Yamagata（山形）prefecture is in the Tohoku（東北）region, below Akita（秋田）and on the left of Miyagi（宮城）. It is famous for cherries, Yonezawa beef（米沢牛）and the sacred mountains such as Zao（蔵王）and Dewa Sanzan（出羽三山）.
First went to this prefecture during my Golden Week Tohoku trip in 2013. It was the stop after Kakunodate（角館）in Akita. We headed for Tsuruoka（鶴岡）, the station where we could transfer to buses for the spiritual sites nearby.
There is Dewa Sanzan, 3 sacred mountains with shrines at the top. As they require some time hiking, we decided to skip them and only visited Dainichibo temple（大日坊）nearby. It was nice strolling in the mountainous countryside, appreciating sakura and snowscapes at the same time.
Dainichibo is one of the sites of Sokushinbutsu（即身仏）, monks who transformed their bodies into mummies while still living. If successful, they become living Buddhas. There are 16 Sokushinbutsu in Japan, and half of them are in this prefecture. This practice has been banned already.
We paid the entrance fee and entered the main hall, where a monk spoke to us and a few visitors from nearby prefectures. He led us to a room inside, and spoke for about an hour about the Sokushinbutsu in this temple. Of course we also saw it, though no photo-taking was allowed.
After the visit, we headed back to Tsuruoka station and had some ramen which wasn't too bad, before heading to Sendai（仙台）in Miyagi prefecture via highway bus.
At first, we had wanted to spend the night at Zao Onsen（蔵王温泉）, but it was a little time-consuming/inaccessible, so we had to scrap the plan. It is a hot spring town with acidic waters in the mountainous region between Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures, also famous for skiing in winter. Recently, it is also known for the juhyo（樹氷）snowscape that can be seen around February, whereby many trees are being covered with snow completely, resembling snow monsters. Okama crater can also be seen in summer.
In my autumn 2015 trip, I managed to spend a night at Zao Onsen. Even though it was September, it was around 14 degree celsius at night! Stayed at Ryokan Takasagoya（旅館高砂屋）with good ratings and only 3 minutes walk from Zao Onsen's Bus Terminal. Food was delicious and hospitality was superb! For slightly less than 10000 yen, it was value for money.
The ryokan has indoor onsen, and one of the public baths Shimoyu（下湯）is just across the street.
Upon request, the ryokan owner also drives guests to and fro Dai Rotenburo（大露天風呂）, the amazing outdoor public onsen in Zao. It is right in the forest, with streams flowing beside and the water is a pretty shade of blue! Note that it is not opened in winter months and there is no shower area. (google image below)
In spring 2019, I visited Kaminoyama Onsen（上山温泉）town for cherry blossoms at Tsukioka Park（月岡公園）and stayed in a highly rated ryokan. I found the trees not that impressive in terms of quality and quantity, however I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and panoramic view very much as it was totally not crowded at all. It is also possible to enjoy foot bath while appreciating the scenery.
Koyo Ryokan which I stayed in was exceptionally good in terms of service and dinner. I chose the more expensive package (around 20000 yen) that included Yonezawa beef steak for dinner, which was very delicious.
My fourth time to this prefecture was in early November 2019, when I chased autumn colors in Yamagata and nearby prefectures by car. From Niigata prefecture（新潟県）, we drove 3 hours to Yamadera（山寺）in Yamagata prefecture. Yamadera is a scenic temple located in the mountains northeast of Yamagata city. The temple grounds spread across a steep mountainside and it takes 1000 steps to reach the top for panoramic views. The climb was easier than I thought, but the view was also less impressive than expected. Still, it was an enjoyable experience and helped to burn some calories.
That night, we stayed at Ginzan Hot Spring（銀山温泉）. It does not allow private vehicles into the area. Thanks to that, the design of the ryokans and the compactness of the town, Ginzan Onsen retains the vibe and scenery from the Taisho era. It is very atmospheric and beautiful both in the day and night. There are also ashiyu (foot baths) along the street, but they are very hot!
Visitors to Yamagata during summer can also enjoy cherry picking. Yamagata produces 70% of Japan's cherries!
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