SS30

Completed in February 1989 in central Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. A 31-story, 143-metre office tower designed by Nikken Sekkei, it was the first building in the Tohoku region to exceed 100 metres and became a symbol of Sendai's designation as a government-designated city.

Use

Office tower

Area

Aoba Ward, Sendai

Completed

1989

Floors

31 above ground, 3 below

Height

143 m

Total floor area

approx. 79,392 m²

Architect

Nikken Sekkei

Tohoku’s First Skyscraper

Chuo 4-chome, Aoba Ward, Sendai. In the urban core where Hirosedori and Aobadori — two of central Sendai’s broad, tree-lined avenues — converge near the western approach from the station, SS30 rises 143 metres over the city. The tower was completed in February 1989, designed by Nikken Sekkei, with 31 floors above ground and three basement levels.

The name SS30 draws from Sendai’s initial, the occasion of its construction — the city’s simultaneous centennial and elevation to government-designated city status — and a reference to the upper residential floors numbered around the thirtieth level. When the building was completed, no structure in the Tohoku region had previously exceeded 100 metres. That fact alone made SS30 a marker of urban ambition, a statement that Sendai had arrived at a scale commensurate with its status as the region’s largest city.

The building was developed by Sumitomo Life Insurance and opened with a mix of office floors, restaurants, a wedding facility, and a public observation deck in the upper storeys. The slender silhouette has since become a fixed point in Sendai’s skyline — visible from the ruins of Sendai Castle on Aoba Hill, and from the elevated platforms of JR Sendai Station.

From Anniversary Symbol to Urban Fixture

Sendai received government-designated city status in 1989, the same year SS30 opened. The alignment was not coincidental; the tower was part of a broader wave of civic investment marking the city’s centennial. Building ambition into the urban fabric was a common expression of municipal confidence in Japan’s late-bubble period, and SS30 carried that meaning with particular directness.

The building’s total floor area of approximately 79,000 square metres positions it as a substantial mid-sized tower by Tokyo standards, but significant within the Tohoku context. For over three decades it has functioned as a central address for Sendai-based business. In 2017, United Urban Investment Corporation acquired the property, bringing SS30 under REIT management — a transition common to first-generation urban office towers as institutional investors consolidate core city assets. The change in ownership has not altered the building’s public role or appearance.

Summary

SS30, completed in 1989, is a 31-floor, 143-metre tower and the first building in the Tohoku region to exceed 100 metres in height. Designed by Nikken Sekkei and timed to coincide with Sendai’s centennial and government-designated city designation, it remains a reference point on the city’s skyline. A visit to Sendai pairs naturally with the Sendai Station area arcades and the zelkova-lined boulevard of Aobadori. For accommodation in Sendai, browse Rakuten Travel.