The coastal plain of Sendai was one of the areas most severely affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. While the area was once populated with farms and home to 1,700 people, today it is home only to a cluster of memorial parks. The Millennium Hope Hills are parks built around thirty-six-foot-tall grass-covered hills formed out of rubble produced by the disaster. They are simultaneously a memorial to the many lost lives, an evacuation shelter (complete with emergency supplies), and part of a system of barriers designed to mitigate the impact of any future tsunami. The view of the ocean and plain from the hilltops makes it easy to understand the scale of the disaster and state of the recovery.

Japanese-language kataribe storytelling guides are available by reservation.