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Tohoku

The Five-Story Pagoda of Mt. Haguro, Lit Up at Night

Yamagata Prefecture

Mt. Haguro's five-story pagoda lit up at night among tall cedar trees, with a cobblestone path leading to it
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. Faster: Tokyo Station → (JR Shinkansen bullet train, 2 hrs) → Niigata Station → (JR Limited Express Inaho, 2 hrs) → Tsuruoka Station → 20 min by rental car
Cost
¥50,000

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Tamonkan, my lodging at the foot of Mt. Haguro, seems to have started out as a shukubo (temple/shrine lodging), and plenty of pilgrims used to stay here. It’s a ryokan now, but the shukubo character is still strong. The wooden interior is carefully polished, and you can eat meatless shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine).

Tatami guest room at Tamonkan with futons laid out, a low table and floor chairs, and a hanging scroll in the alcove

Dinner is mostly vegetables. Every dish is delicious. If I could eat vegetables this good in everyday life, I’d probably be a vegetable lover by now. Hard to believe this is the same food as the pre-cut vegetables you pick up at an A◯on-chain supermarket.

Shojin ryori dinner at the Tamonkan shukubo: rice, miso soup, tempura, sesame tofu and small vegetable dishes on a black table

My headache has eased, so I decide to go see the five-story pagoda lit up. Apparently it’s only for a limited time.

Stone torii at the Mt. Haguro entrance at night, with lit-up trees and a red gate beyond

Unlike in the daytime, the trees are hard to make out, so the stone path is what I rely on to keep from getting lost.

Small lit shrine halls lining a stone-paved path through a dark cedar forest on Mt. Haguro at night

A few minutes later, I reach the five-story pagoda. Bathed in light, it glows yellow. With only a handful of people around, it’s even more magnificent than in the daytime. Back at the inn, I kept picturing the scene for a while.

Mt. Haguro's five-story pagoda lit up at night against dark trees, seen from below behind a low wooden fence

The five-story pagoda of Mt. Haguro lit up at night among tall cedars, with a cobblestone path leading to it

Breakfast. The headache has settled down.

I get in the car and head for Tsuruoka Station.

With sake from a brewery I’d wandered into on a whim in one hand and an ekiben (station bento) in the other, I set off for Kitakata, my next destination.

Beef ekiben in a red divided box with pickled red ginger, rolled omelet, and pickled vegetables

Small bottle of Hakuro Suishu junmai daiginjo sake on a rainy train window ledge, with green trees and houses outside

 

To be continued.