Yamagata

Yamagata hosts many yearly festivals and events. Yamadera temple, in the mountains near Yamagata, is an important attraction. The Dewa Sanzan are the three sacred mountains that make up a traditional pilgrimage for the disciples of the Shinto Shugendo branch. The famous five-storey pagoda (Gojudo) is on one of these three mountains, Haguro-san. Mount Zao is famous for its ski resorts and snow monsters (trees covered with frozen snow) in winter. The lake in the Okama crater is also known as Goshiki Numa (Five Colour Lake) because it changes colour depending on the weather.