Kajo Park

Kajo Park is an urban park about a 10-minute walk from JR Yamagata Station. It was developed from the ruins of Yamagata Castle and is designated a National Historic Site and one of Japan’s “100 Famous Castles.” The park is vast—about the size of 7.7 Tokyo Domes—and includes a baseball field, gymnasium, Yamagata Prefectural Museum, and Yamagata City Local Museum. Many people visit to enjoy sightseeing, strolling, jogging, and spending time in their own ways. Currently, excavation surveys and restoration work are ongoing, and the site’s historical value is being reassessed and attracting attention. Particularly popular photo spots include the Ninomaru Higashi-Otemon Gate (a masugata-style gate), the Honmaru Ichimonji Gate, impressive stone walls, and the horseback statue of Mogami Yoshiaki. The Mogami Yoshiaki equestrian statue is especially remarkable: the roughly 3-ton statue is supported only by the horse’s two hind legs, an extremely rare feat worldwide and often described as a culmination of Yamagata artisans’ technical skill. The park is also known as Yamagata’s premier cherry-blossom spot; around 1,500 cherry trees attract many visitors during bloom season. During the “Kajo Kan-ou-kai” event held to coincide with cherry blossom season, the blossoms are illuminated at night, and the reflections of the lit cherry trees on the moat water create an especially atmospheric scene.