Here are some shots of my recent trip to Yamagata. Enjoy the Japanese countryside on your very own photo tour.
Day 1: The train I took to get there went, for part of the way, along the western coast and included some beautiful views of the Sea of Japan.
You know you're not in Tokyo anymore when...
Day 2: Went on a hike up Haguro-san (Mt. Haguro). Successfully climbed the 2,446 steps to the top. (Continued to feel the "success" for the two days that followed.) Had lovely views of tall cedar trees, and the trail was dotted with lots of shrines for the local folk religion, Shugendo.
Even monks living in shrines at the tops of mountains in rural Japan need their cola fix. I guess.
Day 3: Sakata City. A smaller and much emptier town than the travel guides led me to believe, but maybe worth it for the blue skies.
I took a picture so it would last longer.
Here you have it: visual proof that Yamagata is the treasure at the end of the rainbow.
Days 4 and 5: Shinjo City and vicinity. Went on a boat ride down the Mogami River. See our tour guide? He serenaded us with traditional songs about the river as we sat on a tatami-mat floor.
Yamagata's rice looks just as pleasing as it tastes.
One final photo, taken about an hour before heading to the train station to catch the bullet train back to Tokyo. This made it a whole lot harder to leave.
