Dewa Sanzan: The three sacred peaks of Dewa Sanzan—Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan, and Mount Yudono—have been a place of worship and pilgrimage for centuries. One highlight here is to climb the 2,000-plus steps through Haguro’s dense cedar forest to Dewa Sanzan Shrine, though for a deeper experience you could stay at a shukubo (temple lodging) or join yamabushi ascetics for mindful practices such as waterfall meditation.
Yamadera: At this mountaintop temple, you can follow in the footsteps of famed haikuist Matsuo Basho. When Basho came here in the late 1600s, he wrote one of his most famous haiku, “stillness / the cries of cicada / sink into the rocks.” Hike through the wooded trail and you’ll pass stone lanterns and statues covered in moss, before reaching a collection of temple buildings and sweeping views of the valley below. Come in summer and you might hear the cicadas, too.
Nishikawa: Named one of the Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism, Nishikawa gets about 20 feet (six meters) of snow every winter—it lasts so long you can still ski here in June. Home to one of the Dewa Sanzan peaks (Mount Gassan), Nishikawa has long attracted pilgrims, but the town is now also developing sustainable tourism projects, including craft workshops and culinary experiences.
When to go
In winter, Yamagata’s heavy snowfall is perfect for skiing and snowboarding. On the popular slopes of Mount Zao, the season runs from early December to early May, while less-developed Mount Gassan is open through early June. You’ll also find winter festivals, such as the Uesugi Snow Lantern Festival in February, when 1,000 snow lamps and lanterns are built around the Uesugi Shrine.
While more southern areas of Japan are very hot and humid in summer, Yamagata is not consistently as toasty. Away from the mountains, the average August high temperatures has ranged from 31 to 35°C (87 to 95°F) in recent years, but the mountains remain a little cooler. Summer is also the time for major festivities like the traditional dancing of the Yamagata Hanagasa in early August.
AloJapan.com