Yamagata, Japan Dec. 26 Thurs 9:16AM
Sakata City
An assuming town in Yamagata Prefecture, Sakata offers a number of attractions for the visitor looking for some authentic attractions that are far off any typical tourist route.
Definitely a must visit, Soma-ro is a restored restaurant dating back hundreds of years ago to the Edo area. If crowding around with hundreds of tourists to try to catch a brief glimpse of a geisha in Kyoto isn’t your thing, then this is the place for you, because you can enjoy a personal performance from the restaurant’s resident maiko (geisha in training.)
Originally the dwelling of a noble family, the Seienkaku, now known as the Honma Museum of Art, allows visitors to enjoy priceless Japanese artistic treasures in the authentic setting of an over 200-year old Japanese villa, an exquisite example of Japanese architecture.
In Kaikoji you can visit two sokushinbutsu- Buddhist monks who mummified themselves through extreme fasting, starvation, and self-poisoning, allowing their over 250-year old bodies to remain intact. Revered as having achieved enlightenment, one of them is officially considered the head priest of the temple, and they are even counted as citizens in the town registry.
Although not necessarily the most flashy of destinations, a stop off in Sakata City allows you to soak up some amazing culture at your own pace.
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