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Yamagata

From Yamadera's trails to Zao Onsen's hot springs

About Yamagata
Mount Zao summit (Photo: Tom Roseveare / JT)

Top Attractions in Yamagata

Yamagata Top 10

Upcoming Yamagata Events

Millennium Corridor 2024

Millennium Corridor 2024

Oct 25th - Nov 21st

From late October until early December, one of the Tohoku region's most popular winter illumination events is set to take place...

¥1,500
Tendo City Nabe Battle 2024

Tendo City Nabe Battle 2024

Sunday - Nov 24th

Now in its 27th year, the Tendo City Nabe Battle is held every winter and sees numerous restaurants fight it out – peacefully ..

9
Japan Sea Cold Cod Festival 2025

Japan Sea Cold Cod Festival 2025

Late Jan

Cold cod soup or dongara jiru is a popular winter dish in the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture, and the Japan Sea Cold Cod Festival..

Free Entry

Where to eat in Yamagata

Places to stay in Yamagata

Latest Yamagata Reports

Tsuruoka's Zenpoji

Tsuruoka's Zenpoji

Arlene Bastion

Zenpoji's plain wood structures beautifully highlight its complex carvings of flora and fauna. Its tradition of a dualistic..

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About Yamagata

Okinawa Nagasaki Fukuoka Saga Kumamoto Kagoshima Miyazaki Oita Ehime Kochi Tokushima Kagawa Yamaguchi Hiroshima Okayama Tottori Shimane Hyogo Kyoto Osaka Wakayama Nara Shiga Mie Fukui Ishikawa Toyama Gifu Aichi Nagano Shizuoka Niigata Yamanashi Kanagawa Tokyo Saitama Gunma Tochigi Chiba Ibaraki Fukushima Miyagi Yamagata Iwate Akita Aomori Hokkaido
Region Tohoku
Island Honshu
Capital Yamagata
Population 1,168,924
Area 9323.15 km²

Located in the Tohoku region and bordering the Sea of Japan, Yamagata Prefecture (山形県, Yamagata-ken) is filled with beautiful natural landscapes.

Risshaku-ji, or Yama-dera, is a temple famous for its magnificent view after a 1,000-step climb to get to the top, while the five-storey pagoda at Mount Haguro (part of the Dewa Sanzan Mountains) is also a must-see destination for tourists.

After visiting those holy sites, reinvigorate yourself at one of Yamagata’s many hot springs, with the ones at Ginzan, Kaminoyama, and Zao (also a popular ski resort) being the most renowned. If you visit in early autumn, don’t miss out on imoni, the prefecture’s special potato soup.

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