Murayama Region, Yamagata Prefecture: A 3-Night, 4-Day Model Itinerary Guide Packed with Everything from Yamadera and Zao to Ginzan Onsen

This castle was once called a “famous castle of Ushu,” and is also known as “Tsukioka Castle.”
It was the southernmost fortress of the Mogami clan, which ruled Yamagata, but after the Mogami clan was dispossessed (their lands were confiscated), it became the residence of successive domain lords.
It was dismantled by order of the shogunate in 1692, but in 1982 a three-story keep was built and opened as a local history museum.
Its beauty changes with the seasons, and the view from the keep over Kaminoyama City and the Zao mountain range is superb.

This samurai residence area remains in the northern part of Kaminoyama Castle, with four homes lined up: the Morimoto family, the Miwa family, the Yamada family, and the former Sogabe family.
All are buildings more than 200 years old and were once homes of samurai who held important posts.
The houses are a type of L-shaped structure called magariya, designed with functions to help withstand enemy attacks.
At the Miwa family residence, you can also tour the interior and view detailed explanations.

This is a restaurant where you can enjoy konnyaku kaiseki (multi-course Japanese dining) cuisine.
Some dishes are so convincing that you would not even realize they are made from konnyaku unless you were told, letting you savor its depth in full.
The souvenir shop selection is also extensive, and it is popular that you can sample items before choosing.

This ropeway takes you to Jizo Sancho Station at an elevation of 1,661 meters, via Juhyo Kogen Station at an elevation of 1,331 meters.
The section heading toward Jizo Sancho Station passes through a juhyo field, making it a highly popular ropeway route year-round.
The views are wonderful not only in the winter juhyo season, but also during the autumn foliage season.

Okama is a signature summer view in Zao, and you can see it from the observation deck beyond the toll Zao Highline, accessible from late April (when the Zao Echo Line opens) through early November.
This crater lake formed in a volcanic crater, and because the water appears in different hues depending on weather conditions, it is also called Goshiki-numa (Five-Color Pond).
Because the viewing point is at high elevation and can be windy, having a long-sleeved outer layer is reassuring even in summer.

Zao Onsen is a strongly acidic sulfur spring opened about 1,900 years ago, known for many benefits, including for cuts and skin conditions, muscle pain and joint pain, and sensitivity to cold.
With three public bathhouses, four footbaths, and five day-use hot spring facilities, you can enjoy a variety of baths.
For day-use bathing, it is recommended to visit Zao Onsen Dai Rotenburo, where you can enjoy a large open-air bath beside a mountain stream.
On Saturdays, days before holidays, and during the Obon holiday period from June through mid-October, hours are extended and you can bathe until 9:00 pm (closed from late November to mid-April).

Founded in 860 by Ennin (Jikaku Daishi), the third head of the Tendai sect, this sacred mountain is one of the most famous in the Tohoku region and appears in a haiku by Matsuo Basho.
The entire mountain is a place of training and worship, and to visit the inner sanctum (more precisely, the Nyoho-do Hall), you climb 1,015 stone steps.

Founded in 1861, this long-established soba restaurant has been in business for more than 160 years.
You can enjoy juwari soba (100% buckwheat noodles) made from buckwheat milled using the power of the waterwheel in front of the shop, and one of its signature items is also tori chuka, which was originally served as a staff meal.
The broth for tori chuka has a flavor reminiscent of slightly spicy tanuki soba (soba topped with crunchy bits of tempura batter), but the moment you take the Chinese-style noodles into your mouth, it transforms into a rich Japanese-style ramen.
It is not listed on the menu, but you can also order a large portion.

This is a commercial facility with a souvenir shop, restaurant, and garden.
You can also try experiences such as soba making, safflower dyeing, writing characters on shogi pieces, and carving shogi pieces.
Writing on a shogi piece is a recommended experience that takes about 40 minutes and lets you add a single character of your choice.

The entire facility, including the baths, is covered in tatami, and with Tendo Mokko furniture placed throughout, you can relax while looking out over the courtyard.
Rooms include Japanese-modern rooms with twin beds, as well as spacious rooms with a private open-air bath with free-flowing hot spring water (some rooms have semi-open-air baths).
Both the quality of the meals and the hospitality of the staff are highly rated by guests, letting you fully enjoy a calm hot spring stay.

Built in 1916, this building was used as the prefectural office and prefectural assembly hall until 1975.
It was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1984, and has been open to the public since 1995 as the Yamagata Prefecture Hometown Pavilion “Bunshokan.”
This impressive brick building has undergone repair and restoration, recreating the era down to the interior curtains, carpets, and wallpaper.

Goten-seki is one of five weirs built to secure water for the castle town and farming villages, and has been restored and reconstructed in Nanokamachi, Yamagata City’s shopping district.
Because it was a waterway drawn to the castle moat, it was named “Goten” (palace) weir.
Today, willow trees line the canal, and the area has become a charming district with wooden buildings housing restaurants and shops.

This dining spot is run by a butcher shop founded in 1893, and at the butcher shop on the left you can also buy meat, boxed lunches, and prepared foods.
From procurement to cutting, they are particular about quality, and in addition to sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and steak, you can savor Yamagata beef even through course meals.
At lunch, menu items such as beef hot pot, steak rice bowls, and hamburg steak also appear.
You can order sukiyaki or cut steak as well, but because it takes a bit of time to serve, it is better to make a reservation.

Japan’s only “Iai Shrine” enshrines Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, the founder of iaido from Murayama, and is known as the birthplace of iaido.
Iaido is a sword art in which you seize the initiative against an opponent and draw your sword from its scabbard, and by learning etiquette and the basic form called “Shohattou,” you train the mind as well.
The Iai Battoujutsu Samurai Experience is a two-hour course where you wear a training uniform and learn forms, etiquette, and mental focus.
You can also watch tameshigiri (test cutting), a battoujutsu demonstration in which a master cuts rolled tatami with a real sword.

This hot spring town is lined with Taisho-era ryokan, and at night gas lamps glow, creating an atmospheric scene known as “Taisho Roman” that is beloved by visitors.
Winter stays are especially popular, but summer is also cooler than many other regions, allowing you to enjoy it as a summer retreat.

There are highlights beyond the main area lined with ryokan, so head out for a walk.
You will find spots such as Shirogane Falls, Natsu-shirazu, where cool air blows out like an air conditioner even in midsummer, and Nobesawa Ginkodo, a former silver mine site that you can enter.

This soba shop, open on weekdays, is about a 12-minute walk from JR Oishida Station.
The recommended dish is kamo seiro, which lets you enjoy soba with two different dipping sauces.
At first, you will want to enjoy the smooth texture and aroma of the soba with the cold sauce, without adding condiments (green onion, wasabi, oroshi daikon).
The warm sauce uses deeply flavorful Yamagata duck meat.

This dango shop makes its dango with no additives at all, and the shelf life is the same day.
Freshly made, fluffy dango tastes on another level, with such a pleasant mouthfeel that it feels like you could eat any number of skewers.
Even as takeout, you can fully enjoy the generous topping of anko.

A sake tasting space inside the Yamagata Tourist Information Center on the first floor of Kajo Central, adjacent to the west side of Yamagata Station.
“Chetto” means “a little” in the Yamagata dialect, and you can taste small amounts from a variety of breweries.
A total of 42 drinks are available at all times (including 12 wines), and you can taste them for 500 yen for 3 shots or 1,000 yen for 6 shots.