Yamagata Station (山形駅)
Station Type: Transport interchange
Yamagata Station is the capital of Yamagata Prefecture and the terminus of the Yamagata Shinkansen Line. Yamagata City, with its ancient history and culture, attracts many tourists with its seasonal scenery, beautiful nature, and gastronomy.
The area around Yamagata Station is conveniently located with many hotels, commercial facilities, and restaurants. In front of the station, there is a shopping street called “Sakura-dori” where you can purchase local souvenirs, specialties, and food products. Also, to the north of the station, there is an AEON MALL Yamagata Kita, an outlet mall, and a home center, where you can enjoy shopping, eating, and drinking.
There are many tourist attractions in Yamagata City. One of the representative tourist attractions is “Yamagataya”. Yamagataya is a historical building built in the Edo period (1603-1867) and was used as a meeting place for feudal lords. The “Ruins of the Shonai Domain Lord’s Residence” and “Ishikawa Goemon’s Residence” are also worth seeing.
Yamagata is a great place for outdoor sports such as skiing and snowboarding in winter and fishing and hiking in summer. It is also famous for its cherry blossoms and autumn leaves, which attract many tourists in spring and fall. Yamagata also has many hot spring resorts where visitors can bathe in the local hot springs.
Yamagata’s famous products include “cherries” and “Yamagata beef. Cherries are harvested throughout the region in the summer and are popular for their sweet and juicy flavor. Yamagata beef is known for its tender, sweet taste and delicious, healthy meat. Other unique Yamagata souvenirs include “Tendo ware” and “cherry sake.
Restaurants, Foods
Some restaurants and food shops around the station.
Hirata Bokujo Tonkatsu Restaurant (とんかつと豚肉料理 平田牧場 ホテルメトロポリタン山形店)
Restaurant Type: Restaurant
Mogamitei (最上亭)
Restaurant Type: Teppanyaki restaurant
酒蔵 澤正宗 (酒蔵 澤正宗)
Restaurant Type: Izakaya restaurant
Tourist area
Some tourist area – the best views, museums and parks – around the station.
Kajo Park (霞城公園)
Tourist Area Type: Park
Kasumigajo Park is an urban park that has been developed on an area of approximately 35.9 hectares of the ruins of Yamagata Castle (a national historic site), located in the center of Yamagata City.
Kasumigajo Park is a vast green area of about 500 m on each side that suddenly appears in the middle of the city center. The park is centered around the moat, stonewalls, and other remains of Yamagata Castle’s ruins, the Nimaru moat, and is a symbolic structure of Yamagata City, the outline of which is clearly visible in satellite images. When the 32nd Yamagata Infantry Regiment was established, the main castle was reclaimed and cleared, the stonewalls and earthen mounds of the East Gate and North Gate Masugata enclosure in the second castle were removed, and the moat in the third castle was filled in, leaving almost no trace of the original castle. 1] Kasumigajo or Kasumigajo is another name for Yamagata Castle, from which the name of the park is derived.
It is known as a cherry blossom viewing spot. Cherry blossoms planted on the stone walls are illuminated and reflected on the surface of the moat. During the cherry blossom season, the Ou Main Line, which runs adjacent to the park, slows down for cherry blossom viewing.
Kajo central lobby (展望ロビー（霞城セントラル）)
Tourist Area Type: Observation deck
Kasumijo Central is a public-private complex high-rise building in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Yamagata Shin Toshin Kaihatsu Co., Ltd. operates and manages the building, which is occupied by Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City’s affiliated organizations, and private companies, and hosts a number of events. It is the tallest building in Yamagata City and has become a landmark.
The five-story atrium, with an area of approximately 1,000 square meters, can be used for multiple purposes regardless of weather conditions, and many events are held there. The observation lobby on the top 24th floor is open to the public free of charge and offers a panoramic view of the city, and a local TV station has installed a fixed-point camera on the roof.
Old Saiseikan Hospital Building (山形市立郷土館（旧済生館本館）)
Tourist Area Type: Local history museum
Saiseikan is the main building of the former Saiseikan Hospital in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, which was established in 1873 as a private hospital, and the main building was completed in September 1878 near the then prefectural office. It is a National Important Cultural Property. The building itself was moved to Kasumijo Park in the same city and is used as the Yamagata City Museum of History.
The main exhibits include materials related to medical care and medical education, Chinese and Western medicine, Yamagata Castle, and local history.
The main building of the former Saiseikan Hospital is a three-story building but actually has four floors: a doughnut-shaped first floor, a 10-meter-diameter pillarless hall on the second floor, spiral staircases to the third and fourth floors, and stained glass windows. The interior structure is very unique. The second floor is a 16-sided hall without a single pillar in the center, yet the third and fourth floors are above the hall. This is supported by a truss structure that had just been introduced to Japan at that time. In addition, the upper part of the multi-tiered pagoda was raised in order to change the shape of the tower from a 16-square to an octagonal structure.
Yamagata Museum of Science and Industry (山形県産業科学館)
Tourist Area Type: Science museum
The Yamagata Museum of Science and Industry is located in Jonan-cho 1-chome, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Its main themes are science and Yamagata Prefecture’s industries. It is located in the Kasumijo Central low-rise building, a high-rise complex near Yamagata Station.
Foucault pendulum is on display. Installed in a circular hall (rotunda) vaulted from the fourth floor to the first floor of the building. It consists of a 20m long (steel wire) and weighs 32kg (metal ball). Located at 38 degrees north latitude, it rotates approximately 9 degrees per hour and 216 degrees per day; when it rotates approximately 9 degrees per hour, the bells around the device ring in unison to play “Homeland” and “Edelweiss.
Foucault pendulum (French: Pendule de Foucault, English: Foucault pendulum) is a demonstration experiment showing the Earth’s rotation. It was invented by Léon Foucault in France in 1851 and performed publicly at the Panthéon in Paris.
Yamagata Prefectural Museum (山形県立博物館)
Tourist Area Type: Museum
Yamagata Prefectural Museum is located in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. It is located in Kasumijo Park.
The museum has a total of seven sections: three sections for nature (geology, flora, and fauna) and four sections for the humanities (archaeology, history, folklore, and education). The museum also has an educational museum (the main building of the former Yamagata Normal School) and an annexed nature study garden (Biwa Marsh).
Hotels
There are various hotels around the station.
Hotel Metropolitan Yamagata (ホテルメトロポリタン山形)
Yamagata Grand Hotel (山形グランドホテル)
Yamagata-eki Nishiguchi Washington Hotel (山形駅西口ワシントンホテル)
Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores
Stores for foods, drinks and others.
Tourist Information Center
Tourist information centers inside/around the station.
Have a nice visit !
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