Yonezawa

Yonezawa may be an unassuming rural town today, but it was once a grand castle town home to the Uesugi Clan (上杉氏 Uesugi-shi), one of the most powerful families during Japan's Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14-17th century). Legendary warlord Date Masamune, the "One-Eyed Dragon", was born here in 1567. The Uesugi had an epic, centuries-running feud with the Takeda clan of Kai (Yamanashi), but they made the mistake of choosing the wrong side in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and as a punishment were reduced to irrelevance by the following Tokugawa shogunate, retaining only a scrap of land around Yonezawa. The castle was flattened in 1873 by order of the Meiji government, but the moat remains the focal point of the city, with Uesugi Shrine built on the castle ruins to commemorate the clan.

The Uesugi-Takeda feud provided rich fodder for NHK's historical drama Tenchijin (天地人), set in the closing days of the Sengoku era. The year-long drama's broadcast in 2009 was the biggest thing to happen in Yonezawa since 1600, and the entire town is liberally festooned with banners, statues, souvenirs and more commemorating both the actual figures and their TV versions.

Tourist information:

The city has two official multilingual guide sites, Yonezawa Sightseeing Navigation and Travel Yonezawa, confusingly both called "米沢観光Navi" in Japanese. Travel Yonezawa appears to be more modern and up-to-date.

There is a tourist information center in michi-no-eki, see "Buy".

By train:

1 Yonezawa Station (米沢駅 Yonezawa Eki). Yonezawa station is on the Yamagata Shinkansen line between Tokyo and Yamagata. There are hourly departures from Tokyo, with the trip taking just over 2 hours and costing ¥10,000. Yonezawa can also be reached via the JR Ōu Main Line from Fukushima to the south and Akita to the north. (updated Jan 2026)

There are also two minor stations served only by JR Yonesaka line from Yonezawa stn to Sakamachi, Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast. As of 2026, due to heavy flood damage in 2022, the services operate only up to Imaizumi and it's unclear when if ever they will fully resume.

2 South Yonezawa Station (南米沢駅 Minami Yonezawa Eki). (updated Jan 2026)

3 West Yonezawa Station (西米沢駅 Nishi Yonezawa Eki). (updated Jan 2026)