Tsuruoka
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Tsuruoka () is a city in Yamagata.
Get in
By plane
Shonai AirportThe nearest airport. Only flights to Tokyo Haneda Airport with ANA.
By train
Tsuruoka stationTsuruoka is on the JR Uetsu Line which runs along the Sea of Japan. The Nihonkai night train passes through Tsuruoka its southern terminus is Osaka, and its northern terminus is Aomori.
From Tokyo, Tsuruoka is reachable in as little as four hours by taking a Joetsu Shinkansen Toki or Max Toki service, changing in Niigata to one of several daily Inaho limited express trains (¥12,760). Taking local trains from Tokyo is silly, because the overnight bus is comparable in price and faster (though if you're doing the Seishun 18 ticket, this train option, though slower, will still be several times cheaper than the cheapest bus.)
By bus
Shonai Kotsu Yuhi ExpressShonai Kotsu runs an overnight bus, the "Yuhi Express", from Shibuya and Ikebukuro in Tokyo to Tsuruoka.
Get around
Tsuruoka City has an official website in English that you can check to get around the city and discover hotels, restaurants and hot springs.
The city also has an official Japanese website which is very exhaustive in terms of Tsuruoka's cultural heritage.
See
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Chidokan
address: 馬場町１１−４５This clan school, for samurai children, was built centuries ago by Sakai Tadanori. It's the last of its kind in the region. -
Shonai Shrine
address: 馬場町４−１This shrine was built to honor Lord Sakai Tadatsugu and three of his contemporaries. -
address: 下川字関根１００This temple, founded in the 1200s, is known for its five-storied pagoda. There are several other temple buildings, too.
Eat
Tsuruoka's claim to culinary fame is dadacha-mame (だだちゃ豆), the local variant of the popular snack edamame. The appearance and taste resembled peas in the pod, and many are surprised to find out that this, too, is actually made from soybeans.
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Obako Shokudo
address: 日吉町６−１１This ramen shop has standard flavors of ramen. Its specials include cold chuuka and seafood ramen.
Sleep
go to city central or Yunohama hot spring.
apa Hotel TsuruokaStandard-issue business hotel with cubicle-sized rooms, located right next to the train station.