Discover 10 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Yamagata (Japan). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Yama-dera, Yamagata Prefectural Museum, and Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum. Also, be sure to include Yamagata Museum of Art in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Yamagata (Yamagata).
Table of Contents
Yama-dera
Also known as: 立石寺
Buddhist temple in Yamagata, Japan. Yama-dera, is the popular name for the Buddhist temple of Risshaku-ji located northeast of Yamagata City, in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Its main image is a hibutsu statue of Yakushi Nyōrai. The temple has been a place for pilgrimage for centuries, and is designated as both a Place of Scenic Beauty and as a National Historic Site It is located within the borders of the Zaō Quasi-National Park. The temple buildings clinging to the steep, forested, rocky hillsides are picturesque and unusual.[1]
Address: 4284 Yamadera, Yamagata-shi, 999-3301 Yamagata
Yamagata Prefectural Museum
Also known as: 山形県立博物館
Museum in Yamagata, Japan. Yamagata Prefectural Museum is a prefectural museum in Yamagata, Japan, dedicated to the natural history and history of Yamagata Prefecture. The museum opened in Kajō Park in 1971.[2]
Address: Yamagata, 1-8 Kajō-machi
Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum
Also known as: 最上義光歴史館
Museum in Yamagata, Japan. The Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum is a museum in the city of Yamagata in northern Japan just outside the reconstructed Great Eastern Gate of Yamagata Castle. It focuses on the place in history of Mogami Yoshiaki and his role in building the foundations of present-day Yamagata. The museum opened on 1 December 1989 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of modern Yamagata City. Its purpose is to preserve and study, display and make accessible to the public historical items from Yoshiaki's time when the Yamagata Domain was the fifth largest feudal domain in Japan. Armory, swords and firearms from the historic battles of the 16th century and later are exhibited, along with art works, old maps of the castle town and official documents connected with the Mogami clan and its history. Among the museum's most prized items exhibited are the large standing screen of the Battle of Hasedo, and Mogami Yoshiaki's helmet and battle command baton. There are also special exhibitions of old and modern swords. The museum has English information on the exhibits available. Admission is free. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed Mondays.[3]
Address: 1-53 Otemachi, 990-0046 Yamagata
Yamagata Museum of Art
Also known as: 山形美術館
Museum in Yamagata, Japan. Yamagata Museum of Art opened in Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, in 1964. The Museum's annex opened in 1968. In 1985 the new three-story main building opened; the annex was renovated the following year. The collection includes works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Takahashi Yuichi, as well as Yosa Buson's six-panel byōbu of 1779, Oku no Hosomichi. Many of these Impressionist works are from the collection of Yoshino Gypsum Co. Ltd, deposited at the Museum.[4]
Address: Yamagata, 1-63 Ōte-machi
Shima ruins
The Shima ruins is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a Kofun period settlement located in what is now part of the city of Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site received protection as a National Historic Site of Japan in 1966.[5]
Yamagata Castle
Also known as: 山形城
Yamagata Castle is a flatland-style Japanese castle located in the center of the city of Yamagata, eastern Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Yamagata Castle was the headquarters for the daimyō of Yamagata Domain. The castle was also known as "Ka-jō". The castle grounds are protected as a National Historic Site by the Japanese government[6]
Yamagata University
Also known as: 山形大学
National university in Yamagata, Japan. Yamagata University is a national university located in the Japanese cities of Yamagata, Yonezawa, and Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture.
The Times Higher Education released World University Rankings 2016–2017. Yamagata University ranked 600-800th out of the top 980 universities in the world.
In addition, YU is ranked the tenth place (10th) in Japanese research organization ranking, announcement in April 2017, by the analysis of the number of the highly cited papers in a "Materials Science" field alone in the Japanese local national university. Ranking by Thomson Reuters
The university was established in 1949, but its origin can be traced back to the Yamagata Normal School (山形師範学校, Yamagata Shihan Gakkō), a public teacher-training institution, founded in 1878 in Yamagata City. The university also has other roots: the Yonezawa Higher Technical School (米沢高等工業学校, Yonezawa Kōtō Kōgyō Gakkō) founded in 1910 in Yonezawa City, the Yamagata Higher School (山形高等学校, Yamagata Kōtō Gakkō) founded in 1920 in Yamagata City, the Yamagata Youth Normal School (山形青年師範学校, Yamagata Seinen Shihan Gakkō) founded in 1922 in Yamagata City, and the Yamagata Prefectural Agricultural College (山形県立農林専門学校, Yamagata Kenritsu Nōrin Senmon Gakkō) founded in 1947 in Tsuruoka City.
Yamagata University is the second-largest university in the Tohoku Region. The university has six faculties and about 10,000 students in four campuses. It also has an additional subcampus in which University K-9 schools are administered.[7]
Tohoku University of Art and Design
Also known as: 東北芸術工科大学
Private university in Yamagata, Japan. Tohoku University of Art and Design is a private university in Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan.[8]
YBC
Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences
Also known as: 山形県立保健医療大学
Public university in Yamagata, Japan. Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences is a public university in Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1997, and it was chartered as a university in 2000.[9]