Prefectures of Japan EP 6 - All About Yamagata!

everybody welcome back to the sixth episode of prefectures of Japan the series where we look into each of the 47 prefectures and what makes them unique at the end of last week's episode when we looked at the prefecture of Miyagi I said I will catch you guys next time where we look at why all the houses are radioactive but disregard that because that's next week's prefecture today we'll be looking at Yamagata Yamagata is a part of the Japanese island of Honshu it's in the Tohoku region and it's located right here in the southwest corner facing the Sea of Japan it shares a border with Akita Miyagi and Fukushima the flag of Yamagata consists of three white stylized mountains on a blue background the blue stands for desire for peace and the white for snow as well as purity of the people mountains are the symbol for this flag because Yamagata means mountain shape it has a population of 1 million 79 thousand nine hundred and fifty Yamagata's economy features a concentration of Technology oriented companies information and telecommunications but it's also Japan's largest producer of cherries and pears a large quantity of many other fruits are also produced in this Prefecture Miko Yu Shu Buddha is the governor of Yamagata she was elected in 2009 and became the sixth female governor in Japanese history Miyako is known for starting a campaign style when she publicly wore a huge red headdress shaped like a cherry while delivering a speech in the prefectural government building she did this in order to strengthen the prefectures power to send messages to the public this inspired other government officials to do the same for their prefectures fruit or bean of importance Yamagata is also the name of the capital city located in the mountainous southeast it's known for the mysterious mount Zhou the stunning abundance of onsens and having some amazed beef 17% of the lane in this prefecture is dedicated to national parks including codger park the site of the former Yamagata castle with the beautiful cherry blossom trees and Nishizawa park a charming little park with a beautiful lookout point yamadera is a major attraction in Yamagata it's a temple that's been carved into the mountainside with stunning views of the Tatia river valley below it visitors must take a 30-minute hike up a trail to reach the temple every season holds amazing views but the bright colors during autumn and the thick snow fall during winter are most popular there are souvenir shops restaurants and even local ice cream waiting for you at the bottom the Yamagata hana gossip festival is one of the major summer festivals in the Tohoku region it takes place every year from August 5th through the 7th and draws in a million people over the three days there's a parade for the festival deity is al Gong in over 10,000 dancers in costume with Hana goose' or flower hats and multiple different types of dances which you can actually participate in every year during the cold winter months a winter phenomenon occurs in Yamagata giulio or snow monsters are trees on the mountain sides that have become encased in snow every one of these snow monsters are uniquely shaped by strong winds and thick layers of snow and ice which create almost lifelike figures these are popular at the famous mountains a ski resort where some people ski in between them Dean's on onsen meaning silver mountain hot spring is a hot spring town hidden in the mountains of Yamagata the town was originally built around a silver mine but is now known as one of the prettiest onsen towns in all of japan there are historic Rokon or japanese-style hotels lined down the narrow streets there's two public baths in a public footpath around the town centre and the RO cons offer their own private baths that are usually historical I want to go here very badly the experience would be amazing at night there's even these gas burning street lamps that illuminate the whole town like oh my gosh just look look at this look at this place there's also a trail that leads up into the we passed the waterfall where you can explore the former silver mines this town alone makes me want to live in this prefecture the climate in Yamagata consists of long humid summers and long snowy winters spring and autumn are shorter but both are dry and sunny remnants of one or two typhoons usually pass there between August and October some famous dishes from this Prefecture include yonezawa beef which is one of the most famous varieties of beef in Japan it can be found in many dishes throughout the prefecture the marbling of the fat is well-balanced and creates a melt-in-your-mouth texture this is due to the good care and love given to the cows right before we kill and eat them emoni is a simmer dish that consists of taro potatoes and beef or fish in a soy sauce base broth traditionally people gather around riverbanks and enjoy it for events there's even a festival called a monique i festival where ammonia is made in huge pots hiyashi robin is a cold ramen sometimes served with ice cubes and topped with summer ingredients common toppings include cucumbers green onions seaweed and pork cherries are included in many dishes and desserts and cherry parfaits are the most popular the Yamagata Shinkansen line connects Yamagata to Tokyo and is a part of the toku Shinkansen line there are many stops on the route from Yamagata to Tokyo and local trains are present in the prefecture as well the Yamagata Airport is a Regional Airport and is located in Higashi knit it has a two storey terminal with two boarding gates and a rooftop observation deck the shona airport is a smaller Airport and is located in sakata I think this may be my favourite prefecture so far while researching information and pictures I just I got this feeling that was just like I also came across this YouTube channel called stay Yamagata which seems to be an official channel for promoting the prefecture the videos are all two to four minutes long and display prime locations and things to do in Yamagata during all four seasons each season has its own part one in two videos with the same group or a couple of people these videos have crazy good quality and the actors are always having so much fun like way too much fun how how can you have this much fun they give you a real feeling of urgency to immediately get on a plane and go to Yamagata this is probably another reason why I fell for the prefecture they did an amazing job especially compared to miyabi's prefecture video these are the things I found interesting about the prefecture of Yamagata special thanks to my friends in Japan who sits some beautiful pictures of this prefecture big THANK YOU to eq1 for joining the Wolfpack by supporting me on patreon you are officially able in real life you're a rule that is all for now but I will catch you guys next time where we look at why all the houses are radioactive but for real this time [Music] [Music]

Channel: Sarah Loves Japan

Views: 3,128

Keywords: Texas, Japan, Japanese Culture, Prefecture, Prefectures of Japan, Japanese, Yamagata

Id: WkxeQfUJ5I0

Length: 7min 48sec (468 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 04 2020