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Reef-chan!!! Rifu's Tourism Character!

At a Glance

Rifu is one of the larger and well-known towns within Miyagi, famous for its Asian pears (Nashi) - and as of recently - wine made from the pears. It also has a somewhat strange offbranch on the JR Tohoku line, which while convenient does lead to many a "why?". 

One of the largest malls within the north of Japan is located here, and was - as of 2020 - recently expanded in size. While the official name is "The AEON Rifu Shopping Centre", most just refer to it as either "AEON" or more rarely "JUSCO".  It contains nearly everything you could ever need - a supermarket, countless clothing stores, restaurants, a movie theatre, and much more!

Rifu is also home to Grandi 21 where many of the sport venues are located.  If you're interested in football (soccer), you might like to know that it's where Japan got knocked out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and where the soccer section of the 2020 Olympic matches were held.  There's also a nice onsen near the stadium.  As part of the complex, there's a swimming pool and other sports facilities. Annually, this is the location of the Color Me Rad Run. If sports or fruit aren't your thing, there's still plenty on offer!
  • Places to Eat
  • Places to Visit
  • Things to Do
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Pastry Shop
Cochon Patisserie Cafe - コションパティスリーカフェ
A popular enough patisserie selling fancy cakes and coffee on the side.
Patisserie Hacchi - パティスリーハッチ
A local patisserie serving fresh desserts daily.
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Bakeries
Ishigama Bakery - 石窯パン工房ばーすでい利府菅谷台本店
Bakery featuring all kinds of freshly baked breads, desserts, and more!
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Restaurants
Maison do France - メゾン・ド・フランス
Perhaps one of the fancier restaurants on the website, this is a truly authentic French dining experience. The older couple who runs the restaurant are quite friendly, and work incredibly hard to prepare your full five course meal.
Lapras Miyagi Pokelid - Minum
​Did you know that Miyagi's Ambassador Pokemon is Lapras? There are 35 decorative Lapras Manhole Covers all over the Sanriku Coast of Miyagi! Rifu is known for it's nashi pears, also known as Asian pears! You can find Minum outside of Rifu City Hall by the billboard!  If you want to find its buddy Plusle check out Shiogama! 
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Shrines
Izusa-Hime Shrine - 伊豆佐比賣神社
A small yet beautiful shrine with a not-so-pleasant story behind it. It's worth a look if you're in the area.
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Arenas
​Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi - キューアンドエースタジアムみやぎ
Probably the most famous of the arenas in Grande 21, the Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi's unique crescent shape pays homage to Date Masamune and represents the Miyagi spirit. The shape is so distinct that it's actually easily spotted from Google Maps even when zoomed out a lot. It is sometimes called Miyagi Stadium colloquially but due to naming rights the official name was changed. This was the football (soccer) venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Annually, this is the location of the Color Me Rad Run.

Sekisui Helm Super Arena - セキスイハイムスーパーアリーナ
The Sekisui Helm Super Arena is not a venue for the Olympics,  but it has a big gym as well as a court for volleyball and basketball. There's also a children's playroom interestingly. The exterior design is two leaves overlapping each other. 
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Parks
Kasenuma Park - 加瀬沼公園
This park is actually in-between Rifu and Tagajo and has huge lawns and places to barbeque. There is a nice area where you can view Kasenuma Lake and there are plenty of trails you can use to jog or stroll. The park hours vary by season and you need to reserve the barbeque pits which are only available in the spring, summer and early fall. 
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Shopping Centers
AEON Mall - Rifu
An absolutely massive mall featuring all you could ever want in a mall. Even comes complete with a fairly large movie theatre! There's also an obstacle course on the top floor you can pay for.