[Part 1] Day trip to Yamagata city | A sightseeing 2-5km radius from Yamagata station on the Senzan Line [Yamagata Prefecture]

On a whim, I decided to take a solo day trip to Yamagata using the Senzan Line

The reason is simple

As I get older and more time passes, I always go to Yamagata by car these days

Surely that's good too

However, why not take the Senzan Line and take a leisurely day trip around Yamagata city?

Because I thought so

Well, honestly

"I want to ride the Senzan Line for the first time in a while, and have a drink without worrying about anything."

That's what makes up the majority of the cases

So I went to Yamagata for a day trip! To be honest, I wanted to stay overnight! But I had work the next day!

I'm not sure if this will be helpful, but I'll divide it into two parts, so please bear with me

Departure from Kunimi Station!

There was no particular reason why I started from Kunimi Station. I just wanted to get there

My house is also far from Kunimi Station

What is this excitement?

First, purchase a ticket to Yamagata Station

The fare is 990 yen one way

Of course, I'll aim for the lead car

What is the Senzan Line?？

Here we will briefly explain the Senzan Line

a trunk line that connects Sendai Station in Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi , and Uzen-Chitose Yamagata City , Yamagata Prefecture .

The line's terminus is Uzen-Chitose Station, but all trains run directly to Yamagata Station

all stations are located in prefectural capitals (Yamagata City and Sendai City) ,

Incidentally, as anyone who has ridden the Senzan Line or is a local knows, the weather .

As I explained above, the best thing about the Senzan Line is the scenery

This route through the mountains is truly fascinating

Personally, I like this time of year, early summer, the best

Arrived at Yamagata Station at 10:20 AM!

The express train I took today takes about an hour to get from Sendai Station to Yamagata Station

The Senzan Line has beautiful scenery and to be honest it might be easier than coming by car

By the way, if you drive between Sendai Station and Yamagata Station, it takes just over an hour on the toll road

To be honest, the time difference isn't that great, especially when you consider the cost of gas, toll roads, and parking in town

"Where should we go first?"

I arrived in Yamagata, but I hadn't thought about where to go

It's a city, so I thought there must be something there, so I came here

First, open up the map,

、、、、。

In Yamagata City, there is Kasumigaoka Park near the station!

Yamagata Castle Ruins Kasumi Castle Park

Kasumi Castle Park in Yamagata City is a nationally designated historic site and is a park on the site of Yamagata Castle

The park is located on the site of Yamagata Castle, so there are a wide variety of things to see

Of course, there is also a statue of Mogami Yoshiaki, the first lord of the Dewa Yamagata domain, within Kasuga Castle Park

This statue is unique in the world as it stands on just its two hind legs, which is immediately obvious when you look at it

The fact that a three-ton statue can stand without any support is a feat that could only be achieved by Yamagata Casting, a company with a 900-year history

There are many other buildings and museums, including gymnasiums, martial arts halls, archery ranges, baseball fields, tennis courts, and even the Yamagata Prefectural Museum and Local History Museum

Yamagata City Local Museum (former Saiseikan main building), inside Kasumi Castle Park, Yamagata Castle Ruins

Saiseikan was built in 1878 (Meiji 11) as the Yamagata Prefectural Hospital. It was constructed by Meiji era carpenters as a symbol of modern civilization and enlightenment, and was later relocated and restored through the efforts and skills of Showa era craftsmen

Admission to the former Saiseikan Main Building is free and anyone can freely tour it, so be sure to stop by

Since it was originally a prefectural hospital, you can view materials related to medical care and the lives of citizens at the time

Now that I've visited the former Saiseikan main building, I think it's time to move on

On the way back, I want to stop by somewhere, so I'll leave through Higashi Otemon Gate

As you can see in the photo, local residents use it as a convenient means of transportation

It certainly made me realize how closely connected the Yamagata Castle ruins are to the local citizens, as I thought that if there was such a large castle ruins park in the center of town, people would definitely use it

To Yamagata Museum of Art

The Yamagata Museum of Art is located just outside the Higashi Otemon Gate in Kajo Park, and is characterized by its permanent exhibition of mainly Japanese paintings and modern French paintings

This was a place I definitely wanted to visit on this day trip

The collection here is far superior to that of nearby art museums

Of course, everyone has their own preferences and hobbies, but I am truly grateful that they have put so much effort into this

The Yamagata Museum of Art has a permanent Yoshino Gypsum Collection

You can view a wide range of exquisite modern French paintings, including those by Millet, Pissarro, Manet, Degas, Cezanne, Monet, Matisse, and many others

Isn't this amazing?

Next to the Yamagata Museum of Art, Mogami Yoshiaki History Museum

Mogami Yoshiaki was the first lord of the Dewa Yamagata domain, which was active during the Sengoku period

He was an extremely powerful lord in battle, joining the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, defeating Naoe Kanetsugu of the Uesugi clan in the Keicho Dewa War, and building a territory of 570,000 koku

This place is also free to view, so when I went inside to look around, a staff member told me,

"Where are you from?"

When asked, I answered, "I came here on a trip from Sendai."

"If you're from Sendai, you're relatives, since Date Masamune's mother was Mogami Yoshimitsu's sister," he said to me in a friendly voice

I knew this as historical fact, but when I thought about it carefully, I was left wondering if Date Masamune's military strength and leadership skills might have been inherited from Mogami Yoshimitsu

This is not related to the story above, but in the course of the conversation,

Are there any recommended soba restaurants in the neighborhood?

When I heard that

I'll never forget the comment she made: "I don't really like soba, I prefer ramen."

This museum is a place that both Mogami Yoshimitsu and his sister will fall in love with

This is the end of the first part

This is getting long, so I'll end the first part here

The second part starts with eating lunch

In the second part, I will talk more about the Nanokamachi area and my visit to Bunshokan, so please bear with me a little longer

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Part 2] A solo day trip to Yamagata City, sightseeing within a 2-5km radius of Yamagata Station on the Senzan Line [Yamagata Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/14636

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/10471 In the first part, I took the Senzan Line from Kunimi Station to Yamagata, then strolled from Kajo Park to the nearby Yamagata Museum of Art and Mogami Yoshiaki History Museum, experiencing a little of Yamagata's culture and history. In the afternoon, I decided to stroll around the city center, heading toward Nanokamachi. It was around 1:00 PM, and I was starting to feel hungry, so I decided to have lunch. I was just vaguely thinking, "I want to eat soba noodles," so I hadn't thought about which restaurant to go to. I wanted to eat at a soba restaurant I found while heading toward Nanokamachi from Kajo Park, but perhaps I chose the wrong route, as the soba noodles were hard to come by...

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editorial staff

I'm a member of the Neft editorial team. I love alcohol, music, and traveling, so I indulge in some drinks after work on weekdays, and on weekends, if I have free time, I travel to nearby areas.
I work hard every day with the goal of eventually traveling overseas to find connections to Tohoku through NEFT reporting.