.

January 23

黒伏高原スノーパーク ジャングル・ジャングル | Official Website

That day, I headed to the ski resort with several CSA members. Our destination was 黒伏高原スノーパーク ジャングル・ジャングル.

It’d been six years since I was last on a snowboard. My legs weren’t as steady as they used to be, and my riding was pretty rough. Still, I was happy to be back in the snowy mountains and had a great time snowboarding again after so long.

手打 水車生そば | Official Website | Tabelog

After snowboarding, we went to 水車 in Tendo. The restaurant is famous as the birthplace of tori chuka, and I like it so much that I stop by almost every time I visit Yamagata.

The tori chuka is delicious, but the soba is good too, so this time I ordered tori soba. A hot bowl of noodles was just what I needed after a day out in the cold.

Nikka Whisky Miyagikyo Distillery | Official Website

We then headed to the Miyagikyo Distillery, where I bought a bottle of whisky. I chose one of my favorites: NIKKA SINGLE COFFEY GRAIN WHISKY WOODY & MELLOW.

I often gravitate toward single malts with a sharper aroma, but Miyagikyo also has aromatic and delicious single-grain whiskies. It’s one of my favorite distilleries because I can find bottles like this there.

伊達のいろり焼 蔵の庄 一番町本店 | Official Website | Tabelog

After arriving in Sendai and finishing our preparations for the next day, we went out for the pre-event dinner at 蔵の庄 一番町本店. Fittingly for Sendai, we had seri nabe, a hot pot filled with Japanese parsley.

末廣ラーメン本舗 国分町分店 | Official Website

Later, we went to 末廣ラーメン本舗 国分町分店. I was already full, but I still ordered the fried rice someone had recommended over dinner. Ending with ramen alone would not have been enough for a night on this particular trip.

January 24

It was the day of the meetup. I had breakfast at 朝市寿司 in the Sendai Morning Market. The nigiri was excellent, but the steamed oysters and oyster clam chowder were especially memorable. After enjoying Sendai’s seafood first thing in the morning, I headed to the venue.

朝市寿司 | Official Website | Tabelog

At the meetup, I worked behind the scenes and listened to sessions whenever I had a free moment. Without a talk of my own, I spent less time in front of the room, but keeping the venue running smoothly for attendees and speakers is an important part of organizing an event.

BATSUJI BREWING | Official Website | Tabelog

For lunch, we went to BATSUJI BREWING, where I ordered a craft beer and Napolitan spaghetti. A beer between sessions and a hearty plate of richly seasoned Napolitan made an excellent lunch.

仙台牛タン居酒屋 集合郎 はなれ 仙台駅前店 | Official Website | Tabelog

After the meetup, we held the social gathering at 集合郎 はなれ. The event owner had arranged everything this time, so I was mostly there to enjoy the meal with the other attendees.

王道家直系 鬼道家 | Tabelog

We finished the night at 鬼道家. Of all the ramen I ate in Sendai, this was the bowl that really won me over.

After returning home, I wondered whether the miso ramen at Machida Shoten might taste similar. I tried it and found that it was indeed close to the flavor I liked. I’ve been visiting Machida Shoten more often ever since. Sometimes a bowl of ramen on a trip can even change where you choose to eat back home.

January 25

On the final day, we went sightseeing in Matsushima. We took a sightseeing cruise to view the islands from the water, had lunch at the fish market, and browsed the souvenir shops.

松島さかな市場 | Official Website | Tabelog

For lunch, I had nori ramen. The seaweed aroma really came through, and the bowl made me feel like I was right by the sea.

Browsing the Souvenir Shops

While browsing the souvenir shops, I learned that Miyagi has close ties to Haikyu!!. The shelves were filled with sweets and merchandise inspired by the series, and I unexpectedly found myself in a place that felt like a destination for fans.

Souvenir shops in port towns also seem to have plenty of items featuring cute dogs and cats. I enjoyed looking through them in Matsushima too, even though they were a little different from the local specialties.

We stopped for zunda mochi while walking around. Once we had made the most of Matsushima, we returned to Sendai Station and went our separate ways for a while.

After that, I had more beer and went to an all-you-can-drink wine bar. Then I realized, “I haven’t eaten gyutan on this trip yet,” so I ordered some beef tongue at the end. I kept eating and drinking right to the end, bringing the Sendai journey to a fitting close.

Wrapping Up

The trip began with snow outside Yamagata Station and took me through four winter days in Yamagata and Miyagi: snowboarding for the first time in six years, whisky at Miyagikyo, the meetup in Sendai, and sightseeing in Matsushima.

I did not give a talk at the meetup, and the event owner took care of arranging the social gathering, so my main role was supporting the venue on the day. Even with fewer responsibilities than usual, I still enjoyed working behind the scenes and watching the event unfold up close.

The die we rolled in Sendai also chose Hiroshima as a future destination. A meetup in one city had given us another reason to head to the next.

Along the way, I also got to see several different Shinkansen trains at stations and platforms. Between the food, snowy mountains, whisky, meetup, Matsushima, and trains, this was another packed journey.

Thank you to everyone who spent time with me in Yamagata, Sendai, and Matsushima. See you in the next city.