Zao's juhyo (snow monsters) are trees encased in ice and snow, forming surreal sculptures across the mountainside every winter. Dewa Sanzan's three sacred mountains have drawn yamabushi pilgrims for centuries. In spring, the Kajo Park moat fills with cherry blossoms. Yamagata beef rivals Kobe, and the soba is some of Japan's finest.
What Yamagata is known for
Top-rated in Yamagata
Yamabushido
5.0culture
Experience authentic mountain ascetic training under the guidance of real Yamabushi practitioners.
Godaido Hall
4.7temple
Godaido is a cliffside hall in the upper reaches of Yamadera.
Mt. Yudono
4.8nature
Most sacred of Dewa Sanzan's three peaks, where pilgrims purify at a hot spring flowing from a vermilion boulder.
Yamadera
4.5temple
Mountainside temple of 1,000 stone steps through cedar forest, immortalized by haiku master Basho.
Shozoin Temple
4.5temple
Shozoin is one of four surviving temple halls at Yamadera, the mountain temple complex in Yamagata where monks trained across 12 buildings until the Edo period.
Dewa Sanzan Shrine
4.5shrine
Sacred mountain summit shrine reached via 2,446 stone steps through ancient cedar forest.
Mount Haguro Five-Story Pagoda
4.5temple
10th-century National Treasure pagoda standing in a primeval cedar forest on Mount Haguro.
Mt. Haguro
4.6shrine
Most accessible of Dewa Sanzan's sacred peaks, climbed via 2,446 stone steps through ancient cedar forest to a pagoda.