Rustic Japan -A Guide to Rural Japan & Off-the-Beaten-Path Countryside- 日本語

Tohoku

The Five-Story Pagoda of Mt. Haguro

Yamagata Prefecture

The five-story pagoda of Mt. Haguro among tall cedar trees, with a stone-paved path leading to it on an overcast day
Where
Yamagata Prefecture
When
September 2026, 3 days, 2 nights
Route
Tokyo Station → (JR local trains, 4 transfers, 11 hrs 30 min) → Tsuruoka Station → 20 min by rental car. *For a faster route: Tokyo Station → (JR Shinkansen bullet train, 2 hrs) → Niigata Station → (JR Limited Express Inaho, 2 hrs) → Tsuruoka Station → 20 min by rental car
Cost
Train tickets, rental car, lodging: ¥50,000 total

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Before you enter Mt. Haguro, you can pay a ¥500 donation toward protecting the mountain’s environment, and in return you get a charm (I think?). Apparently it’s made from the wood of a sacred tree, and you’re meant to hang it around your neck while you make your pilgrimage. Probably worth more than ¥500.

A hand holding a wooden Mt. Haguro entry-donation tag printed with a horse and cedar trees, on a white cord

Through the gate, and onto Mt. Haguro. Past a cluster of small shrines, and over an arched drum bridge.

Red wooden gate with a green roof among tall cedars at Mt. Haguro, with visitors walking through toward the forest path

Two visitors walk a wet stone-paved path between small wooden shrine halls in a cedar forest on Mt. Haguro

Visitors crossing a red arched bridge with a wet wooden deck amid tall cedars and green trees on Mt. Haguro

 

A waterfall appears on the right. There’s a shrine at its foot. The sound of the water is cool.

A waterfall on a rock face above a small shrine in the cedar forest of Mt. Haguro, with a stream and visitors in front

About ten minutes’ walk from the gate, the five-story pagoda comes into view.

The five-story pagoda on Mt. Haguro among tall cedars, with visitors standing on the cobblestone path in front

Oh. It feels like part of the mountain. Unlike other five-story pagodas, this one has a real presence. It looks great.

The weathered wooden five-story pagoda on Mt. Haguro, surrounded by tall cedars and a wooden fence on a cloudy day

After gazing at it for a few minutes, I pressed on toward Dewa Sanzan Shrine, the shrine of Dewa Sanzan (the Three Mountains of Dewa), up at the top of Mt. Haguro.

 

To be continued