Tsuruoka

Gateway to Dewa Sanzan, sacred mountains of yamabushi Shugendō, with Mt. Haguro's 2,446 stone steps and National Treasure five-storey pagoda; Tsuruoka is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, with easy side trips to Kamo Aquarium and Sakata's Sankyo Soko warehouses.

Tsuruoka lies in the southern Shōnai Plain in northwestern Yamagata Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan to the west. It is the largest city in the prefecture by area, and in 2014 became Japan's first UNESCO “City of Gastronomy”. To the southeast, Mt. Haguro, Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono — together known as Dewa Sanzan — have been sacred to yamabushi Shugendō for more than 1,400 years. The three mountains symbolise the present, past and future, and completing all three is regarded as a “journey of rebirth”. A visit falls into three parts. First, Dewa Sanzan: on Mt. Haguro, the Zuishinmon gate, the National Treasure five-storey pagoda, the 2,446 stone steps and the Sanshin Gōsaiden shrine at the summit can be visited year-round, and in the Tōge area you can stay at shukubō temple lodgings, eat shōjin ryōri vegetarian cuisine and try yamabushi training. Mt. Gassan (open 1 July to mid-September) and Mt. Yudono (roughly late April to early November) are summer pilgrimages, and Dainichibō and Chūrenji temples in the Ōami area enshrine sokushinbutsu (self-mummified monks). Second, central Tsuruoka: the castle site in Tsuruoka Park, the Chidō Museum and the Matsugaoka Kaikonjō. Third, the coast: Kamo Aquarium, Yunohama Onsen and Zenpōji temple, with Atsumi Onsen to the south; about 25 km north, Sakata has the Sankyo Soko rice warehouses and Sōmarō. Getting there: from Tokyo, take the Jōetsu Shinkansen to Niigata and change to the limited express “Inaho”, about 4 hours in total, or fly from Haneda to Shōnai Airport in about 1 hour. Buses to the mountain sights are infrequent, so renting a car is recommended. Plan to stay 2–3 days, or 3 days to walk the full Three Mountains pilgrimage in summer. Local specialities include Shōnai rice, mōsō bamboo shoots, dadacha-mame edamame, kandara-jiru winter cod soup and Shōnai-fu wheat gluten.

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