■ Welcome to Kaminoyama Onsen

Kaminoyama Onsen in Kaminoyama City is a hot spring town with a long history of over 560 years.

Kaminoyama was formerly a castle town and even nowadays it kept lot of this castle town charms.

About 30 minutes by car from Yamagata City, it can also be accessed in less than 3 hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train.

■ Soba noodles in a traditional house

After getting off at the station, first of all, I want to go satisfy my stomach.

Yamagata is famous for soba

The Takara-tei shop is famous for its ni-hachi soba.

Homemade powder of soba noodle from Yamagata · Hokkaido with stone mill and we are using deep natural water of 120 m underground.

I recommended the tori soba made with sakura chicken from the prefecture in the cold winter season.

This chicken was raised with a mixed feed of fruit juice from Yamagata Prefecture.

It has moderate fat and a texture that complements the gentle sweetness of the soba broth.

There are also other popular items such as nishin soba and kamo tsuke soba, while course meals are available with a reservation.
I would like you to enjoy a slow meal while watching the garden from the large spacious room.

It is about 5 minutes by car from the station, so it is convenient to use a city bus that circulates the city or a local taxi.

■ Strolling around town in geta

After having your stomach filled, why do not you go out for a stroll in the hot spring town?

There are five public baths in downtown Kaminoyama, and the bathing fee is uniformly 150 yen (hair washing fee is extra)!

The Shimo Daiyu public bath is one of the oldest in the city. There is a legend that the Zen master Takuan famous for the pickles after his name bathed here.

When entering there is a ticket vending machine. It feels very npostalgic!

In the bath, as you immerse yourself in a little hot water, your body warms up to core from the outside cold.

Because local people will also speak to you gently, this exchange is also a fascination of hot springs.

Another thing I would Recommended is Shinyu Sawa-no-yu.

Standing quietly in the alley of a residential area, this common bathhouse features a circular bathtub.

It has a considerable depth so you can soak down all the way to your shoulders slowly.

And more interesting are the beautiful tiles in which cranes dancing in the sky are drawn.

Thanks to the height of the ceiling this feels very open.

■ Leisure time at a luxurious inn

Next we are checking in at tonight’s accommodation, the Hanaakari-no-Yado Tsuki-no-Ike inn in the Yumachi district.

It is a very popular accommodation among Kamanoyama hot springs, and is particularly popular with women of a wide range of age groups.

The reason is that it starts with polite hospitality, it has a variety of modern and chic interiors, and delicious dishes that make use of Yamagata’s ingredients.

You get to wear a yukata, which you can choose freely among the diverse colors and designs available!

You will most likely hesitate on which to wear.

(Provided by the inn)

And after changing into yukata, we went to the hot spring bath.

On the women’s side, there is an inner bath and two different open-air ones.

This sasabune tub is a luxurious bath with a connected water source large enough just for one person.

(Provided by the inn)

Also, you can enjoy a drink while soaking in the Japanese cypress bath where lights float from 16:00 to 20:00.

In the winter season, soaking in the bath while watching snow fall is quite a thrill. I also took a long bath after all.

After relaxing in the bath I am hungry and finally got to the meal venue.

The course started with an appetizer with plenty of Yamagata seasonal ingredients, a freshly prepared sashimi arrangement, and a winter’s unique cheese hot pot (menu is subject to change according to the season.)

Especially, I would like you to pay attention to the famous dadacha bean dish.

Dadacha mame are famous edamame beans grown in the Shonai district. They have a short harvesting period so are known as a rarity.

Not to mention their melting texture, of course, you will be surprised at their sweetness.

Yamagata beef will be served with wine salt made from Sakata wine.

The bitter taste goes well with meat that is full of juicy gravy.

The next morning we had a large breakfast where everything was really healthy!

It was a wonderful inn that was filled with just five senses.

There are various plans for cuisine and rooms available, so please take a look at the official website by all means.

■ New delicacy of Yamagata

Speaking of the pleasure of traveling, souvenir selection is also indispensable.

Cherries and La France pears are really famous in Yamagata.

At the Yamagata Pudding shop you can taste such seasonal Yamagata tastes.

Cherries were Napoleon from the prefecture while the grapes were Shine Muscat. All pudding are made with fresh fruits freshly purchased directly from local farmers.

Even though it is good news for those who are good at getting up earlier, there is also a raw egg pudding that is limited to 20 servings a day and with a shelf life of 10 minutes.

There are also original gift bags and refrigerating agents, so please have a taste of Yamagata at home as well.

This season is the best that you can enjoy Yamagata’s winter charm.

Please do come and visit us too.