The Shinjo area offers tourist attractions such as Shiraito Falls, Akakura Hot Springs, and Komyoji Temple; sightseeing events such as fireworks festivals, the Shinjo Festival, and the Shinjo Snow Festival; and local delicacies such as soba noodles, sake lees soup, and pickles.
Shinjo City is located in the northeast of Yamagata Prefecture and was once an inn town on the Hashu Highway. In addition, the Honagokai community in the southern part of the city was a major shipping port for the Mogami River water transportation. Shinjo Station, the terminus of the Yamagata Shinkansen bullet train line, is located in the city, and it serves as the central city of the Mogami region.
The city is also active in ecological activities and is known for its promotion of the Mogami Ecopolis concept, which is based on the theme of the symbiosis between nature and humans in the Mogami region. The city is also known as one of the greatest treasure houses of folk tales in the Tohoku region, along with Tono City in Iwate Prefecture, and many storytellers are active in passing down and recording folk tales, and the Michinoku Folktale Festival is held every year.
Sightseeing in Shinjo City includes Shinjo Castle Ruins and Mogami Park, where Shinjo Castle was built in Kan'ei 2 by Tozawa Masamori, the founder of the Shinjo Domain at the time. Mogami Park is a place of recreation and sightseeing for the citizens of the city. In spring, cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and the Spring Festival and Kadoyaki Festival attract large crowds of cherry blossom-viewing visitors.
Ajisai no Mori is famous for hydrangea, the city flower, and has 45,000 hydrangea plants of 34 varieties, which are the flowers of Shinjo City, and the best time to view them is in early July. The SL and cherry blossoms in Kotsu Park are also good for family sightseeing. The cherry blossoms bloom beautifully around the park, and the SL, popular with children, matches the cherry blossoms very well.
The Mogami River is the main river of the Mogami River system, a first-class river that flows through Yamagata Prefecture. The 229-km-long river basin covers about 75% of Yamagata Prefecture, and is one of the three most rapid rivers in Japan. Mogami Gorge is a gorge on the Mogami River and is the center of the Mogami River Prefectural Natural Park, which offers the best sightseeing during the season of fresh greenery and autumn leaves. The sightseeing boat cruises around Mogami Gorge, and the sight of the mountain surface pressing up against the riverbank is a sight to behold.
Shiraito Falls, located on the opposite bank of Kusanagi Hot Spring, is one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan, and is the largest of the 48 waterfalls on the Mogami River, with a drop of 120 meters.
The Mogami River is known for its folk song Mogami Ondo, and many tourists want to see its majestic and rapid flow at least once. In this sense, access to Shinjo City is relatively easy from anywhere, so this route should not be missed when making a sightseeing trip in Yamagata Prefecture.