Zaō Onsen
Ski Resort, one of the largest snow resorts in the Tohoku region.
There are 14
slopes and 12 courses, and night skiing is also available. There is frost-covered trees
near the summit, and you can enjoy snow activities
in the rich nature.
Before the
snow falls, the Zaō mountain range shows off one of the most outstanding autumn leaf
colour spots in Japan.
Due to the difference in altitude, visitors can enjoy the
rich gradation of red, yellow and green during
the autumn leaf colour season. The view of the foliage on the Zaō mountain range, which
turns bright red at sunset, is particularly breathtaking.
The Zaō
Onsen Hot Spring was estabilished in 110 AD and has a history of about 1,900 years.
It is believed to rejuvenate and beautify the skin and blood vessels, and continues
to attract visitors since then."
The
Yamadera temple, meaning "Temple of the mountain" was founded by Jikaku Daishi Ennin in
860 AD. A famous and historic temple representing the Tōhoku region, where the famous
haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote his famous haiku
in the early Edo period.
It is also famous as a power spot for cutting off bad
relationships and bringing good ones together.
The
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is one of Yamagata's major summer events.
Held for a
three-day period from 5 to 7 August every year, during which many dancers heat up the
summer nights of Yamagata with their lively calls
of "Yassho Makasho!"
Imoni is a
local food representing Yamagata. A large-scale and unique event on the theme of this
stewed potato is the 'Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival' (commonly known as the Imoni
Festival).
Using a large pot with a diameter
of 6.5 m, heavy machinery is deployed to cook and serve the best taro stew to visitors.
Zaō Onsen
Ski Resort, one of the largest snow resorts in the Tohoku region.
There are 14
slopes and 12 courses, and night skiing is also available. There is frost-covered trees
near the summit, and you can enjoy snow activities
in the rich nature.
Before the
snow falls, the Zaō mountain range shows off one of the most outstanding autumn leaf
colour spots in Japan.
Due to the difference in altitude, visitors can enjoy the
rich gradation of red, yellow and green during
the autumn leaf colour season. The view of the foliage on the Zaō mountain range, which
turns bright red at sunset, is particularly breathtaking.
The Zaō
Onsen Hot Spring was estabilished in 110 AD and has a history of about 1,900 years.
It is believed to rejuvenate and beautify the skin and blood vessels, and continues
to attract visitors since then."
The
Yamadera temple, meaning "Temple of the mountain" was founded by Jikaku Daishi Ennin in
860 AD. A famous and historic temple representing the Tōhoku region, where the famous
haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote his famous haiku
in the early Edo period.
It is also famous as a power spot for cutting off bad
relationships and bringing good ones together.
The
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is one of Yamagata's major summer events.
Held for a
three-day period from 5 to 7 August every year, during which many dancers heat up the
summer nights of Yamagata with their lively calls
of "Yassho Makasho!"
Imoni is a
local food representing Yamagata. A large-scale and unique event on the theme of this
stewed potato is the 'Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival' (commonly known as the Imoni
Festival).
Using a large pot with a diameter
of 6.5 m, heavy machinery is deployed to cook and serve the best taro stew to visitors.
Zaō Onsen
Ski Resort, one of the largest snow resorts in the Tohoku region.
There are 14
slopes and 12 courses, and night skiing is also available. There is frost-covered trees
near the summit, and you can enjoy snow activities
in the rich nature.
Before the
snow falls, the Zaō mountain range shows off one of the most outstanding autumn leaf
colour spots in Japan.
Due to the difference in altitude, visitors can enjoy the
rich gradation of red, yellow and green during
the autumn leaf colour season. The view of the foliage on the Zaō mountain range, which
turns bright red at sunset, is particularly breathtaking.
The Zaō
Onsen Hot Spring was estabilished in 110 AD and has a history of about 1,900 years.
It is believed to rejuvenate and beautify the skin and blood vessels, and continues
to attract visitors since then."
The
Yamadera temple, meaning "Temple of the mountain" was founded by Jikaku Daishi Ennin in
860 AD. A famous and historic temple representing the Tōhoku region, where the famous
haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote his famous haiku
in the early Edo period.
It is also famous as a power spot for cutting off bad
relationships and bringing good ones together.
The
Yamagata Hanagasa Festival is one of Yamagata's major summer events.
Held for a
three-day period from 5 to 7 August every year, during which many dancers heat up the
summer nights of Yamagata with their lively calls
of "Yassho Makasho!"
Imoni is a
local food representing Yamagata. A large-scale and unique event on the theme of this
stewed potato is the 'Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival' (commonly known as the Imoni
Festival).
Using a large pot with a diameter
of 6.5 m, heavy machinery is deployed to cook and serve the best taro stew to visitors.
A trip to Yamagata with lots to discover.
Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southern part of Japan's Tōhoku region,
Yamagata City
is capital of Yamagata Prefecture, where attracting visitors thanks to its famous Zaō Hot Springs,
historic Yamadera Temple and a variety of sightseeing
spots, events and local delicacies.
Let's find your favorite Kagoshima with us!
Yamagata City can be divided into three main tourist ares: the Zaō Onsen, the Yamadera
Temple and the city centre.
Each of them has different characteristics, so you can enjoy the
different aspects of this city.
Enjoy walking around
town in the city centre, feel the history at Yamadera Temple, relax at Zaō Onsen Hot Spring and
enjoy your trip to Yamagata.!
Zaō is a sightseeing spot in Yamagata City with many different
ways to enjoy the area throughout the year.
Trekking in the summer green
season, autumn leaf viewing in fall, and snow activities in winter can
be enjoyed.
In winter, in particular, you can admire the world's rare
natural beauty of 'juhyo' (iced trees) up close. At night, riding on a
snowmobile and viewing the illuminated juhyō is also popular.
At the foot of the Zaō mountain range is one of Japan's most famous hot
springs, Zaō Onsen.
It has a history of 1,900 years, and with about 80 hotels,
inns and day-trip hot spring facilities, it is the largest
hot spring resort in Yamagata Prefecture and the ideal base for a trip. Visitors are
greeted by the smell of steam and sulphur in Zaō Onsen Town.
The spring water is
a highly acidic sulphur spring, and is
known as the 'hot water of beauty' because the highly acidic water has a beautifying
effect on the skin.
Yamadera (official name: Risshakuji Temple) was founded by
Jikaku Daishi Ennin in 860 AD. It is famous for being mentioned in Matsuo
Bashō's haiku.
There are 1015 stone steps from the foot of the temple to
the top. The journey takes between 30 and 46 minutes each way.
After
climbing the stone steps, the Godaidō Hall offers a spectacular view that
attracts visitors.
This spot is on a hiking route that climbs up from the side of the
mountain temple Senjuin Kannon.
It is dotted with historical sites and ruins
associated with Jikaku Daishi Ennin.
The sight of sunlight
shining divinely on the Tarumi ruins is particularly spectacular.
An urban park in the city centre.
The ruins of Yamagata Castle have
been selected as one of the 101 Great Castles of Japan. Although the castle tower
has not survived until modern times, the moat and the 'Honmaru
Ichimonjimon Ote Bridge' offer glimpses of the castle's original appearance.
The
park also contains the Yamagata City Museum of History, which is a reconstruction of
the former Seiseikan Honkan, a quasi-Western-style
hospital building built in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
A Western-style building with a Taishō era style, completed in 1916. It is
now designated as a National Important Cultural Property, and currently open to the
public free of charge, containing the Yamagata Prefectural
Folk Museum.
It was also used as a location for the film Rurouni Kenshin.
I found the cute Photo Spot of Yamagata.
Yamagata's beautiful seasonal sights, festivals and other events make it a great place to take
photos♪
We introduce you some of Yamagata's unique photo spots♪
A very rare sight in the world, a juhyō is a miraculous piece of art created by nature.
Juhyō is a phenomenon in which particles of water below 0°C (32°F) hit the trees, freeze and stick
together, creating a thin layer of ice. Some natural
conditions must be met in order for juhyō to form.
There are few heavy snowfall areas in Japan or
in the world where these conditions are met, making it an extremely valuable natural phenomenon that
attracts people to the area.
The Juhyō viewing area in Zaō can be accessed by ropeway or snowmobile, or by skiing or
snowboarding through the Juhyō plateau.
Zaō Jizōson is located a short walk from the Zaō ropeway and Jizō summit station. It is
a large seated statue 2.34 m high. It was built in 1775 (An'ei 4) and was intended to fulfil wishes
and ward off misfortune over a period of 37 years.
It is said that the number of people getting lost in the mountains decreased after it was built,
so it is now called the 'disaster-preventing Jizō'.
To get to Zaō Jizōson, take the Zaō Ropeway
to Jizō Sanzou Summit Station,
get off and walk for about 1 minute.
Zao Okama is a crater lake located in the Zao Mountain Range and is known by the name
"Okama".
The lake has a beautiful emerald green color on its surface, which contrasts with the
ruggedness of the surrounding mountains and creates
a more mystical atmosphere.
Nishizaō Observatory is located approximately 20 minutes by car from Yamagata City. From
this location, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Yamagata Plain and, on clear days, the dynamic
mountain scenery of the Asahi Mountain Range,
including Mt Gassan and Mt Hayama.
The area around the observatory is lush with trees, the air is
clean and time passes slowly, free from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Godaidō is the best viewpoint of Yamadera Temple. It is a "butai" (stage) style
building built on a cliff, and offers a view of the cliff on which the monks used to train their
ascetic practices and the town of Yamadera spreading out at
the foot of the cliff.
There are approximately 1,000 stone steps leading up to Godaidō, but the
view that unfolds beyond is well worth the fatigue. Needless saying, it is also a very popular photo
spot.
Every year in September, Yamagata City holds the 'Japan's No.1 Imoni Festival'.
At
this event, a large pot is used and about 30,000 servings of potato stew are served. The size of the
cauldron is approximately 6.5 m in diameter, and
its dynamic cooking method, in which the ingredients are stewed using a backhoe, a mobile crane used
at construction sites, is a selling point. The pan is now in its third generation, and successive
generations of it are displayed
in certain parts of the city and can be viewed freely by anyone.
The impact of seeing the
cauldrons in person is stunning!
Yamagatans are those who eats the most ramen in Japan. The reasons why people eat so
much ramen are: there is a culture of eating chilled ramen with ice even in the hot summer months;
ramen is served as a form of hospitality when acquaintances
visit the house; there are many different types of ramen shops throughout the city.
And, above
all, the fact that there are many delicious ramen restaurants.
Yamagata City is a fun place to
eat ramen. You are sure to find the
ramen of your choice.
A rich variety of fruits are produced in Yamagata Prefecture from spring to autumn.
Strawberries, cherries, melons, peaches, grapes, LaFrance (pears), apples and persimmons are all
borne.
Yamagata is particularly famous as a cherry
kingdom, producing the largest quantity of cherries in Japan. Brand-name cherries such as Sato
Nishiki and Beni Shuho, which originated in Yamagata, are also famous.
There are several cherry
orchards in Yamagata City where you
can experience cherry picking.
Basic information
