Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [431]
Lodge Chitoseya (; 694-9145; fax 694-9145; 954 Zaō Onsen; r per person with/without 2 meals from ¥6825/4515; ) Right near the bus station, this relaxed lodge is also very budget-friendly, and attracts a youthful crowd of skiers and hikers. You’ll also eat very well here as the delightful couple in charge serve up original meals that are a mix of Japanese-inspired and fusion favourites.
Pension Boku-no-Uchi (; 694-9542; www.bokunouchi.com; 904 Zaō Onsen; r per person incl 2 meals from ¥7200; ) Next to the Lawson convenience store, this family-run place is the perfect compromise between Western and Japanese-style accommodation. Guests can scrub down in the 24-hour sulphur bath, take their meals in the ski lodge-esque dining room and then turn down for the night in the inviting tatami rooms.
Takamiya (; 694-9333; fax 694-2166; www.zao.co.jp/takamiya; 54 Zaō Onsen; r per person incl 2 meals from ¥15,900; ) There is no shortage of upmarket ryokan in town, though Takamiya gets our pick for its emphasis on the classics. Meals are incredibly opulent kaiseki ryōri (traditional Japanese formal banquet served in multiple courses) affairs that span a couple of hours, while intimate bathing takes places in one of several nostalgic onsen that are hundreds of years old. Rooms vary according to price, though each one is an artful blend of antique rustic stylings with carefully placed modern flourishes.
Shinzaemon-no-Yu (; 693-1212; www.zaospa.co.jp/top.html; 905 Kawa-mae Zaō Onsen; bath ¥600, meals from ¥1500; onsen 10am-9.30pm, lunch & dinner, closed irregularly) Luxurious bath-cum-banquet – come here to soak those ski pains away, and then feast on the winter warmer that is shabu-shabu (thin slices of beef boiled in water with fresh vegetables; ¥3600) in simple, natural-wood elegance. The restaurant occupies a traditional wooden building across from the ropeway.
Getting There & Away
Frequent hourly buses run between the bus terminal in Zaō Onsen and the JR Yamagata station (¥860, 40 minutes). To cope with the demand during winter – when there are more than a million visitors to the region – night buses depart Tokyo’s Hamamatsuchō station at 10pm, arrive in Zaō the next morning at around 6.30am, and head back to Tokyo at 2pm (return ¥9500).
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YAMADERA
023 / pop 1500
Stillness, seeps into the stones, the cry of cicadas.
Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1689)
The stunning temple complex of Risshaku-ji (; 8am-5pm; admission ¥300), more commonly known as Yamadera, is an atmospheric cluster of buildings and shrines perched on lush and wooded slopes. Founded in AD 860 by priests who carried with them the sacred flame from Enryaku-ji near Kyoto – supposedly the same flame is still alight today – it is believed that Yamadera’s rock faces are the boundaries between this world and the next.
Each twist and turn of the mountain path holds a new place with a character all its own, though the complex is often besieged with tourists. For a measure of the meditative bliss that so inspired Bashō, visit on a day trip from Yamagata early in the morning or late afternoon.
There is a small tourist information office (695-2816; 9am-5pm) near the bridge, where you can pick up English-language pamphlets.
Once you’ve navigated the tourist gauntlet, pass through the San-mon () gate, and start the steep climb up hundreds of steps through the trees. At the top is the Oku-no-in () or Inner Sanctuary, from where trails lead off on either side to small shrines and lookout points.
Before heading back to Yamagata, pay a visit to the Bashō Kinenkan (; 695-2221; admission ¥400; 9am-4.30pm, closed Mon Dec-Feb), back down in the village near the train station. This worthwhile museum exhibits scrolls and calligraphy related to Bashō’s famous northern journey, as well as documentary videos of the places he visited.
There are frequent kaisoku on the JR Senzan line between Yamadera and Yamagata (¥230, 20 minutes).
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