Yamanashi (prefecture)
Discover Yamanashi (prefecture)
Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県 Yamanashi-ken) is in the central Chubu region of the main Japanese island Honshu. Just hours from Tokyo by bus, train, or car, Yamanashi is good for a day trip from the big city and allows travelers to experience the "inaka" (rural) Japan. The prefecture offers a wealth of cultural experiences and outdoor excursions to those searching for the offbeat side of Japan. Most foreign visitors overlook Yamanashi, but this small prefecture might be the ideal destination for a traveler tired of Tokyo's crowds. Yamanashi is quite unusual amongst Japanese provinces in that its borders have remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years. Formerly known as Kai Province (甲斐国), the majority of the prefecture is formed of the Kofu Basin, a flat plain in the centre of the prefecture surrounded by virtually impassible natural mountain barriers. Kai was once the base of the famous samurai leader Takeda Shingen, a man who once looked certain to unite the whole of Japan until his mysterious death whilst on campaign. The people of Yamanashi celebrate him to this day.
What to Experience in Yamanashi (prefecture)
Taste of Yamanashi (prefecture)...
Yamanashi is famous for its grapes and peaches. The centre of the prefecture lies in a basin and has quite a unique climate which makes its fruit very sweet. Yamanashi is the centre of Japanese wine making, with many companies large and small making wine in Yamanashi. Due to the sweetness of Yamanashi's fruit the wine from Yamanashi also tends to have a somewhat sweeter taste than is the norm, this can have rather mixed results when it comes to Yamanashi red wines, however Yamanashi white wines are delicious. Hōtō is a wheat noodle that looks like wide udon. In winter, Yamanashi gets really cold, so it is sometimes eaten at home or in restaurants. The ingredients of Hōtō contains various vegetables, including: burdock, pumpkin, radish, carrot, taro, sweet potato etc. Its base is miso soup. Yoshida Udon is a firmer thick Udon noodle soup. Served in versions ways with or without meat. Basashi is another local speciality; raw horse meat. Due to the car centric design of Yamanashi and the proximity of Tokyo there is little in the way of night life to be found in this prefecture. There are some pubs to be found in Kofu; however, Yamanashi is the Japanese wine capital, hence day drinking opportunities such as vineyard tours and Katsunuma's wine cave are a good option.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThere are no airports in Yamanashi. Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports are accessible by bus from Yamanashi; however, services to Yamanashi from these airports are rare. Haneda with its location towards the west of Tokyo rather than in central Chiba is by far recommended for access to Yamanashi, the journey from Narita to Kofu can take up to four hours by train. You can access Yamanashi by three lines, the Chuo Line (中央線) from Matsumoto to the west and Tokyo to the east, the Minobu Line (身延線) from Shizuoka to the south, and the Koumi Line (小海線) from Ueda and eastern Nagano, by the border with Gunma, to the north. From Shizuoka you can connect to the Shinkansen which can be used to access Osaka and Nagoya, from Nagoya however the quicker option is to ride conventional express trains on the chuo line, switching between the Azusa and the Shinano at Shiojiri in Nagano. For both of these cities the bus is a quicker and cheaper alternative....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Many points in Yamanashi can be reached by the JR Chuo or JR Minobu train lines, with Kofu Station as a transportation hub for the prefecture. The southeast part of the prefecture is accessible by the private Fuji Kyu line which connects to the Chuo line at Otsuki. The Fuji Kyu line, Minobu line and Koumi line are all single tracked so services tend to be infrequent and somewhat slow. The chuo line is largely double tracked hence has two or three local trains and two or three expresses per hour each way. Most cities throughout the prefecture have local bus lines in addition to trains. Public transportation in Yamanashi isn't the best and even the central Kofu Urban Area itself is designed around the idea that most people have cars. Driving is highly recommended to be able to see the entire prefecture. Yamanashi is famous for its grapes and peaches. The centre of the prefecture lies in a basin and has quite a unique climate which makes its fruit very sweet.
Safety Information
Nearby Destinations
Glimpses of Yamanashi (prefecture)
Calm water with distant mountains under a cloudy sky
Bus parked at a train station with a mountain backdrop.
山中湖の水陸両用バスKABA 撮影日2011年8月5日
Sign for casual restaurant and coffee shop
Mount fuji seen through autumn trees and wooden fence
A person running with mount fuji in the background.
Bright red autumn leaves against a blue sky
a view of a city with mountains in the background
A street with a lot of signs on it
a snow covered street in a small town
Calm water with distant mountains under a cloudy sky
Bus parked at a train station with a mountain backdrop.
山中湖の水陸両用バスKABA 撮影日2011年8月5日