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Prefecture of Japan
Photo: さかおり, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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the Three Mountains of Dewa, holy to the mountain ascetic cult of Shugendo
By train
Yamagata prefecture is served by the Yamagata Shinkansen, which zips up every hour from Tokyo through Yonezawa (2 hr, ¥10,000) and Yamagata (3 hr) to Shinjo (3½ hr, ¥12,000).
By bus
The southern parts of Yamagata prefecture can easily be accessed by express bus from Sendai just to the south.
By bus
There are high-speed buses available from Yamagata city to Tsuruoka city in the northwest regions of the prefecture.
By car
Considered the easiest way to get around the prefecture.
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Higashine · Regional · GAJ
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Yamagata (山形) is the prefectural capital of Yamagata prefecture. Zao Onsen, the largest ski resort in Tohoku that doubles as a hot spring resort, is within city limits, but it's 40 minutes away bus and covered in a separate article.
Tohoku's largest ski and hot spring resort
Obanazawa (尾花沢) is a city in Yamagata. Obanazawa's main claim to fame is that it has one of the highest snowfalls in the entire world, with over two meters falling in an average winter, and they've even developed a special sharply peaked "flower hat" (hanagasa) to stop snow accumulating on your head.
Okura (大蔵村 Ōkura-mura), sometimes written Ohkura, is a village in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan designated as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in Japan". It's most known for Hijiori Onsen and Hijiori kokeshi.
Sakata (酒田) is a city in Yamagata (prefecture). Due to its location on the Sea of Japan, the city has a large fishing industry.
This page describes a city in Yamagata. For the village in Okayama, see Shinjo (Okayama).
Tsuruoka (鶴岡) is a city in Yamagata.
Yonezawa (米沢) is a city in Yamagata, Japan. The walls and moats of its castle remain, and the grounds are a popular place for cherry blossom viewing in the spring.
Articles and travel topics about Yamagata (prefecture) and Japan.
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