From Wikitravel

Yamadera (山寺) is a small town in Yamagata prefecture, Japan.

[edit] Understand

Yamadera, literally "Mountain Temple", is a one-horse town named after its distinguishing feature, the temple of Ryūshaku-ji (立石寺) - also pronounced Risshakuji. Matsuo Basho stopped by here on the Narrow Road to the Deep North (奥の細道) and penned the following famed haiku poem:

静けさや岩にしみ入る蝉の聲

shizukesa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe

Silence and penetrating into the rocks — the cry of the cicada

— Matsuo Bashō

The meaning of this will be instantly apparent should you visit the temple (or, for that matter, most anywhere in Japan) during the late summer.

[edit] Get in

Yamadera is 15 minutes from Yamagata on the JR Senzan line, which connects all the way to Sendai.

There are two options to reach Yamadera from Tokyo, since services on the Senzan Line are very infrequent. One way is to take the Yamagata Shinkansen to Yamagata and take the Senzan Line from there; this will cost you ¥11000 and take 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The other way is to take a Tohoku Shinkansen train to Sendai and change to the Senzan Line; this costs ¥11230 and will take between 3 and 4 1/2 hours. The length of travel is dependent on connection times between the Senzan Line and the respective Shinkansen line that you choose.

[edit] Get around

The entrance to the temple is 10 minutes from the station on foot. There's still a lot of climbing left to do to get around the temple complex itself though! The climb to the top-most view point is about 30-60 minutes from the bottom-most stair.

[edit][add listing] See

• Ryūshaku-ji Temple (立石寺), also Risshakuji. Founded in 860 AD by the priest Ennin, the monks here have spent the thousand years since digging holes into the mountain, which is starting to resemble Swiss cheese. It's a steep 1110 steps from the entrance to the complex all the way to the Oku-no-in sanctuary at the top. Entrance ¥300.

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

Because this is essentially a working temple, you will run into some vendors selling religious goods. Buddhist prayer beads, luck charms, and the like are sold at several points during the climb to the top. You'll see vending machines as well for drinks and snacks.

[edit][add listing] Eat

All around the mountain you will encounter people selling the ubiquitous Tama-kon. These balls of konnyaku (a gelatin like substance made from ground roots) are cooked in soy sauce and served on a stick. Cheap and guilt free (no calories, no fat!) tourists can frequently be seen munching these simple delicacies. Beware of the mustard, it is considerably hotter than western varieties.

Yamagata is known as soba (buckwheat noodles) country and the area around Yamadera is no exception. The street connecting the temple and JR train station are lined with family owned soba shops that serve freshly-made soba.

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Get out

• If this only served to whet your appetite for mountains, the holy trio of Dewa Sanzan can be reached via Yamagata.

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