Arai Station is the eastern starting point of the Sendai Subway Tozai Line and the gateway to the eastern coastal area of Sendai, which was severely damaged by the tsunami. The community center, which is right at the station, was established as a place to disseminate to the world the lessons learned and wisdom gained from the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, providing opportunities for communication about the disaster to people from many different backgrounds who pass through the station.
The community space on the first floor features a 3D topographic map, plus slides and related books for learning about Sendai’s eastern coastal area. The exhibition room on the second floor has a permanent exhibition that shows the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami and the state of restoration and reconstruction in the city, plus special exhibitions that present the natural disaster through various lenses. A range of exhibitions have been held so far, including photographs of life and landscapes in the eastern coastal area of Sendai City before the earthquake, and scientific displays that answer questions about natural phenomena such as earthquakes and tsunamis. There is a rooftop garden on the third floor where visitors can take a break, which is also used as an event space.
A unique exhibit is the Sendai Coast Illustration Map on the second floor. Illustrator Junko Sato, who lives in Sendai, has created an “updating” map of the coastal area that draws out the memories of visitors who are allowed to post sticky notes about their past memories of those places, making it a participatory exhibition.
The “Our 3.11” exhibit on the landing of the staircase connecting the first and second floors invites visitors to write their experiences of that fateful day on the front of a strip of paper, and on the back write their wishes for the future, which they hang on the wall. Currently, there are over 800 strips of paper. Each person who stops by plays an important role in ongoing activities to disseminate information.

Languages available: English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Thai
• Pamphlets available in English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, and Thai
• Some exhibits are written in both Japanese and English.