[Tendo Onsen Travel Guide] Relax and Unwind in Japan’s Shogi Town

The hot spring water of Tendo Onsen, which first emerged in 1911, is a sulfate spring rich in sodium and calcium.
Clear and colorless, it has a smooth feel on the skin, leaving it feeling moist and soft after bathing.
Because it is gentle and low in irritation, the spring quality is suitable even for children and people with sensitive skin.
The source temperature is approx. 149°F, and with its abundant natural flow, it has long been loved as a “beauty skin bath.”
In addition to skin-beautifying effects, it is also said to help with neuralgia, sensitivity to cold, fatigue recovery, and more.
A slow soak in a ryokan’s large public bath will help relax both body and mind.

Throughout the Tendo Onsen district, you’ll find monuments, benches, and manhole covers decorated with shogi pieces.
The town naturally draws you into the world of shogi, and even a relaxed photo walk can be exciting.
Along with strolling the town, you should also try a handmade shogi piece experience (advance reservation required).
Options include an easy-to-try “writing shogi pieces” experience and a more authentic “carving shogi pieces” experience, where you can enjoy adding characters to wooden pieces with guidance from artisans.
It is a special experience you can only have at Tendo Onsen, and because you can take home your own original piece, it also makes a perfect travel souvenir.

Held every year over two days in mid-April, Human Shogi is a major event that has brightened spring in Tendo Onsen since 1956.
On Mt. Maizuru, where approx. 2,000 cherry trees burst into bloom, people dressed in armor and kimono become shogi pieces and move across a giant board according to the moves of professional players.
The sight of full-bloom cherry blossoms and warriors is spectacular, and spectators can experience the tension of the match and the colorful staging up close.
If you apply in advance (subject to lottery selection), you may even stand on the board yourself, and after the match there are same-day events you can join at the reception desk, such as instructional games with professional players.

The hot spring district has foot baths called Ten no Yu, Warabe no Yu, and Koma no Yu, where overnight guests and day-trip visitors alike can easily enjoy Tendo’s hot spring water.
Each has a different atmosphere, and the long hours, from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm (excluding Mondays and Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm), make it even better that you can enjoy free-flowing hot spring water for free.
A classic way to enjoy the area is to visit them as part of a stroll and walk at a leisurely pace while soothing travel fatigue.
Foot baths are effective for improving blood circulation in the lower body and relaxing both body and mind, and are especially recommended for those dealing with sensitivity to cold or swelling.

Ohsho Orchard is one of the largest tourist orchards in Yamagata Prefecture.
Located in a spacious orchard approx. 20 minutes by car from Tendo Onsen, it offers seasonal fruit-picking experiences that change throughout the year (advance reservation recommended).
You can pick cherries, peaches, grapes, apples, and more by hand, then compare multiple varieties on the spot.
It is a memorable Tendo Onsen experience where you can feel the bounty of nature with your whole body.
Cherries are especially notable because this is the only place in the city that grows them in greenhouses, so you can enjoy them regardless of the weather.
After fruit picking, stop by the directly operated oh!show!cafe and enjoy parfaits and juices made generously with freshly picked fruit for an even more satisfying visit.

Toyokocho is a yatai food stall village that opened in the center of the Tendo Onsen district in 2020.
Its name comes from tokin, the promoted form of the shogi piece fu after it enters the opponent’s territory, and reflects the wish that it be a place where visitors can feel energized.
The village brings together eight shops, where you can fully enjoy a wide variety of delicious Yamagata foods, including local dishes, local sake, and creative cuisine.
A recommended way to enjoy it is to visit several stalls and actively interact with shop owners and locals.
In true shogi-town style, a custom shogi board is set up here, making it fun to play a once-in-a-lifetime match.

Gokurakuen stands in a quiet spot a little away from the bustle of Tendo Onsen.
It is a strolling-style Japanese garden built over approx. eight years by businessman Yasukichi Mitobe, who hired unemployed workers during the economic downturn of the early Showa period.
The garden’s name expresses the idea of containing both the hardships and pleasures of life, and Mitobe himself called it a “social university.”
Many upright stone pillars are engraved with sayings and maxims that serve as life lessons, and reading them carefully while viewing the garden offers a chance for self-reflection during your trip.
The grounds also feature famous trees, notable stones, and a waterfall, letting you enjoy scenery that changes with the seasons.

Located in the center of Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, this relaxing spot is loved by residents as a symbol of the city. From the observation plaza at the top of Mt. Maizuru, approx. 240 meters above sea level, you can take in sweeping views of Mt. Gassan, the Asahi mountain range, the Mogami River, and more.
It is known as a famous cherry blossom spot, with approx. 2,000 trees blooming in spring. Set on Mt. Maizuru surrounded by cherry blossoms, this major event features warriors and attendants dressed in armor and kimono, who play the roles of shogi pieces in a match.

Yamadera, a mountain temple of the Tendai school, is formally named Hojuzan Risshakuji Temple.
It is a historic mountain temple founded by Jikaku Daishi in 860.
It is said that with each of the 1,015 stone steps you climb, worldly desires disappear. It has also long been worshipped as a temple that severs bad ties and creates good ones.
There are many buildings on the mountain, but the one near the trailhead is called Konpon Chudo and is designated as a National Important Cultural Property. It is also said to be Japan’s oldest building made of beech wood.
Inside the hall, you can pay respects to the wooden seated statue of Yakushi Nyorai and the eternal flame of Buddhism, which has continued to burn without interruption for more than 1,000 years.

The shogi world has been especially energized by the remarkable rise of Sota Fujii, holder of eight major titles (as of October 2023). Tendo City is, so to speak, the mecca of shogi, accounting for more than 90% of shogi piece production. Tsume shogi puzzles are designed into the station plaza and sidewalks, while bridges and manhole covers are also decorated with pieces.
Located on the first floor of Tendo Station, the Tendo City Shogi Museum offers plenty to see, including Dai Shogi with a 25-by-25 board and 354 pieces, as well as chaturanga from ancient North India, which became a root of shogi. Many pieces made by shogi piece artisans are also displayed, and those used in title matches can be even more valuable. The museum shop also has many shogi-themed items that make great souvenirs.

This art museum is located in Kamata Honcho, in the center of Tendo City. It exhibits works by ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige, known for works such as The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido.
In the late Edo period, the Oda family of the Tendo Domain was in financial difficulty and sought donations from many wealthy merchants and farmers. It is said that hand-painted works commissioned from Utagawa Hiroshige were given as substitutes for repaying those debts and donations, or as tokens of thanks. Around 200 to 300 hanging scrolls are said to have been painted at the time, and this group of works is known as “Tendo Hiroshige.” Because of this connection, the museum opened in Tendo City in 1997, the 200th anniversary of Hiroshige’s birth.

The Former Kashiwakura Residence, a National Important Cultural Property, is a large residence of the Kashiwakura Kuzaemon family, wealthy farmers who flourished from the late Edo period (1603–1868) through the Meiji period.
The site covers approx. 2,300 tsubo, and the buildings cover approx. 360 tsubo. It is known as a historic structure that preserves the style of upper-class farmhouses of the early modern period.
The current main house traces back to an earlier building constructed in 1783 and took its present form after a major renovation in 1898.
Highlights include refined design and architectural techniques, an estate layout with a nagayamon gate and several storehouses, and lavish use of lacquer, gold leaf, and fine woods, all giving the residence a stately atmosphere.
The garden, which changes its expression with the seasons, is also appealing and lets you enjoy the atmosphere of the past.
*Open only on weekends and national holidays; closed in winter (December to February)

This hotel lets you enjoy Tendo Onsen, known as a beauty skin bath, which opened in 1911 in Tendo City, almost at the center of Yamagata Prefecture.
You can savor Tendo Onsen in the large public bath, said to have the most spacious tub in Tendo Onsen, or in Sakura, a private bath available only to overnight guests. The pride of the hotel is Takimi Roten, an open-air bath where you can bathe while viewing a powerful garden waterfall. Listen to the refreshing sound of falling water as you soothe everyday fatigue. Day-use bathing is also available, making it easy to stop by when visiting Tendo City.
Rooms include standard Japanese-style rooms, Japanese-modern twin rooms with beds, special rooms with jacuzzi baths, and barrier-free Japanese-Western rooms with hot spring baths.

The entire property, including the baths, is covered with tatami flooring, and the interior is furnished with Tendo Mokko furniture, letting guests relax while looking out at the courtyard.
Rooms include Japanese-modern rooms with twin beds, as well as spacious rooms with free-flowing open-air hot spring baths (some rooms have semi-open-air baths).
Both the quality of the meals and the staff’s hospitality are highly rated by guests, making it a great place to enjoy a calm hot spring inn stay.

Hotel Ohsho is a long-established ryokan located in the heart of Tendo Onsen.
Combining Japanese atmosphere with the lively feel of a hot spring town, it offers a relaxing stay centered around the stone-built large public bath, Ohsho Meoto Buro.
Guest rooms are mainly calm Japanese-style rooms, perfect for soothing travel fatigue.
Another feature unique to this hotel is the shogi-inspired design seen throughout the property, including a giant Ohsho piece welcoming guests in the lobby and boards with pieces set on tables.
The cuisine made with local ingredients is also highly rated, making this an appealing ryokan where you can enjoy hot springs, food, and culture all at once.

This hot spring area developed alongside mining at Nobesawa Ginzan, a silver mine that prospered during the Edo period. After the mine closed, it became popular as a therapeutic bathing area, but the hot spring town was devastated by a major flood in 1913. Later, with support from the local business community, it recovered by around the early Showa period to a landscape close to today’s, with Western-style multi-story wooden buildings lining both banks of the Ginzan River.
The vivid reliefs called kote-e on the exteriors of its elegant inns are also worth seeing, and the hot spring town also has foot baths and public baths. The spring quality is a sulfur spring with a faint salty taste. It is also appreciated for its effects on skin diseases, gynecological conditions, sensitivity to cold, and more.

This naturally emerging hot spring is said to have opened in the year 110. Its strongly acidic sulfur spring has antibacterial effects on the skin’s surface and helps strengthen the skin, and it is known as a bath for “creating beauty.” Zao Onsen boasts abundant hot spring water, with 8,700 tons per day flowing from 47 sources, and the hot spring town is dotted with three public baths, four foot baths, and five day-use hot spring facilities.
Among them, the free-flowing Zao Onsen Large Open-Air Bath is especially popular. You can soak in cloudy white hot spring water scented with sulfur while listening to the murmur of the river. There are no washing areas like those in typical bathing facilities, so rinse off with hot spring water before entering the bath. Note that it is closed during winter.

Kaminoyama Onsen is counted as one of the “Three Pleasure Hot Springs of Oshu,” along with Yunohama Onsen in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, and Higashiyama Onsen in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. Its gentle water is suitable even for babies, has high heat-retaining and moisturizing effects, and is known as a “beauty bath”; the clear, colorless water has a smooth texture.
Located in southeastern Yamagata Prefecture, Kaminoyama Onsen is a hot spring area made up of two districts with different atmospheres.
In the Shinyu, Yumachi, and Tokamachi district, a castle town around the famous Kaminoyama Castle, also known as Tsukioka Castle, and a post town that flourished along the Ushu Kaido during the Edo period, you can enjoy both hot springs and walks through castle-town and post-town streets.