YAMAGATA
Yamagata Hotels & Travel
Guide
to
Yamagata
Japan including transport to
Yamagata city,
Yamagata attractions
and
Yamagata
hotels (Save up to 70% on
Yamagata
Hotels Reservations).
Yamagata (山形市; -shi, lit. mountain shape) is the
capital city of Yamagata Prefecture which is located in the
southwest corner of Tohoku
(northeast) region, facing the Sea of Japan, on the
Honshu island, Japan.
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The famed temple of Yamadera (Ryushakuji) lies
within the city limits, 15 minutes by train from the center.
As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 255,304 and a
density of 669.49 persons per kmē. The total area is 381.34 kmē.
The hanagasa festival (花笠祭り; hanagasa matsuri), one of Tohoku's
major summer festivals, is held in the city every August. Yamagata
also hosts the bi-annual Yamagata International Documentary Film
Festival. An autumn tradition is imoni-kai (taro potato party). taro
potatoes, thin-sliced meat, and vegetables are boiled in a pot at
picnic spots. The banks of the Mamigasaki River are popular. Once a
year, the city government serves thousands from its giant imoni pot.
Yamagata City is served by the Yamagata
Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo,
which detaches from the Tohoku Shinkansen at Fukushima City. The
express train takes under three hours, and the one-way cost is about
10,000 yen.
Yamagata City is located in a wide central valley (bonchi) that can
heat up quickly in spring and summer and is often grey and humid,
while to the east in Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific coast it is
usually clearer and more temperate. The opposite is the case in
winter with the valley seeing frequent snow and the Pacific coast
remaining clear and fine.
In the center of town west of the train station is the extensive
Kajo Koen (park), the grounds of the keep of feudal warlord Mogami
Yoshiaki. While most of the park is athletic fields and public
function buildings, the rebuilt walls, eastern main gate, and
surrounding moat of the former castle are impressive. The park is
filled with cherry blossoms and people in season. It contains a
small public museum with nice displays of natural and social
history.
The city is also the home of the Kojirakawa Campus and Iida Campus
of Yamagata University. The Kojirakawa Campus houses the Faculty of
Literature & Social Science, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty
of Education, Art & Science. The Iida Campus includes the Faculty of
Medicine, which also includes the School of Nursing and the
University Hospital.
The city was founded on April 1, 1889.
Article based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License)
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