Things to Do

Yamagata's strongest sights divide between the central castle-town core and Yamadera, where the city climbs suddenly into temple mountains.

Guide

Things to Do

01

Yamadera

Mountain temple complex reached by a long stone stairway through cedars and cliffs.

Sight
02

Zao Onsen Dairotemburo

Zao Onsen Dairotemburo is a large open-air hot spring set in the forest above the resort village. The milky, sulphurous water and mountain air …
03

Yamagata Castle

Broad castle ruins and moats forming Kajo Park in the middle of the city.

Sight
04

Bunshokan

Restored Taisho-era prefectural office and assembly hall with ornate Western-style rooms.

Sight
05

Tarumizu Ruins

Tarumizu Ruins, also known as Minenoura, sit in the hills behind Yamadera. The area was once used by yamabushi mountain ascetics and is associated …

Sight
06

Yamagata Traditional Kokeshikan

Yamagata Traditional Kokeshikan is a small museum devoted to kokeshi, the simple wooden dolls associated with northern Japan. Displays explain regional styles and older …

Museum
07

Yamagata Museum of Art

Yamagata Museum of Art is the city's main art museum, close to Kajo Park and Yamagata Castle. The permanent collection includes Japanese artists such …

Museum
08

Yamagata Prefectural Museum

General museum in Kajo Park covering Yamagata nature, archaeology, folklore, and history.

Museum
09

Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum

Small museum explaining the daimyo who made Yamagata a powerful castle town.

Museum
10

Kyōdokan

Kyōdokan was built in 1876 as a hospital and is now protected as an Important Cultural Property. The museum explains the building's unusual architecture …

Museum
11

Karamatsu Kannondo

Karamatsu Kannondo is one of the temples on the Mogami pilgrimage route. Its mountainside setting and unusual architecture make it a worthwhile detour from …

Architecture
12

Seifu-so

Seifu-so is a quiet historic house and garden with roots in a former temple estate. The temple buildings are gone, but the garden survived, …

Sight
13

Seifū-sō

Seifū-sō is a historic garden and tea-house site in central Yamagata. The garden began as part of a temple complex, but the temple buildings …

Sight
14

Seikai Kunii Contemporary Calligraphy Memorial Museum

This small museum is devoted to Seikai Kunii, the Yamagata-born calligrapher who founded the Seishinsha group in 1917 to study modern calligraphy. The collection …

Museum
15

Yamagata City Industrial History Museum

Yamagata City Industrial History Museum is a small museum about the city's traditional and modern industries. It is especially useful for understanding Yamagata imono, …

Museum