Hiyoriyama Park is a scenic park in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, where visitors can experience the history and atmosphere of this traditional port town while enjoying beautiful views. Located on elevated ground, the park offers wide-ranging views of Sakata City, Sakata Port, the Sea of Japan, the Mogami River, and even the Three Mountains of Dewa.
Throughout the park are historic features connected with Sakata’s maritime heritage, including a white wooden hexagonal Western-style lighthouse and a large model of a Kitamaebune trading ship with its distinctive white sails. Visitors can also find monuments associated with the famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho, literary monuments, a traditional night beacon, a directional stone, and other reminders of the town’s prosperous port history.
The approximately 3.9-hectare park is ideal for a leisurely walk and is also known as an excellent place to watch the sun set over the Sea of Japan. Hiyoriyama Park has been selected as one of Japan’s Top 100 City Parks, Top 100 Historic Parks, and Top 100 Sunset Viewing Spots, making it one of Sakata’s most distinctive sightseeing destinations.
One of the most recognizable sights in Hiyoriyama Park is its elegant white wooden hexagonal lighthouse. Known as one of Japan’s oldest surviving wooden lighthouses, it is an important historic structure that conveys the maritime heritage of Sakata.
The lighthouse was originally built in 1895 in the Miyanoura area. It stands approximately 12.8 meters high, with each side of its hexagonal structure measuring about 3 meters.
The original light source was an oil lamp. In 1919, it was replaced with an acetylene gas lamp. The lighthouse was subsequently moved to Ohama in 1923, and two years later it was converted to electric lighting.
After a modern lighthouse was constructed and the wooden structure was no longer needed, it was moved to its present location in Hiyoriyama Park in 1958. Today, the distinctive white lighthouse remains a symbol of Sakata’s long history as a port town.
Another major symbol of Hiyoriyama Park is its impressive Kitamaebune ship model. With its large white sails spread wide, the ship creates a striking scene alongside the lighthouse. Built at half the scale of an actual vessel, it is one of the largest Kitamaebune ship models in Japan.
Kitamaebune were merchant ships that sailed along the Sea of Japan from the Edo period through the Meiji period, connecting ports throughout the country. Ships capable of carrying 1,000 koku, or approximately 150 tons, of rice were known as senkokubune, or “1,000-koku ships.”
The largest Kitamaebune vessels could carry as much as 2,400 koku, or approximately 360 tons, of cargo. Their activities went beyond simply transporting goods. Shipowners would purchase products in one port and sell them in another, conducting commercial activities somewhat similar to those of a modern trading company.
Because of this business model, Kitamaebune voyages could generate enormous profits. It is traditionally said that a single round trip could sometimes produce profits equivalent to 1,000 ryō, a large unit of currency used in premodern Japan. The trade conducted by these ships played an important role in the development and prosperity of Sakata as a port town.
Hiyoriyama Park has walking paths where visitors can explore the traces left by writers and other cultural figures who traveled to Sakata. There are 29 literary monuments throughout the park, reflecting the deep connection between Sakata and Japanese literature.
As a busy port where people and goods from many parts of Japan came and went, Sakata attracted numerous cultural figures from an early period. Among them was Matsuo Basho, one of Japan’s most celebrated haiku poets, along with other writers and literary figures who visited the area and left behind works inspired by their experiences.
Walking from one literary monument to another offers a different kind of sightseeing experience, allowing visitors to discover Sakata’s history and literary heritage while enjoying a peaceful stroll through the park.
Various historic objects associated with Sakata’s prosperous port remain within Hiyoriyama Park. Exploring these relics on foot provides an opportunity to imagine the time when numerous Kitamaebune ships traveled in and out of Sakata Port.
The night beacon was built in 1813 to pray for the safe voyages of merchant ships traveling to Sakata from ports along the northern Sea of Japan. Standing approximately 3 meters high, it has been preserved as an important historical relic of Sakata’s prosperous maritime era.
As a landmark that helped guide ships traveling at night, the beacon evokes the history of Sakata Port and its close relationship with the Kitamaebune trade.
The directional stone is a granite marker that ship captains used to determine weather conditions and wind direction. The surviving example is considered the oldest of its kind in Japan and provides an insight into how sailors assessed conditions before setting out on their voyages.
At the southern edge of Hiyoriyama, a historic flight of stone steps built in 1817 leads down toward Funabamachi. This is known as Shinmeizaka Slope.
Nearby, within the grounds of Shinmei Shrine, stands a stone torii gate erected in 1831. Exploring the slope, shrine grounds, and stone structures offers a glimpse into the historic landscape that remains around Hiyoriyama.
Thanks to its elevated location, Hiyoriyama Park is also famous as a sunset viewing spot. As the sun slowly sinks toward the horizon over the Sea of Japan, the view of the sea and harbor takes on warm colors, creating a distinctly atmospheric scene associated with Sakata’s maritime character.
One enjoyable way to visit is to explore the historic lighthouse, Kitamaebune ship model, and literary monuments during the day, then stay until evening to watch the sunset over the sea.
Hiyoriyama Park is also well known as a cherry blossom viewing destination. The Sakata Hiyoriyama Cherry Blossom Festival is held around mid-April each year, attracting visitors who come to enjoy the park’s spring scenery.
During cherry blossom season, the combination of blooming trees, the historic white lighthouse, the Kitamaebune ship model, and views over the port creates a particularly picturesque landscape. The park is well worth visiting for travelers exploring Sakata in spring.
Hiyoriyama Park brings together many aspects of Sakata’s character in one location: the history of the Kitamaebune trade that supported the prosperity of Sakata Port, the wooden lighthouse that represents the town’s modernization, Japanese literature, historic shrines and stone structures, and spectacular views of the Sea of Japan.
Visitors can enjoy a distinctly port-town landscape where a white-sailed ship and white lighthouse stand together, while walking among literary monuments and historic relics. The scenery changes with the seasons and time of day, from cherry blossoms in spring to beautiful sunsets in the evening.
For travelers who want to experience Sakata’s history and landscapes at a relaxed pace, Hiyoriyama Park offers an excellent opportunity to discover the cultural heritage and scenic beauty of this historic port town.
Approx. 6 minutes by car from JR Sakata Station
3 minutes by bus from JR Sakata Station