Yamagata Onsen-do

Yamagata Onsen-do (やまがた温泉道) is a brand-new, prefecture-wide project to rediscover Yamagata's onsen culture. It's an onsen stamp rally: you tour participating baths across the prefecture's four areas, Murayama, Mogami, Shonai and Okitama, collecting a commemorative stamp (nyuto-kinen-in, 入湯記念印) at each one in a dedicated booklet called a goyuincho (御湯印帳).

As your stamps add up, you climb the ranks (dan-i, 段位) toward the title of Onsen Yu Meijin (温泉ゆ〜名人), the "Onsen Master". Touring the four areas is also a way to get to know Yamagata's history, culture and landscape, and to meet fellow onsen lovers along the way.