Situated in the center of Yamagata Prefecture, the Murayama area has long experienced prosperity and growth in its capacity as a crossroads or way station for those traveling to other, further climes. This continual influx of new people and ideas has made an essential contribution to the unique traditions, customs and festivals that make up the community and culture of Murayama. The city officially came into being in the mid 1950s, through the administrative merger of Tateoka Town with seven surrounding villages.

Murayama City is blessed with all the beauty and variety that nature can offer. Its climate, as is typical of island Japan, spans the gamut from hot and humid summers to cold, snowy winters. A single year here is enough to see the city’s many different faces. Surrounded by mountains to both the east and the west, Tohoku’s second largest river, the Mogami, flows through the city bringing rich and fertile landscapes of exquisite beauty, and it is in Murayama that you can find the three famous ‘trouble-spots’ of the river.

The city of Murayama is the ideal places for rest and relaxation. It is home to the largest rose garden in Japan – Higashizawa Park. Spanning an area of seven hectares, and boasting no less than 20,000 roses of 700 varieties from all over the world, it is the perfect places for a stroll to forget your worries. Roses can be found in bloom from late May through to mid September. And for those who still feel the need to unwind, why not pay a visit to Goten Spa Resort, where you can relax both your mind and your body.

Gourmets who visit Murayama will not be disappointed. The carpets of small white buckwheat flowers that can be seen blooming in fall give a clue to the flagship menu of the city: soba. An excellent place to try these delicious noodles is the ‘Soba Road’, a series of 12 gourmet soba restrants spanning a length of 15 km. In addition to Soba, the city’s pickles and mountain vegetables are also very popular with both locals and visitors. For those who want to try their own hands at cooking, soba-making classes are available.