Sakata / Tsuruoka

Top Things to do

• Mt. Haguro Five-Storied Pagoda

  4.5

  210 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Tsuruokashi Haguromachitouge 7

  The five-storied pagoda at Mt. Haguro, one of the three sacred mountains of Dewa where Shugendo (a mountain asceticism incorporating Shintoist and Buddhist ideas) was practiced until the Meiji period, has been designated as a national treasure. The current tower is thought to have been reconstructed by Masauji Muto, a head administrator of Mt. Haguro and lord of Shonai in the time of Emperor Chokei of the Bunchu period. It has an elegant appearance nestling within the cedar trees.

• Ken Domon Museum of Photography

  4.5

  87 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Sakatashi Imoriyama 2-13 Inside Iimoriyama Park

  The Ken Domon Museum of Photography is a specialized museum located in Iimoriyama Park along Prefectural Route 355 in the Iimoriyama area of the city of Sakata. Photographer Ken Domon was a native of the area, and the museum contains his entire life's work, about 70,000 photos. The exhibits are changed on a three-month cycle, with each cycle having own theme, so that all the photos are displayed in turn. The museum also contains sculptures and gardens created by artists who were associates of Domon, especially the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.

• Tsuruoka Park (Tsurugaoka Castle ruins)

  4.0

  92 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Tsuruokashi Babachou 4

  Built around the ruins of Tsurugaoka Castle, Tsuruoka Park, sprawling in the center of Tsuruoka City, is a renowned destination for cherry blossom viewing in spring. 730 cherry trees grow on the park’s ground, particularly around the castle’s moat, and in spring the tree’s petals cover the waters of the moat. Also selected as one of the 100 best places in Japan for cherry blossom viewing, each year around April the park bustles with great numbers of visitors come to enjoy the flowers. Shonai-jinja Shrine stands on the site where the tower of Tsurugaoka Castle once stood, and the shrine’s treasure house displays various items connected with the lords who once ruled the domain from here. Some of the park’s many other highlights include an ancient Japanese cedar several hundred years old, and a museum dedicated to Tsuruoka-born author Shuhei Fujioka.

• Former Main Residence of Homma Family and Villa “O-tana”

  4.0

  71 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Sakatashi Nibanchou 12-13

  This samurai-style villa built in 1768 by Mitsuoka Homma—the third landlord of Homma Family, wealthy merchant family of Dewa—served as lodgings for the Shogun’s inspection envoys. Featuring a combination of samurai-style and merchant-style construction, this building would be unusual anywhere in the country. The red pines are also wonderful, and are said to live over 400 years.

• Kaisen-donya Tobishima

  4.0

  72 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Sakatashi Funabachou 2-5-102F

  This restaurant, which opened in 2003, specializes in fresh seafood and marine products. It offers fresh fish caught off the Shonai coast of the Japan Sea for reasonable prices. The “funamori-zen” and “tobishima-zen” dishes, of which only 30 to 50 portions are available daily, offer incredible volume for an amazing price. The other sets and rice bowls are popular for offering hearty helpings of seafood. It’s about a 10-minute drive from JR Sakata Station.

• Chidokan Shonai Domain School

  4.0

  66 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Tsuruokashi Babachou 11-45

  Sakai Tadaari, the ninth lord of Tsuruoka Domain, established this domain school in 1805 with the aim of reforming samurai customs and cultivating surpassing individuals. The school’s educational policy focused on further strengthening each student’s innate talents. Today, the school is a designated National Historic Site and is open to the general public; facilities such as front Mikado gate, Confucian temple, and lecture hall remain intact. This facility is the only domain school still in existence in the Tohoku region.

• Sushi Kappo Koise

  4.0

  57 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Sakatashi Aioichou 1-3-25

  This sushi restaurant along Prefectural Route 42, roughly five minutes on foot from Sakata Station, offers sushi made with local fish in season, and organic sushi rice made from the Shonai sasanishiki variety. The 10-piece set “Shun-no-omakasenigiri” (Chef’s Recommendation for the Season) is quite a popular dish.

• Catholic Tsuruoka Church

  4.0

  59 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Tsuruokashi Babachou 7-19

  Tsuruoka Catholic Cathedral is located a five-minute walk from the Shiyakusho (City Hall) mae bus stop on the bus line from Tsuruoka Station. It is a beautiful church with a red roof and white walls, designed by Father Papineau and completed in 1903. A masterpiece of Meiji (1868–1912) period Romanesque architecture. On one of its altars stands the only statue of the Black Madonna in Japan and one of the few in the world. Another feature unique among Japanese churches is that its pictorial windows are not made of stained glass but of pictures painted on transparent paper pressed between two panes of glass.

• Al-ché-cciano

  4.0

  55 Reviews

  Yamagata Pref. Tsuruokashi Shimoyamazoe Ichiriduka 83

  Since it was opened in 2000, this Italian restaurant has been serving the highest quality food using carefully selected ingredients delivered each morning from producers in Shonai. Guests can taste the full flavor of the food from Shonai in the many course meals available as well as from large platters, optional menus to add to your course meal, and special course meals to suit any guests’ needs.