Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [429]
Information
Prefectural tourism information office (; 647-2333; www.yamagatakanko.com/english/index.html; 10am-6pm) On the 1st floor of the Kajō Central building; joined to the station complex by walkways.
Tourist information office (; 647-2266; 8.30am-8pm) On the 2nd floor of Yamagata station, in a small glass booth.
WIP (615-0788; www.wip-fe.com/yamagata, in Japanese; per hr ¥410; 24hr) Internet access, just outside the east exit of the Akita JR station, diagonally to the left.
Yamagata Post Office (; 622-9600) Has an international ATM; on the 1st floor of the Kajō Central building.
Sights & Activities
The recently revived kilns of the Hirashimizu Pottery District (), along the Hazukashi-kawa (Embarrassed River), turn out beautiful bluish-grey spotted-glaze pieces, nicknamed nashi-seiji (pear skin), which are displayed for sale in attached workshops. The renowned Shichiemon-gama (; 642-7777; 153 Hirachimizu; 8.30am-5.30pm, pottery making 9am-3pm) offers formal instruction (in Japanese) in pottery making. To get there, buses bound for Nishi-Zaō or Geikō-dai run hourly or half-hourly from stop 5 outside Yamagata station to the Hirashimizu stop (¥200, 15 minutes).
Festivals & Events
Hanagasa Matsuri In early August; features large crowds of dancers wearing hanagasa (flower-laden straw hats) and singing folk songs.
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (www.yidff.jp) This biennial event takes place over one week in October, and screens films from over 70 countries screen, along with retrospectives, symposiums and a Japanese panorama.
Sleeping & Eating
Tōyoko Inn Yamagata Eki Nishiguchi (; 644-1045; 1-18-13 Jōnan-machi; s/d ¥5250/7770; ) Business hotels cluster around the JR Yamagata station, but this is the best value for your money. Just a minute’s walk from the station’s west exit, this reliable chain offers the standard-issue Japanese business hotel room. LAN cable internet available.
Hotel Metropolitan Yamagata (; 628-1111; fax 628-1166; www.jrhotelgroup.com/eng/hotel/eng108.htm; 1-1-1 Kasumicho; s/d ¥10,972/19,635; ) A more upmarket option is this notable business hotel that is conveniently squashed between the station and the S-PAL shopping centre. LAN cable internet available.
Sakaeya Honten (; 623-0766; 2-3-21 Honchō; hiyashi rāmen ¥700; 11.30am-7.30pm Thu-Tue) A tasty Yamagata specialty is hiyashi rāmen (chilled soup noodles), and it is served up in huge doses here. Facing east from the AZ store, take the first side street to your right.
Getting There & Away
There are several hourly trains on the JR Yamagata and Tōhoku shinkansen lines between Tokyo and Yamagata (¥11,030, three hours) via Yonezawa (¥2060, 35 minutes). There are also frequent kaisoku on the JR Senzan line between Yamagata and Sendai (¥1110, 1¼ hours), and between Yamagata and Yamadera (¥230, 20 minutes). Finally, there are regular futsū on the JR Ōu line between Yamagata and Yonezawa (¥820, 45 minutes), and between Yamagata and Tendo (¥230, 20 minutes).
There are a few buses each day between the JR Yamagata station and Tsuruoka (¥2400, 1¾ hours), and between Yamagata and Zaō Onsen (¥860, 40 minutes).
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TENDŌ
023 / pop 62,000
Tendō, an interesting half-day excursion from Yamagata, produces around 90% of Japan’s chess pieces annually. This exquisite art was started by poor samurai during the Edo period, who had fallen upon hard times after their salaries were cut by the Tendō lord.
The tourist information centre (; 653-1680; 9am-6pm, closed every 3rd Mon), on the 2nd floor of JR Tendō station, has details of local attractions, including the eccentric Tendō Mingeikan (;653-5749; admission ¥500; 9am-5pm), a folk craft museum housed in a gasshō-zukuri (thatched ‘praying’ roof) farmhouse. The Tendō Shōgi Museum (; 653-1690; 1-1-1 Hon-chō; admission ¥300;9am-6pm Thu-Tue) is part of JR Tendō station and displays chess sets from Japan and abroad.
You can see chess pieces being made at Eishundō (; 653-2843; 1-3-28 Kamatahonchō;