tohokuprefecture
Yamagata
Yamagata is a mountain prefecture on the Sea of Japan side of the Tohoku region, known for its onsen, its sacred mountains and its fruit, with its capital, Yamagata city, about two and a half hours from Tokyo on the Yamagata Shinkansen.
- Prefecture
- Yamagata
- Region
- Tohoku
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
Onsen towns in the valleys, temples on the mountains, and orchards in between.
Yamagata is a prefecture of basins and mountains, drained by the Mogami River, which runs the length of it to the Sea of Japan at Sakata. Its valleys are planted with orchards, and it grows most of the cherries in Japan, along with pears, grapes and the rice of the Shonai plain. In the Edo period, the safflower grown here was carried down the Mogami and shipped to Kyoto for the red dyes of kimono and cosmetics, and the merchants who traded it left fine houses and a taste for the culture of the capital.
It is above all a prefecture of onsen. Almost every town has its spring, and Ginzan Onsen, a village of wooden ryokan of the Taisho era along a narrow river, lit by gas lamps at dusk, is one of the most beautiful onsen towns in Japan. The sacred landscape is as strong: Yamadera, the temple of Risshaku-ji, clings to a cliff above the Yamagata basin, and in the west the three mountains of Dewa Sanzan have been a centre of the yamabushi, the mountain ascetics, for fourteen centuries.
Basho walked through Yamagata in 1689 and wrote some of his best known poems here. In the south, Yonezawa was the castle town of the Uesugi lords and gives its name to one of the great beefs of Japan, and Tendo, near the capital, makes almost all of the country's shogi pieces by hand.
see and do
What to see in Yamagata
Ginzan Onsen
A village of three and four storey wooden ryokan of the Taisho era facing each other across the Ginzan River, with a waterfall at the head of the valley and the old silver mine that gave the place its name.
Yamadera
The mountain temple of Risshaku-ji, founded in 860, reached by a stone stair of about a thousand steps through cedar to halls set on the cliff and a view across the valley, where Basho wrote his poem of the cicadas.
Dewa Sanzan
The three sacred mountains of the Shonai region, with the five-storey pagoda of Mount Haguro among the cedars and a stair of 2,446 steps to the shrine at the top.
The Mogami River
Japan's great river of the north, travelled through its gorge in flat-bottomed boats steered by boatmen who sing the river songs, as Basho travelled it.
Yonezawa
The castle town of the Uesugi clan, with the Uesugi Shrine on the site of the castle, the Uesugi Museum, and the marbled Yonezawa beef the town is known for.
Bunshokan
The former prefectural office in Yamagata city, a brick building of 1916 in the English Renaissance style with a clock tower, restored and open to visitors.
Tendo
An onsen town near the capital that makes the great majority of Japan's shogi pieces, each one cut and lettered by hand.
Sakata and the Sankyo Soko
The rice port at the mouth of the Mogami, with its row of wooden rice warehouses of 1893 behind tall zelkova trees and the house of the Homma family, once the largest landowners in Japan.
experiences
The best of Yamagata
A night at Ginzan Onsen
An evening in a wooden ryokan on the river, with an onsen of the valley's own spring, a dinner of Yonezawa beef and mountain vegetables, and a walk along the river under the gas lamps.
Yamadera with a guide
The stone stair to the halls of Risshaku-ji at an easy pace, with a guide who explains the Tendai faith and reads Basho's poem with you at the place it was written.
The cherries of Yamagata
An afternoon in an orchard of the Yamagata basin, picking the fruit from the trees with the family who grows it, when the cherries are on the branch.
Shojin ryori on Mount Haguro
A dinner of the vegetarian cuisine of the yamabushi in a pilgrims' lodging at the foot of Mount Haguro, made from the wild plants of the sacred mountains.
plan your visit
Yamagata on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Three nights make a good crossing of Yamagata: one at Ginzan Onsen, one in the Yamagata basin for Yamadera, and one in the west for Dewa Sanzan and Tsuruoka.
- Getting there
- By the Yamagata Shinkansen from Tokyo to Yamagata city in about two and a half hours, and to Oishida, forty minutes from Ginzan Onsen, in about three. Sendai is about an hour from Yamagata by car or train, and Shonai Airport, an hour from Haneda, serves Dewa Sanzan.
- Pairs well with
- Yamagata is crossed most from Sendai: over the mountains to Yamadera, north to Ginzan Onsen, and down the Mogami River to the Shonai plain and Dewa Sanzan.Ginzan OnsenYamaderaDewa SanzanSendaiMiyagiMatsushima
journeys
Yamagata on a private journey
We bring guests to Yamagata on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Yamagata: questions answered
What is Yamagata famous for?
Yamagata is famous for Ginzan Onsen, the cliff temple of Yamadera, the sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan, its cherries and Yonezawa beef.
How do you get from Tokyo to Yamagata?
By the Yamagata Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, about two and a half hours to Yamagata city. Ginzan Onsen is reached from Oishida station, about three hours from Tokyo.
How many days do you need in Yamagata?
Three nights let you see Ginzan Onsen, Yamadera and Dewa Sanzan at an easy pace, with one night in each part of the prefecture.
Is Ginzan Onsen in Yamagata?
Yes. Ginzan Onsen is in Obanazawa, in the north east of Yamagata Prefecture, about forty minutes by car from Oishida station on the Yamagata Shinkansen.
What fruit is Yamagata known for?
Cherries above all: Yamagata grows most of the cherries in Japan, and it is also known for its La France pears, grapes and peaches.
Can Yamagata be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Yamagata included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Yamagata, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Yamagata, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.