Japan is one of the most beautiful places on earth to witness epic fall colors. While Kyoto and Tokyo attract lots of visitors for their famous autumn leaves, there are some truly stunning sceneries that can be experienced only in Northern Japan. Sendai and Yamagata are two such beautiful cities in the north of Japan. Since they aren’t as famous as other big cities, Sendai and Yamagata are less frequented and underrated by travelers.
Sendai city was the place where we lived for eight years as students at Tohoku University. During this time, we could explore many beautiful places in northern Japan. Since Yamagata city was quite close to Sendai, we took a road trip to see the fall colors in Yamagata. We enjoyed our trip a lot and could capture some marvelous shots of beautiful autumn colors.
If you are going to visit Sendai or Yamagata, remember that these two cities are so big and attractions spread over a wide area. Thus, traveling by car is the best to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Moreover, it will help you to make some unplanned stops as the road trip from Sendai to Yamagata is wonderful as the destination.
This post shows you the most beautiful places to see the fall colors in Yamagata. If you are visiting Japan, don’t miss the lovely Yamagata city to see the spic fall colors.
Access to Yamagata
Yamagata locates around 60 km from Sendai city. We could reach there within a 1-hour drive via Yamagata/Tohoku Expressway. One of the most fascinating parts of our road trip was the beautiful scenery along the way. There were apple orchards filled with red-colored apple fruits.
As we drove our way through the mountains, we got our first taste of autumn scenery in Yamagata. We could see the mountainsides filled with fiery red color maple leaves, which looked like a colorful painting.
1. Yamagata Prefectural General Sports Park
Without a doubt, Yamagata Prefectural General Sports Park in Tendo is the most beautiful place to view red leaves in Yamagata. This sports park is a popular place for sporting and recreational activities. Other than the sports stadium, this park is highly famous for its stunning autumn colors.
When we visited the park, we could see it was an excellent place filled with beautiful red leaves. There were many maple trees with fiery red color foliage. Moreover, there were a lot of deciduous trees that turn beautifully into autumn colors. It was so photogenic and we couldn’t stop taking photographs of the lovely scenery.
The park was elegantly landscaped with ponds and fountains in a serene environment. There were only a few visitors at the park and we enjoyed a lot watching the scenery. It was a totally peaceful place and we spent a couple of hours sightseeing and relaxing.
The epic view of fall colors in the park gave us many opportunities to capture some stunning shots. Moreover, we could get a lovely shot of an elderly couple who came to visit the red leaves in the park.
Stunning Gingko Trees
Other than the Maple trees, the most prominent feature of the park is a 250 m-long Ginkgo tree line that runs through the park. Both sides of the street were neatly lined with these trees, turning an autumn stroll into a magical experience. Certainly, this is one of the most beautiful sceneries we encountered in the whole of Japan.
The rows of Ginkgo trees in the park were already turned golden yellow and the vibrant colors were so pretty. The autumnal beauty of these ginkgo trees was the main highlight, which attracts visitors to the park. When the sky was clear, the contrast between the brilliant autumn gold with the surroundings makes it a wonderfully photogenic spot. It was a magical experience of walking through the golden carpet of fallen Ginkgo leaves.
From October 15th, the illumination festival of Ginkgo trees starts from sunset to 10:00 pm. If you are planning a trip to Yamagata, don’t miss this charming place where you can truly feel the autumn. Definitely, the stunning beauty of this place will make your trip well worth it.
2. Yamagata Castle
Yamagata Castle is an iconic symbol of Yamagata city. It was constructed in 1592 by Yoshiaki Mogami, the founder of Yamagata city. Located in the centre of Yamagata city, this is recognized as one of Japan’s top 100 castles.
Although most of the castle buildings were destroyed over time, visitors can enjoy the historical beauty of the reconstructed replicas of the castle. This rebuilt section shows how the palace grounds looked before. There are large notice boards with pictures and details to show the grandeur of the past to the visitors.
We could see the old castle walls have been replaced by replica walls. The restored east gate was historic and impressive. The castle ground spreads over a large area and it was a very peaceful retreat where you can leisurely walk along the pathways.
Statue of Yoshiaki Mogami
The most prominent thing on the castle grounds is the huge statue of Yoshiaki Mogami riding on a horse. He was the founder of Yamagata city. Moreover, he was one of the most prominent feudal lords in the whole Tohoku region. This heroic equestrian statue of Yoshiaki displays his helmet, battle command baton, and other implements he actually used.
The statue of Yoshiaki Mogami looked quite familiar to us because it was more or less similar to the statue of Date Masamune in Sendai. According to the historical background, Sendai founder Date Masamune was the nephew of Yamagata founder Yoshiaki Mogami.
While walking on the castle grounds, we could see there were many feral cats in the park, some friendly and some shy. Although we tried to pet these cute fur balls, they paid no interest to play with the visitors. After all, it was a great stroll around, admiring the beautiful views of autumn colors of the castle ground.
3. Kajo Park
Kajo Park is the former garden of Yamagata Castle. It is one of the most beautiful places in Yamagata city for viewing the red leaves. You can easily reach the south bridge across the moat within 20 minutes from the Yamagata station.
There was an elevated walkway around the park and it afforded nice views of the park. The photogenic bridge and scenery of fall colors over there were quite striking.
The trees along the walkway served as umbrellas and it was shady and cool. We found endless opportunities to capture the beauty of red leaves in the park.
Furthermore, Kojo Park is famous as Yamagata’s best scenic location for cherry blossoms. There are more than 1,500 cherry blossom trees in the park along the east and south moats. They are illuminated during the blooming season and it is a well-worthy sight to witness in Yamagata.
4. Yamagata Kyodokan
Kyodokan is the previous Yamagata Prefectural Hospital, built in the late 1800s. It was reconstructed and opened to the public with free admission in 1969. This is a western style building that exhibits medical equipment of that time. This circular building has a courtyard in the middle and a tower at the front.
This is an extraordinary building made by Japanese craftsmen imitating the Western architectural style. Thus, it displays a mixture of Western and Japanese designs. We found the garden in the middle courtyard was a lovely place adorned by ornamental plants.
5. Bunshokan
Bunshokan is an imposing building locates at the end of the main street in Yamagata city. It was an easy walk from Yamagata Station to the Bunshokan. We enjoyed some unique statues and clock towers while walking towards this building. This was the previous prefectural government office but now houses the Yamagata Prefectural Museum. This building is a designated Important Cultural Property in Japan. Entrance to the museum is free for visitors.
Bunshokan is a unique building you’ll find in Yamagata city. It has Western-style Renaissance architecture and looks like a building in Europe. The entrance gate leads you into a large courtyard where you can view the striking façade from various angles. This clock tower houses the second oldest working clock in Japan.
To the right of the building, there is a small garden. Although its size was small, the garden was elegantly landscaped with perfectly trimmed bushes and plants. There were a number of red maple trees with fiery red color leaves.
It was a quiet place for resting and enjoying nature in the midst of the city. Without a doubt, Bunshokan is a nice place you shouldn’t miss in Yamagata city.
6. Momiji Park
It took us about 25 minutes on foot from JR Yamagata Station to reach Momiji Park. It was originally a temple garden, adorned with a circulation-style pond. The major highlight of the park is the bright red maple leaves. Simply put, Momiji Park showcases the epitome of the autumnal beauty of Yamagata.
The maple trees had reached their richest when we visited the park. The park had turned into an epic photogenic spot filled with colorful autumn leaves. The stunning hues of foliage that spread around the park were absolutely breathtaking. Definitely, Momiji Park is a mesmerizing place where you can enjoy the fall colors to the fullest.
7. Yamagata Museum of Art
We could see the Yamagata Museum of Art while walking through the streets of Yamagata. We couldn’t enter the museum since the time didn’t permit it. But we found the surrounding garden of the museum quite beautiful, adorned by lovely autumn foliage.
To sum up, the fall colors in Yamagata gave us a wonderful experience with an eternal golden memory. If you are planning to visit Japan, you should definitely include Yamagata on your bucket list. Remember that the best time to view red leaves is from the end of October to the beginning of November. There is no doubt, you’ll enjoy the magical beauty of fall colors in Yamagata.
This post is based on our experiences in Yamagata, a few years before. Attractions may vary in the present situation.
