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Over 100 hot springs -
Mystique mountains
Yamagata prefecture, which is situated on the west-most part of
Tohoku region, has, since long ago, been an important marine
transportation spot with developed Japan Sea routes. It has many
cities with long history like Yamagata, Shinjo, Tsuruoka and Yonezawa,
so naturally there are many historical temples and shrines including
Risshaku-ji Temple and Kaminoyama Castle, in addition to quite a
number of traditional arts and crafts represented by lacquer ware and
die cast.
It is blessed with natural scenic points: Mogami-gawa River, which
forms the vast Shonai Plain at its lower part and then flows into the
Japan Sea; Zao Mountan Range, which was an object of mountain
beliefs/worship; and mountains like Dewa Sanzan Mountains and Mt.
Chokai. The total area of natural parks including Bandai Asahi
National Park and Zao, Choukai and Kurigoma Quasi-National Parks reach
17% of all Yamagata land area.
Yamagata has more than 100 hot springs. It also hosts many events such
as Yamagata City's Hanagasa-matsuri Festival and Tendo City's human
shogi, or chess. Yamagata is attractive also because of its tasty
specialties: rice farmed on Shonai Plain, locally brewed sake and wine
nurtured by clear air and water, soba, fruits like cherries, grapes,
and Shonai persimmons, and fresh seafood such as cods and oysters. In
Yamagata, you can also enjoy sports like paragliding and skiing, and
outdoor recreations such as trekking.
Getting there
About 55 minutes from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Yamagata Airport.
About 1 hour 20 minutes from Kansai International Airport to Yamagata
Airport. About 40 minutes from Yamagata Airport to Yamagata Station by
bus. About 2 hours 30 minutes from Tokyo Station to Yamagata Station
by JR Yamagata Shinkansen Line.
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Dewa Sanzan
Great and hallowed land for mountaineering asceticism - Solemn
atmosphere with forbidden disclosure and photography
Mt. Gassan, Mt. Haguro-san and Mt. Yudono-san are collectively
called the Dewa San-zan, or Three Sacred Mountains of Dewa, and are
located within the Bandai-Asahi National Park in central Yamagata.
The Dewa San-zan boasts the oldest history of mountain worship in
Japan, and ascetic devotees called Yamabushi pay reverence wearing
the traditional white robe and diadem even today. Only Mt. Haguro-san
is accessible throughout the year, while Mt. Gassan is closed from
early autumn to early summer and Mt. Yudono-san is closed from
autumn to spring.
Mt. Haguro-san is 414 meters high and surrounded with a dense forest
of cedars that starts from the Zuishin-mon Gateway. Beyond the stone
stairway approach that is dark even during the daytime, you can see
a shingle-roofed, plain wooden five-story pagoda, a national
treasure. The Sanjingo-saiden Shrine that enshrines the three
mountains together near the top of Mt. Haguro-san has a 28-meter
thick thatched roof, and the interior is completely covered with
Japan lacquer, a sight that is well worth seeing.
At the top of Mt. Gassan at an altitude of 1,984 meters, there is
the Gassan-jinja Shrine with its excellent view as well as the
famous Mida-ga-hara Marsh where you can enjoy nikko-kisuge (yellow
alpine lilies), black lilies, mizubasho (Japanese skunk cabbages)
and other marsh vegetation. Mt. Yudono-san at an altitude of 1,504
meters is deemed the ultimate ascetic disciplinary practice ground.
The Yudono-san-jinja Shrine is revered as hallowed land with
forbidden disclosure. It is a highly mysterious shrine and
photography is forbidden even today.
Getting there
Take the JR Joetsu Shinkansen Line for 2 hours from Tokyo
Station to Niigata Station. Transfer to a Limited Express Train of
the JR Haetsu Honsen Line for 1 hour 50 minutes from Niigata Station
to Tsuruoka Station. Take a bus for 55 minutes from Tsuruoka Station
to the top of Mt. Haguro-san, or for 1 hour 17 minutes to the 8th
station of Mt. Gassan.
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Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring
Famous hot spring that healed the fatigue of silver miners -
Beautiful dark blue porcelain made from clay rocks of the Ginzan,
the silver mountain
Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring is located along the Ginzan-gawa River
in Obana-zawa in Yamagata Prefecture bordering Miyagi Prefecture.
Graceful three- to four-story wooden inns stand in a row on both
sides of the limpid stream of the Ginzan-gawa River that gives off
steam from the hot spring. It has the air of a hermitage village.
The name Ginzan means "sliver mountain," because a silver mine was
discovered there around 500 years ago. This hot spring town makes
you feel like you have strayed off into a movie scene in a Japanese
period adventure film.
The Shirogane-koen Park with a promenade at the end of the street
lined with inns is the best course for a relaxed walk after you have
enjoyed the hot spring. You will enjoy the sights of 22-meter high
Shirogane-no-taki Falls at the entrance, Raion-no-taki Falls
upstream, Choja-keikoku Valley with its monolithic riverbed, and
Nobezawa-Ginkodo silver mine cave where you can take a 30-minute
adventure tour through illuminated mine tunnels.
In 1980, production of the evanescent porcelain Kaminohata-yaki
pottery was resumed. Legend has it that this pottery was produced
only for 10 years from 1831. It is made from the clay rocks unique
to Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring. You can see this beautiful dark blue
porcelain here.
Getting there
Take the JR Tohoku and Yamagata Shinkansen Line for 3 hours and
2 minutes from Tokyo Station to Oishida Station. Then take a bus for
40 minutes from Oishida Station to Ginzan-onsen.
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Shirabu and Tengen-dai
Plateau hot spring at an altitude of 850 meters - Sports fields that
you can enjoy at all seasons
Shirabu-onsen Hot Spring is located along the gorges of
Omasu-gawa River at the southern end of Yamagata on a 850-meter-high
plateau. It is located in the mountains of the Azuma Mountain Range
that separates Yamagata and Fukushima Prefectures. It is one of the
Oshu San-taka-yu, or best three plateau hot springs in the Oshu
(Tohoku, the northeastern) region, along with Zao-onsen and
Takayu-onsen Hot Springs.
Fresh greenery in spring and coloring leaves in autumn are
magnificent, and trees covered with frozen fog, in particular,
attract many skiers in winter. You can enjoy fishing for sweetfish,
chars and mountain trout in the streams. At the 50-meter-high
Shirabu-otaki Falls, the water falls over the rocks in two levels.
They look like drapes of sheer white cloth, hence the name Shirabu,
meaning "white cloth."
The Tengen-dai Ropeway starts from the Shirabu Yumoto Station at the
end of the Shirabu-onsen Hot Spring Resort area. You can enjoy an
aerial walk for 4 minutes looking down on a sea of foliage on the
way to the Tengen-dai Plateau which has an altitude of 1,350 meters.
The plateau is a treasure-house of alpine plants and a place where
you can enjoy high altitude marsh trekking through the alpine
meadows, mountain bike cycling, grass skiing in summer and winter
sports on powder snow in winter to your heart's content.
Getting there
Fifty-five minutes from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Yamagata
Airport. An hour 15 minutes from Osaka Itami Airport. Take the JR
Tohoku or Yamagata Shinkansen Line for 2 hours and 15 minutes from
Tokyo Station to Yonezawa Station. Take a bus for 45 minutes from
Yonezawa Station to Shirabu-onsen Hot Spring.
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Yamagata City and its
surroundings
Ka-jo Castle Park, noted for cherry blossoms - Mountain temple
Risshaku-ji, boasting a long history of 1100 years
Yamagata City, located in the center of Yamagata Prefecture, is
a castle town that has developed since the middle of the 15th
century. In Ka-jo Castle Park, noted for its cherry blossoms, are
moats and stonewalls recalling scenes of those days when the castle
was being built. In the city there are also the Bunsho-kan Hall in
the British Renaissance style and various Western-style brick
buildings, including theYamagata Kyoiku-shiryokan (Yamagata
Educational Museum), designated as an important cultural property.
Not a few seasonal events are also held, such as the
Hanagasa-matsuri Festival (Flower-adorned hat Festival) in summer,
considered to be one of the four greatest festivals in the Tohoku
region (the northeastern region), the Benibana-matsuri Festival
(Safflower Festival), and the Aki-no-Imoni-kai Festival (Potato
Boiling Party Festival) in autumn. Small, traditional-style paper
umbrellas make a wonderful souvenir.
Risshaku-ji Temple in the northeastern part of Yamagata City is one
of the prominent temples in the Tohoku region, and was reportedly
founded in 860. The whole of Mt. Hoju-san is the precinct of the
temple, where ancient trees grow luxuriantly. Everywhere in the vast
temple area, you can find rock caves and queerly shaped rocks,
eroded by wind and water, as well as many other temple buildings,
including the Konpon-chudo.
Tendo City, adjacent to Yamagata City to the north, is noted for
producing shogi pieces (or traditional Japanese chessmen), which
account for 95 percent of the total production in Japan. Ningen
Shogi held during the Cherry Blossom-matsuri Festival is a shogi
chess match in which the pieces are people dressed in traditional
warrior garb. This adds poetic charm to the season of spring. You
can watch the demonstration of shogi piece making, and can also try
your hand at making an original shogi piece yourself (advance
booking is necessary) to bring back as a souvenir.
Getting there
Two hours 48 minutes to Yamagata Station from Tokyo Station by
the JR Yamagata Shinkansen Line, and 5 hours 13 minutes from
Shin-Osaka Station, with a change at Tokyo Station, by the JR
Tokaido and Yamagata Shinkansen Line.
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Yonezawa
Cloth weaving and sake brewing techniques carried on to the present
- Enjoy highest-quality Yonezawa beef
Yonezawa, in the south of Yamagata Prefecture, is a central city
in the Yonezawa Basin, and the capital of the distinguished Uesugi
family's fief since the 17th century. In the city you can find
Uesugi-Jinja Shrine in the ruins of Yonezawa Castle, Uesugi-ke
Byosho (Uesugi Family Shrine), and other historic sites related to
the Uesugi family. There is also a row of old houses and
Buke-yashiki (samurai residences) along the street. The techniques
of Yonezawa textile weaving and sake (rice wine) brewing have been
carried on to the present-day.
In the Yonezawa Historical Textile Museum which exhibits
fine-quality pongee Yonezawa textile, you can learn the historical
context in which the textile industry encouraged young men and women
of good families to participate, as one of the policies to promote
production, and it was developed as a domestic industry to elevate
the region to the status of one of the greatest textile weaving
centers in Japan. In Sasano-Mingei-Kan (Folkcraft Museum), you can
watch traditional Sasano bamboo carving with a unique knife. You can
also enjoy painting hawk carvings called Otaka (Hawk) Poppo (Advance
booking is necessary).
In the Uesugi-matsuri Festival held in early summer, a mock battle
at Kawanaka-jima is held with a dozen or so mounted warriors and
hundreds of armor-clad warriors participating in accordance with the
traditional rituals of the Warring State Period of the 16th century.
The festival is crowded with many spectators.
Famous Yonezawa beef is considered to be among the highest-quality
Japanese beef. You can taste it in the form of sukiyaki, steak or
shabu-shabu (a hot-pot dish). Commemorative souvenirs are readily
available from safflower-based lipsticks or soap to Yonezawa textile
kimono to small items.
Getting there
Two hours 15 minutes to Yonezawa Station from Tokyo Station by
the JR Yamagata Shinkansen Line, and 5 hours from Shin-Osaka
Station, with a change at Tokyo Station, by the JR Tokaido and
Yamagata Shinkansen Line.
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Zao
Winter
sports paradise where you can enjoy the spectacular sight of
ice-covered trees
Zao, on the Yamagata-Miyagi prefectural border, is a mountain
park centered in the Zao Mountain Range. Here you can enjoy the
beauty of nature when you visit the mysterious Okama crater lake
which is also called Goshiki-numa (five-color marsh) since its water
color changes several times in a day, and Zao Shizen-shokubutsu-en
(botanical garden), a treasure house of alpine plants. Aboard the
ropeway car, you can get a bird's eye view of the whole of the
Yamagata Basin. You can also enjoy a night view and the starry sky
from a lodge or inn.
If you prefer outdoor sports, you can enjoy camping and trekking
either in the verdant greens of spring or the scarlet-tinged leaves
of autumn, have a horse-riding lesson at the International Horse
Riding Club at the foot of the mountain, or go paragliding at Bo-daira.
In winter, Zao turns into a Mecca for winter sports such as skiing
and snowboarding. Skiing while admiring a cluster of ice-covered
trees or coniferous trees on which water drops and snow have frozen,
is particularly exhilarating.
If you prefer staying indoors, Zao-onsen Hot Spring at the mouth of
Zao National Park is recommended. It has been long been known as one
of the best hot springs where you can enjoy an open-air bath and
sample the public hot baths, such as the large open-air bath that
can accommodate 200 people at a time. As for eating, you can taste
Mongolian barbecue, a pheasant meat Shinzan-nabe dish, a char dish,
and boiled potatoes. If you are interested in Japanese handicrafts,
you had better visit Miyagi-Zao Kokeshi-Kan where you can try your
hand at painting a traditional Kokeshi doll, a simple wooden doll.
Getting there
Two hours 48 minutes to Yamagata Station from Tokyo Station by
the JR Yamagata Shinkansen Line, and 5 hours 13 minutes from
Shin-Osaka Station, with a change at Tokyo Station, by the JR
Tokaido and Yamagata Shinkansen Line. Fifty-five minutes to
Zao-onsen Hot Spring from Yamagata Station by bus.
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Information
provided by Japan National Tourist Organization.
