Events

There are over 730 cherry trees in Tsuruoka Park, making it enter the list of the 100 most beautiful cherry blossoms sightseeing spots in Japan. Local merchants open up special food stands and game booths until the end of the cherry blooming season. The 2020 and 2021 editions of the festival have been canceled due to coronavirus.

People of the Oyama village gather every year to pay tribute to Mekke Inu the Legendary Dog that saved the village from evil forces 3 centuries ago.

Every year, the people of Tsuruoka gather on the 25th of May to pay tribute to Sugawara no Michizane, also known as Tenjin, the god of scholars and knowledge. Masked men walk the streets to serve people saké for free.

Take part in the procession for the first day of the official Mt. Gassan hiking season.

The official day of the opening of Mt. Yudono. The shrine officially begins its activities in the mountain. The access to the mountain closes and the religious activities in Mt. Yudono stop in late October due to the beginning of the snowing season.

The priests of Dewa Sanzan shrine organize a festival during which participants fight to get a piece of a giant doll representing a cutting of blooming rice to pray for plentiful crops and the fertility of women.