Start at the very sleek and modern Yamagata Station.

Start at the very sleek and modern Yamagata Station.

Yamagata City Tour

Take a ¥300 tour of Yamagata City

Hannah Warren Sep 03, 2013 - 1 min read

Start at the very sleek and modern Yamagata Station.

First stop! Beninokura, the old safflower trading house with its distinctive red awning.

Head inside Beninokura for a coffee at the gorgeous Cafe 990, a restored kimono shop.

Or check out the beautiful soba restaurant, which used to be the guest house.

Behind the cafe and soba shop is the pebbled courtyard, with the information centre and gift shop.

Beni chan, the adorable Yamagata mascot.

At the information centre, there is no English available, but the guides are lovely, and will do their best to help you with whatever you need.

The information centre has a different theme every month; this month it was Taiki-kun, the Yamagata Snow Monster mascot.

Pick up a stamp map and try to collect all the stamps from various locations around the city. When you find all of them, go back to the information centre and claim your prize!

The staff at the information centre are very friendly...

...and were happy to give us a tour of the restored safflower trading house.

When you're done with the Beninokura complex, jump back on the bus at the same place you got off.

By night, Hottonaru (a block behind the bus stop) is a bustling alley of standing bars, just bursting with beer and yakitori.

While you're in here, don't forget to collect your stamp!!

From Hottonaru, it's just a short walk to Gotenzeki, another beautifully restored area with shops and cafes.

On the second floor is a kimono store where, for ¥3000, you can use a traditional weaving machine to weave 10cm of cloth.

Downstairs you can stop at the lovely Classic Cafe for a bite to eat and a coffee.

You can also find the only store I've ever found Ferraris and teapots co-existing; the Ken Okuyama design store.

Just a few doors down, in the Nana Beans building, there is a Kokkeshi Doll Museum on the fifth floor. It's totally free and worth a look!

Take a stroll down the main road, where you'll find the former prefectural government building.

It's been converted into a museum, and, while there is no English information available, the exhibits are worth wandering through.

Take the bus again, and get off at Kajo Park, where you'll find the Mogami Yoshiaki Museum. Entrance is free, and there is a lot of local history to discover.

Next door is the Yamagata Museum of Art, which has a wide range of art from Europe, around Japan, and Yamagata. ¥500.

Inside the castle gates, there is no castle (although there are plans to begin rebuilding in the near future) but there is a very small free museum.

Then take the bus back to Yamagata Station to complete the circle. Or alternatively take the bus for another spin, just because you can!

For a cheap and easy way to see the highlights of Yamagata City, jump on a ¥100 Utoria bus, and grab an all-day pass for ¥300. You can jump on and off the bus, which runs every ten minutes, as often as you want.

There's plenty to see and do along the route, from museums and galleries to cafes and restaurants, so do it all once, then ride around a few times just to enjoy the view.

Hannah Warren

Hannah Warren @hannah.warren

Hannah lives in Sydney and spends most of her time dreaming of being somewhere else. She loves karaoke, hates making plans in advance, and will probably never be able to read a map.