Hostel KIKO, northern Japan’s largest guesthouse, opened in 2018 near Sendai Station. It has thirteen rooms: a combination of shared dormitory-style bunks, private rooms, and large common spaces. The hostel hosts weekly cooking events where local Japanese residents, foreign residents, and travelers meet up and learn how to cook Japanese, halal, and other cuisines. In addition to the cooking meetups, Hostel Kiko also hosts numerous other social events, from international exchanges to walking tours introducing the history of the local neighborhood.