Yamagata Prefecture

Hokkaido & Tohoku region · Prefecture

Yamagata produces the most cherries in Japan. It is a prefecture of mountains, faith and hot springs, with the mountain worship of the Three Mountains of Dewa, the frost-covered trees of Zao and the streets of Ginzan Onsen. It is also known for having hot springs in every municipality in the prefecture.

Cherries
Three Mountains of Dewa (Dewa Sanzan)
Frost-covered trees of Zao
Imoni (taro stew)

Key facts

Prefectural capital: Yamagata City
Municipalities: 35 (13 cities, 19 towns, 3 villages)
Population: 992,297 36th in Japan2025 Census
5-year change: −7.1% 4th in Japanfrom 1,068,027 in 2020
Area: 9,323 km² 9th in Japan
Population density: 106 people/km² 42nd in Japan

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population, area and density); area from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities (2025). National ranks are among the 47 prefectures, ordered by this site from these values.

Places to know

Yamagata City Yamadera (Risshaku-ji Temple) and Zao Onsen.
Tsuruoka City A temple town at the foot of the Three Mountains of Dewa, and a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Obanazawa City Ginzan Onsen, with its romantic Taisho-era atmosphere, and watermelons.

Current warnings, advisories and earthquakes

Places to visit in Yamagata Prefecture

Browse by category

Nature

Shrines, temples, castles and historic sites

Museums, zoos and more

Museums and art museums28

Shops, food and lodging

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)22

Chosen automatically, most popular first, from landmarks and cultural properties registered in Wikidata (we have not checked whether each is open). Names and descriptions: Wikidata (CC0); photos: Wikimedia Commons (photographer and license under each photo).

National parks in Yamagata Prefecture

Bandai-Asahi National ParkTotal park area 1,866 km²Also in Fukushima, Niigata

Chosen by overlaying the park boundaries (Ministry of the Environment, Biodiversity Center of Japan, "National Park Areas" GIS data, updated April 28, 2025, combined and simplified by NIPPON ATLAS) with municipal boundaries (National Land Numerical Information, January 2021), keeping overlaps of about 0.5 km² or more (approximate). Areas are the land areas from the Ministry of the Environment, "Overview of National Parks" (April 10, 2026). All national parks

Municipalities in Yamagata Prefecture (35)

Municipality	Population	5-year change	Area
Yamagata City	235,431	−4.9%	381 km²
Yonezawa City	76,033	−6.4%	549 km²
Tsuruoka City	113,051	−7.6%	1,312 km²
Sakata City	92,053	−8.2%	603 km²
Shinjo City	31,661	−8.0%	223 km²
Sagae City	38,133	−5.1%	139 km²
Kaminoyama City	26,724	−8.2%	241 km²
Murayama City	20,200	−10.3%	197 km²
Nagai City	24,561	−7.5%	215 km²
Tendo City	59,721	−3.9%	113 km²
Higashine City	47,386	−0.6%	207 km²
Obanazawa City	12,783	−14.6%	373 km²
Nanyo City	28,049	−7.8%	161 km²
Yamanobe Town	12,883	−6.1%	61.45 km²
Nakayama Town	10,009	−6.9%	31.15 km²
Kahoku Town	16,183	−8.3%	52.45 km²
Nishikawa Town	4,251	−14.2%	393 km²
Asahi Town	5,447	−14.4%	197 km²
Oe Town	6,692	−12.5%	154 km²
Oishida Town	5,558	−15.5%	79.54 km²
Kaneyama Town	4,408	−13.1%	162 km²
Mogami Town	6,978	−13.6%	330 km²
Funagata Town	4,474	−10.6%	119 km²
Mamurogawa Town	6,130	−14.9%	374 km²
Okura Village	2,572	−15.1%	212 km²
Sakegawa Village	3,411	−12.6%	122 km²
Tozawa Village	3,552	−15.4%	261 km²
Takahata Town	20,401	−9.2%	180 km²
Kawanishi Town	12,942	−11.1%	167 km²
Oguni Town	6,136	−13.7%	738 km²
Shirataka Town	11,623	−9.8%	158 km²
Iide Town	5,868	−11.3%	329 km²
Mikawa Town	7,145	−6.0%	33.22 km²
Shonai Town	18,337	−9.0%	249 km²
Yuza Town	11,511	−11.7%	208 km²

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population in 2025; change compared with 2020). Area: GSI (2025). Designated cities are shown as one city (wards combined). "Temperature now" is the latest JMA AMeDAS observation (preliminary) at the nearest station in the same prefecture, loaded and shown unchanged when you open the page.

Figures come from official Japanese statistics (such as the 2025 Census by the Statistics Bureau of Japan), with the source and year shown next to each one. Photos are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons; the photographer and license are shown under each photo.

Prefectures Rankings Mountains & castles Places to visit National parks Sources & credits

Places to visit nearby

Map layers

Map

Weather & safety

Nature

History

Seasons