Sendai Airport — Natori, Japan

Sendai Airport, serving the city of Sendai and the broader Tohoku region of northern Japan, became one of the most widely broadcast images of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster when floodwaters swept across its runways and surrounding fields, an event captured live by television helicopters and replayed around the world. The airport, located in Natori just south of Sendai, was forced to close entirely in the disaster's immediate aftermath, with debris and seawater covering much of the airfield, yet it reopened for limited operations within weeks and returned to full domestic and select international service over the following months and years. SDJ today connects to central Sendai via a dedicated rail line, the Sendai Airport Access Line, making it a convenient gateway to a region known for hot springs, mountain scenery, and historical sites tied to feudal-era daimyo Date Masamune, who founded the city centuries earlier.