Yamagata
Introduction
Yamagata is the capital of Yamagata Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The city spreads across a wide area of roughly 381 square kilometres, and its population is spread thinly enough that much of it remains open country rather than dense urban fabric.
Before you go
Yamagata has drawn outside visitors for centuries, largely because of Mount Zao's hot springs and Yamadera, the mountain temple that Matsuo Bashō reached on his journey north in 1689 and commemorated in a famous haiku about cicadas seeping into rock. Many travellers still come for Yamadera first and branch out from there. The city sits in a valley between mountains, which makes summers hotter than you might expect for the north — hot and humid, with autumn colour arriving in late October and peaking in early November, a period when Yamadera is especially busy. Winters are snowy, the Mount Zao ski season starts around mid-December, and the Zao "Snow Monsters" are usually at their best in February. Before you arrive, it helps to know where to find information. Inside Yamagata Station, in the waiting area across from the ticket gate, the Yamagata City Tourist Information Center has staff who can answer questions and pull out pamphlets and travel information for you, though there are not many you can simply grab yourself. If you would rather browse on your own, the Yamagata Tourist Information office at Kajo Central, outside the station's Nishiguchi exit, offers a much larger selection of visible guides and pamphlets alongside staff. The local tourist association also runs a Japanese-only guide site with integrated Google Translate, and the city has official English-language information pages on Matcha.Getting there
Yamagata Airport (GAJ) in Higashine handles domestic flights from Osaka (Itami), Tokyo (Haneda) and Nagoya (Komaki), but flying directly to Yamagata can be very expensive. Sendai is served by more airports and is typically significantly cheaper, so a common approach is to fly into Sendai and continue by train; from Sendai Airport Station to Yamagata Station takes a little over two hours. By rail, the Yamagata Shinkansen runs from Tokyo to Yamagata in about 2 hr 45 min and continues onward to Shinjo, though from Fukushima onward it travels on ordinary track at Limited Express speeds. From Sendai, kaisoku (rapid) trains on the JR Senzan Line take about 1 hour 20 minutes, while the local train takes about 1 hour 40 minutes. JR Bus Tohoku also runs an overnight service, the Sakuranbo, from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, a trip of roughly 6 hr 15 min.Getting around
Most of Yamagata is centred around the JR station in the middle of town, which makes the central area convenient on foot and serves as your natural anchor for getting around. Within the city, the practical options are buses, taxis, and rental bicycles; there is no metro or tram network, so plan on buses and walking as your main ways of moving around town. Yamako Bus (山交バス) operates city services, and English timetables are available, which makes planning easier if you don't read Japanese. Most of the most popular tourist destinations have bus routes running to various areas around town, including places further out such as Yamadera and Zao Onsen, and on weekends and holidays during the open season some of the Zao Onsen buses terminate at the Okama Crater. Taxis are a straightforward fallback, particularly for trips that don't line up with bus schedules, and rental bicycles suit the compact central area.
For Yamadera, it may be more convenient to travel by train rather than bus: Yamadera Station is less than twenty minutes from Yamagata Station on the JR Senzan Line, which runs all the way to Sendai, and the temple entrance is a five-minute walk from the station past many souvenir shops. By car, Yamadera is about twenty-five minutes northeast of Yamagata Station at the junction of Highway 19 and Highway 62, with a large parking lot near Yamadera Station and smaller lots closer to the temple complex. If you're arriving from further afield, the Yamagata Shinkansen runs between Tokyo Station and Shinjo Station and stops at Yamagata, while JR Senzan Line rapid and local trains connect Sendai with Yamagata. Yamagata Airport in Higashine has domestic flights, but flying into Sendai and continuing by train is often cheaper; JR Bus Tohoku also runs the overnight Sakuranbo service from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.
Where to stay
Nearly every hotel in Yamagata sits around Yamagata Station, so basing yourself there keeps you within easy reach of the trains and the city's central services. The area is dominated by practical, business-style accommodation rather than resort properties, which means you can choose largely on budget and location rather than on amenities.
- Hotel Limoges
- Toyoko Inn Yamagataeki Nishiguchi
- Hotel Alpha-1 Yamagata
- Hotel Route Inn Yamagataekimae
- Hotel East One
- Hotel Green Tohoku
Several of these places offer single rooms, making them a reasonable fit if you are travelling alone, and the cluster around the station means you can compare a handful of options on foot before deciding. Book early in busy periods, as the choice is concentrated in this one district.
Food & drink
< p>Yamagata is known for its ramen, and the type said to originate here is hiyashi ramen, characterised by its cold broth. It is especially popular in the summertime, though you can eat it year-round. For a sit-down bowl, try Ryushanhai or Ramen Uchoten Evolution, which serves original ramen dishes alongside gyoza and other foods. If you head out to Yamadera, look for tama-kon: balls of konnyaku cooked in soy sauce and served on a stick, sold at the base of the temple and said to give you the stamina to reach the temple atop the mountain. Be aware that the mustard served with it is Japanese-style, much hotter than Western varieties. The street connecting the temple and the JR station is lined with family-owned soba shops serving freshly-made soba with a springy texture that bears no comparison to the pale, limp soba of quick noodle shops in big cities outside Yamagata. If you can get your noodles with a side of sansai, local mountain wild vegetables, don't pass it up — these are seasonal delicacies. Takefuku is a popular soba restaurant in the city. < p>For local specialities at dinner, Hanazen is well known for dishes including Yamagata imoni, a taro and meat dish, along with a variety of local wines and sake. Torien serves Japanese food such as oyakodon, raw eggs over rice, gyoza and chicken cutlets. Elsewhere you'll find Italian cooking at Classic Cafe, whose most famous dish is its omurice, and Gran Rock, which also serves Yamagata beef burgers, pizza and pasta. Jai is one of the most popular Indian restaurants in the city. For drinks, Bar Blumen is a whiskey and brandy bar, 50s Cocktail Bar Cool is styled like a 1950s American diner, and Ride 4 Style is a sports bar. Hotnaru Yokocho is an enclave of traditional yatai food stalls — an escape from the urban jungle located right in the middle of it. Each stall has its own unique menu, but all of them work to use and feature local Yamagata products and produce.What to see and do
Yamagata Castle anchors the city's sightseeing. The original fortification was built in the 14th century and later expanded by Mogami Yoshiaki, who turned the surrounding settlement into a proper castle town and is sometimes called the founder of Yamagata. The castle was the largest in the Tohoku region but never had a donjon, and none of the original structures survive; reconstruction is ongoing, using wood to stay true to the originals. You can wander the grounds and step into the Ninomaru East Gate building to learn more about the castle's history. The JR Ou Main Line runs directly along the moat past the Ninomaru Gate, which makes for good train photographs but limits the angles from which you can view the site.
Several museums fill out the city's historical and artistic side. The Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum covers the daimyo credited with expanding the castle and modernising the town, while the Yamagata Prefectural Museum holds historic artifacts from across the prefecture, including the ceramic "Jomon Goddess", along with exhibits on the Dewa Sanzan shrines and Yamadera temple, local culture, rocks and minerals, and flora and fauna. The Bunshokan, a Taisho Period building in British Renaissance style that once served as the prefectural government office, has lavishly decorated rooms open to visitors. The Yamagata Museum of Art displays works by Kichiro Hasegawa, Matsuo Basho and Claude Monet, and the Kyodokan, built as a hospital in 1876, is known for its architecture and exhibits on the building's history and period medical studies. For local craft, the Yamagata City Industrial History Museum showcases the city's products, particularly Yamagata imono metal casting, and the Seikai Kunii Contemporary Calligraphy Memorial Museum features the calligrapher's work and special exhibits. The Seifuso offers a historic building with a garden, where you can view the garden or have tea inside for a fee.
Yamadera, properly named Ryushaku-ji, is the area's great excursion. Founded in the 9th century by the priest Ennin, it takes its name, "Standing Stones Temple", from the wind- and water-sculpted rocks on the mountainside. The climb from the entrance to the Oku-no-in sanctuary at the top runs to 1110 steep steps, rewarded by views over the mountains and countryside, especially from the Godaigo viewing platform. The temple holds Buddhist sculptures, mandalas and other cultural treasures. In winter the little town is covered in snow, and local shopkeepers rent out goloshes and sell heat packs for the climb; allow at least two to three hours for the walk up and back. Nearby, the Tarumizu Ruins, also known as Minenoura or Ura-Yamadera, were once a training place for mountain worshippers called yamabushi and feature rock formations, the highlight being a wooden torii gate set in a honeycomb-shaped rock. The Yamadera Goto Museum of Art is a European art museum, and the Yamadera Basho Museum, up the opposite hilltop in Fuga-no-Kuni park, covers the poet Matsuo Basho's travels and the poems he wrote here, with information available in English. The Momijigawa Ravine near Yamadera is a scenic valley popular for hiking, with river views and waterfalls, especially vibrant in autumn.
For hands-on activity, the Yamagata Traditional Kokeshikan displays old kokeshi and explains the various types, and you can try painting your own doll. If your visit falls in early August, the Hanagasa Festival fills the city; it began as a single dance in the Zao Summer Festival and became its own celebration in 1965, set apart by the flower hats worn by all participants. The city also hosts Japan's Top Imoni-kai Festival along the Mamigasaki River.
When to go
Yamagata City sits in a valley between mountains, which makes its summers hotter and more humid than much of northern Japan — the heat can be intense. Autumn is short, typically beginning in late October and peaking in early November. Yamadera is especially popular then, so expect crowds at the peak.
Winters are snowy, and the ski season on Mount Zao begins around mid-December. The Zao "Snow Monsters" are typically at their best in February.
Three days in Yamagata
Day one: Arrive at Yamagata Station and get your bearings at the Yamagata City Tourist Information Center inside the station, or at the Yamagata Tourist Information Center in Kajo Central on the Nishiguchi side. Staff are Japanese-speaking, so have Google Translate ready if you don't speak the language; some English-language materials are available. Settle into the city and, if you have time, try a bowl of matcha before planning the days ahead.
Day two: Head to Yamadera, the mountain temple whose stone steps climb through forest to a viewpoint over the valley. Matsuo Bashō visited and wrote a famous haiku here, and many travellers make the trip for that connection as much as the view. Return to Yamagata in the evening.
Day three: Go to Mount Zao. In October and November the autumn colours draw crowds; winters from December bring the snow-covered trees known as Snow Monsters, at their best around February. Before heading out, confirm conditions and transport at the tourist information centers. If you're flying out, Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is in Higashine, with flights to Osaka Itami, Tokyo Haneda and Nagoya Komaki; you can also reach Sendai and Sendai Airport Station by train from Yamagata Station.