Viewing Fall Foliage in Yamagata Prefecture: A Tour of Bonji-gawa Valley, a Bewitching Spot in the Tohoku Region

Whether we drive cars or not, we are always on Rokujuri-goe Kaido (or 60-ri Goe Kaido), so we will not get lost.

Rokujuri-goe Kaido (literally 60-ri Road) is a 1200-year old ancient road connecting the coastal areas and the inland areas of Yamagata. Modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture were collective called Dewa Province in ancient times, so the road is also called Dewa Ancient Road. Besides numerous landscapes, Rokujuri-goe Kaido has many private houses called multi-layered houses (taso minka). Hence the road is designated as a Scenic Byway in Japan by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

At Tsuruoka Station on the Tsuruoka Tamugimata Line, we get on a bus for Tamugimata Station, and get off at Gassan Rest Area about 40 minutes later. In the rest area, there are many specialty stores and restaurants, where we may buy specialties or have a rest.

After a short walk, we get to Fureai (meaning “rapport”) Bridge. It surprises us that the neighborhood of a rest area offers such a beautiful view of fall foliage and it is an ideal location for take photos as a memento.

We move on to Gassan Asahi Hakubutsu Village (Gassan Asahi Hakubutsu Village) that is also in the vicinity of Gassan Rest Area. Besides a parks and a small observatory, the village has many services, among which the Gassan Wild Vine Institute (Yama-budo Kenkyujo) offers Gassan wine and free samples.

The Cultural Innovation Center is a must-see. It is a small museum exhibiting local history and culture, and also the Tourism Bureau, from which we can receive such free brochures as simple maps.

We leave the Cultural Innovation Center and walk for a short distance along Rokujuri-goe Kaido, we see Nabira Yukitsuri Bridge. The words “Divination with Butterbur Leaves for Happiness” are on the billboard of the bridge, from which we can throw down the paper slips bearing wishes to try our luck.

We move on to Rice Flour Falls (Kome-no-kono Taki), a very famous waterfall in Bonji-gawa Valley, which pours off the hill and flows into the Bonji River. The waterfall is not wide, but has a drop of about 40 m, and looks like rice flour.

Bonji-gawa Valley is clearly visible from the bridge.

Besides, there is a restaurant called Rice Flour Falls Drive-in, where we can refresh ourselves with some food.

Gassan Dam, a 123 m high gravity dam, commands a view of beautiful Asahi Gassan Lake, which is a man-made lake formed by construction of the dam. A dam observatory is established at the lakeside, where we can appreciate the beauty of fall foliage.

Then we get to Former Endo’s Residence. This is not a fall foliage viewing spot, yet there are quite a few ancient private houses called multi-layered houses nearby. Although not so famous as Shirakawa-go’s gassho-zukuri, they also have distinctive features.

Nanatsu Falls (Nanatsu-taki), one of Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls, is about 90 m high, with a drop of 50 m in the upper part and a drop of 40 m in the lower part. It is also a famous spot for viewing fresh green vegetation and fall foliage.

One feature of Nanatsu Falls is that it splits into several streams without the flow reduced. The streams of its lower part converge and flow into Bonji-gawa Valley, and are an important source of the Bonji River.

Each of the said spots is only about 1 km away from its nearest spot. If you wish to continue to visit other places or you drive a car, you may visit Yudono-san Shrine, a picturesque spot for viewing fall foliage that is about 5 km away.

Yudono-san Shrine, about 5 km away from Nanatsu Falls, is a shrine guarding Mount Yudono at an altitude of about 1500 m. Now we are heading for Misawa Bridge, a good spot for taking photos of fall foliage. The color of the bridge is vermilion, same to that of the gateway (torii), which renders Mount Yudono blanketed with fall foliage rather majestic and sacred.

After viewing fall foliage and taking photos on Misawa Bridge, we go to pay homage to Yudono-san Shrine, which can have our family blessed with peace.