#LetsMET: HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA
Immerse yourself in the natural beauty and bustling activities that Yamagata Prefecture (山形県 Yamagata-ken) has to offer! Located in south Tohoku, Yamagata is well-known for its many mountains, hot springs, shrines, summer festivals, and production of agriculture and fruits—such that it is known as one of Japan’s biggest Fruit Kingdoms. From Tokyo, Yamagata is merely a 2.5 hour shinkansen ride on the Yamagata Shinkansen, making it a great stopover for your travels in Tohoku.
(Image credit: JR-EAST HOTELS)
If you’re looking for an accommodation near Yamagata Station (山形駅 Yamagata-eki), it doesn’t get any nearer than at HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA. In fact, out of all the Metropolitan Hotels located all across East Japan, HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA is the closest hotel to the station’s exit, taking only a minute by foot. Here’s a video to prove it:
(Video credit: JR-EAST HOTELS)
Wasn’t that quick?! With such ease of accessibility, you can be sure to visit as many must-visit attractions as you like when you stay at HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA! To make your stay in Yamagata even more satisfying, here are five recommended restaurants and three must-visit attractions accessible from HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA.
Food
1. CHO-MUSUBI (蝶結)
(Image credit: CHO-MUSUBI)
- Rating: ★★★★★
- Cuisines: Chicken, fish, beef
- Suitable for: Couples
- Distance: 5-minute walk from Hotel
- Recommended item: Yamagata Beef Steak (山形牛ステーキ)
CHO-MUSUBI is a fine-dining teppanyaki restaurant that serves only the best of Yamagata’s local produce—Yamagata Beef, black abalone, mushrooms, and seasonal vegetables. Enjoy the finest of female cow Yamagata Beef and pair them harmoniously with their wide selection of wine. Price-wise, you can enjoy the lunch course at ¥2,500 and dinner course at ¥6,000. You can be assured of good tastes at inexpensive prices in this local downtown Yamagata City gem.
2. Hiratabokujo (平田牧場)
(Image credit: Hiratabokujo)
- Rating: ★★★★☆
- Cuisines: Pork
- Suitable for: Families, couples
- Distance: Located within the Hotel!
- Recommended item: Tonkatsu
Taste one of the best tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) in town right inside HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA! Hiratabokujo prides themselves with serving tender and juicy tonkatsu made with a special local pig breed healthily bred and raised in the Hirata Farm in Yamagata. The tonkatsu served here is crispy and golden on the outside, and juicy and succulent in the middle. Located within HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA itself, this flagship restaurant is best visited all year round, rain or shine.
3. Saka-gura SAMASAMUNE (酒蔵 澤正宗)
(Image credit: Saka-gura SAMASAMUNE)
- Rating: ★★★★☆
- Cuisines: Chicken, fish, beef
- Suitable for: Families, couples
- Distance: 1-minute walk from Hotel
- Recommended item: Kaisendon (おこきん焼き)
SAWAMASAMUNE is one of Japan’s most popular sake brands brewed at Yamagata’s very own Furusawa Sake Brewery (古澤酒造), a brewery with over 180 years of history since its establishment in 1836. Now, the brewery operates its own izakaya-restaurant right inside Yamagata Station called Saka-gura SAWAMASAMUNE, specializing in kaisendon (seafood bowls) and, of course, sake. Enjoy the best pairing of fresh sake with authentic Japanese cuisine at Saka-gura SAWAMASAMUNE, which serves high quality local produce found around Yamagata.
4. Yamagyu (山牛)
(Image credit: Yamagyu)
- Rating: ★★★★★
- Cuisines: Chicken, beef, pork
- Suitable for: Families, couples
- Distance: 5-minute walk from Hotel
- Recommended item: Special Yamagata Beef Tub (特選山形牛桶盛)
It’s a beef galore at Yamagyu! This chain restaurant specialises in Yamagata beef and the many ways that you can consume it to your liking—be it grilled, battered, shabu-shabu, or even raw! At Yamagyu, taste the tender, delicate, and sweet Yamagata beef, which has been raised and conditioned in Yamagata’s ideal temperature for agriculture and produce. Other ingredients and condiments used in Yamagyu such as their eggs, vegetables, wasabi, and even salt, are also sourced from local Yamagata farms to complement the exquisite taste of Yamagata beef.
5. La-Gare (ラガレ)
(Image credit: JR-EAST HOTELS)
- Rating: ★★★★★
- Cuisines: Chicken, beef, pork, fish
- Suitable for: Families, couples
- Distance: Located within the Hotel!
- Recommended item: Yamagata Beef Hamburg Steak (山形牛ハンバーグステーキ)
Finally, get a headstart to your day of sightseeing in Yamagata with breakfast and/or lunch at La-Gare, one of HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA’s two restaurants located within the hotel. Guests staying in HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA will get to indulge in their choice of Japanese or Continental cuisine for breakfast. Visitors are also more than welcome to swing by the rest of the day to enjoy a hearty meal during lunch, seasonal cakes and desserts during teatime, and cocktails and whiskies with the bartender after dark.
Attractions
1. Yamadera
(Image credit: Yamagata Prefecture)
- 25-minute by JR Local Train
Seek solace in Risshakuji Temple of Yamadera! Yamadera’s famous temple is perched at the top of a 1,015-step hike, and is best visited during autumn where one can enjoy the autumn foliage surrounding the temple and valleys.
2. Mount Zao
(Image credit: Yamagata Prefecture)
- 40-minute by Direct Bus (Bus stop located right in front of HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA)
In winter, Mount Zao is home to the world-famous Snow Monsters, which are actually enormous trees covered in heavy snow! Take the ropeway up to the peak, walk amongst the Snow Monsters, and ski or snowboard your way down in this winter wonderland, best visited in January to February.
3. Ginzan Onsen
(Image credit: Yamagata Prefecture)
- 80-minute by JR Local Train + Bus
Get “spirited away” at Ginzan Onsen, which was an old silver mine before it became one of Tohoku’s most well-known hot spring villages! Ginzan Onsen is best visited in winter when the old shophouses and hot spring inns are blanketed in snow, and all the retro street lamps are lit at dusk.
(Image credit: JR-EAST HOTELS)
With so much to eat and so many attractions to visit, it’s no wonder that visitors make returning trips to Yamagata! The hotel has also recently opened its new South Tower last November which has more Japanese-style rooms to cater to large groups of visitors. For a seamless trip, why not stay the night at HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA?
HOTEL METROPOLITAN YAMAGATA (ホテルメトロポリタン 山形)
Address: 1-1-1 Kasumicho, Yamagata, 990-0039
Nearest station: Yamagata Station (山形駅)
No. of rooms: 116
Tel: +81-23-628-1111
Header image credit: Yamagata Prefecture
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