Winter Trip To The Quiet Shogi Town: Tendo Onsen In Yamagata Prefecture

Have you heard about Shogi?
If you've been reading my posts, I've mentioned it here and here.
If you don't remember, I can refresh it for you.

Shogi is Japanese chess. And where else can you find the makers of shogi pieces? Of course, in Tendo Onsen! This is where I learned a few things about the sport and of course, get to know the city more. It might not be a popular city to most tourists, even Japanese nationals but staying overnight here was really the best! Plus, we enjoyed the snow here! If I knew this place is like a hidden gem, I would definitely stay for 2 or more nights just to uncover this precious town.

Tendo City is a quiet town in the Yamagata Prefecture and if you search about it online, there are only a few articles about it. Some Japanese also don't know what's in there. We happened to find this town because we were looking for a convenient place to stay going to Ginzan Onsen. And of course, we're looking for a ryokan with onsen. And my friend wanted a place where there's snow. This place was the perfect fit.

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Getting There From Tokyo

Surprisingly I was the first to arrive at Tokyo station. We already have our tickets for the entire trip. Actually going to Tendo was just the first part of our entire 5-day trip. We didn't spend much because we got the JR East Tohoku Pass for 20,000 yen, which covers JR trains in Tokyo all the way to Tohoku region (the northern part of Japan), including the bullet trains. Why 5-day trip? Because the pass is good for 5 days. It's only available to non-Japanese nationals.

I think this bullet train would separate at some point. I wasn't entirely sure though. 😅 But I think they would. One would go to Sendai, the other would go to Yamagata.

We took the 3-hour bullet train from Tokyo to Yamagata early Saturday morning. It stops at almost all the stations so I got a little dizzy during the ride. Good thing I had some onigiri with me. There was also a staff selling food and drinks roaming around the train.

There are many ways to get to Tendo from Tokyo. You can take the bullet train to Sendai then the train or bus to Yamagata then to Tendo. This seems a hassle so we didn't go with this route, plus after Tendo, we're going to Sendai anyways.

Don't be surprised that the train station is just a small one. Even when the bullet train stops here, it's really just a small station with 4 platforms. Plus, it gets a lot of snow during this time.

Also, besides us, we noticed only 1 person who disembarked at this station. Many people got off at Yamagata station, the station before Tendo.

Around The Town

We arrived at almost 11 AM so we had to look around the town for some lunch options. Near the hotel, there were some restaurants but most of them were still closed.

We noticed the town was heavily designed with shogi pieces. All over the town, you will see a hint of it. It's said that this city is the largest producer of shogi pieces all over Japan and this started in the late Edo period.

We continued walking around the town even when it's cold. Walking in the snow was not all fun because anytime you might slip or get buried in the snow but walking with friends was the best. If something happens to me, they will rescue me for sure.

And we're the only ones walking around the town at this time. We weren't sure why. I doubt people on this side of the country were still asleep at this time.

So because we were the only ones walking, we're considering ourselves baka gaijin or BG again, which means crazy foreigner. We always use this as a joke when we think we're doing something unusual than the rest.

And we're back at the train station again. We couldn't find a good and opened restaurant along the way. And because we're already here, might as well explore this area.

Shogi Museum

The shogi museum is located on the ground floor of the train station. We were hesitating to get inside because it seemed like no one's there but eventually we took the courage to enter. We paid for the entrance fee but inside, we weren't allowed to take photos.

Inside the museum, you'd feast your eyes with the different shogi boards, including those used in the old times. Every move was written in a notebook and OMG, I didn't understand what was written there. It's all in kanji (chinese characters) I am not familiar with. Chess boards used all over the world were on display too, only few countries though. The comparison was so interesting because they were made of different materials and carved differently too.

Inside you would also see the different types of wood being used for making the shogi pieces. Some you would barely see the difference but others were noticeable. There were different approaches in making the pieces.

We also learned there's a 人間将棋 (read as ningen shogi) or Japanese human chess held every April, perfect for sakura season. I told my friends we should come back next year to see it so hopefully we would and I'll be sharing it here. 😉

Beside the museum is the community center where people meet to play shogi. I heard you can play for free here. I think it was opened but there weren't people inside so we didn't enter. It would have been great if we could witness a match.

Lunch At A Local Eatery

In front of the train station, we found a somewhat old but gold eatery named Kunidon. They serve delicious rice bowls. It was so funny because their sign was closed so we had to confirm with a staff working there if they were really closed. She let us in, meaning they're opened. Not until someone came and told her about the sign, it would have remained closed.

I had the stamina bowl because I wanted to eat meat. It's like steak though. My friend Ryan had さんま焼定食 which was grilled fish set meal. He liked it so much. My other friends got the specialty of the prefecture, the いも煮定食 (read as imoni teishoku) which was Yamagata's taro with vegetables in it.

Walking Around The Town Part 2

After stuffing ourselves with good food, we tried looking for a cafe where we could get good coffee and desserts.

AS I've mentioned earlier, there were so many shogi pieces incorporated in the town and it's up to you to notice them. While walking on the sidewalk, I saw this, and looks like the sidewalk is a shogi board.

We went to 3 different shops thinking they were cafes. The biggest one was this shop selling pastries and souvenirs. They only have blend coffee and this shu cream in different flavors. The owner was so kind to explain to us they didn't have the pound-like orange cake that we wanted to order and offered us their gomashu instead. We decided to get it for takeout because he was so kind to us.

The shop had peculiar decorations. Now I wasn't sure if they're selling them or just for aesthetics.

We ended up shopping for snacks and drinks in the nearby convenience store. We were about to head back to the hotel but my friend realized he left his umbrella in the restaurant where we had lunch so he had to get it back. While waiting, we checked out the Central Park beside the convenience store.

We decided to only stay on the sidewalk and not to enter the park premises. The snow looked so huge and it seemed too deep if you tried to step on it.

After playing with the snow and taking snaps, our friend arrived with his umbrella. You can see him at the photo on the right. 😆

The Foot Bath

The only footbath we found while roaming around the town is located just across the hotel we were staying. We wanted to use it but time's not in our favor. Besides, it's so awkward if we're the only ones dipping here.

The Giant Shogi Monument

I totally forgot to take a snap of the iconic giant shogi monument because it's also located across from the hotel. After coming from the tour, I managed to take a photo of it.

Leaving The Next Day

Snow melted and so some artworks around the train station were visible.

We shopped for souvenirs and waited for our train to arrive.

I saw another waiting area and this one had the history of Tendo, details about tourism, products and the culture of the city. It's all in Japanese though.

It was so funny, we went to the wrong platform. Good thing the train was delayed so we were not left behind.

Overall, my trip to Tendo City was so interesting. I learned so many things about the town and about shogi. I wished I could stay longer to know more and maybe join workshops in making shogi pieces but probably next time. I'll definitely be back for more! Of course, with my friends too, because I don't wanna be the only foreigner in the city.

We're not taking the bullet train back to Tokyo, because it's still Day 2 of our North Japan trip! Next stop: Sendai~

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This post covers my #WednesdayWalk by @tattoodjay from the Wednesday Walk community, and a little about #trains from the Train Spotting community.

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Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！

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^{All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.}