Tozawa, Yamagata: A Boatman's Song on the Mogami River, from Autumn Leaves to Winter Snow

Boatmen sing as the boat slides slowly down the Mogami Gorge, on a river counted among Japan's three great rapids and tied to Matsuo Basho of Oku no Hosomichi. The ride runs in all four seasons, so the same stretch of water is a different outing depending on when you come. The river is a Yamagata prefectural natural park, and the boat moves through it at an unhurried pace while the boatman's song carries over the water.

Down the Mogami Gorge by Boat

The Mogami Gorge lies near the lower reaches of the Mogami River, where the riverbed is wide and the flow is calm. Inside the gorge the mountains press close to the riverbank. Some stretches run fast, and when the water is high a little spray may fly now and then, though there is almost no worry of getting wet.

The boatmen sing the Mogami River boatman song as the boat goes down. They speak with a Tozawa accent and explain the nature of the gorge and the Yoshitsune legend in an amusing way. There are many boatmen, and the songs and the guiding differ from one to the next, so no two rides come out the same.

From the slowly moving boat you can see a site of the Yoshitsune legend and a filming location of the drama Oshin. The current can be sensed through the bottom of the boat, and a cool breeze crosses the surface of the water.

If you are travelling alone, the regular boat can be boarded by one person, and because each boatman brings a different song and a different telling, a second ride is a different ride. Reservations through the online form close three days before the boarding date, so Book a Mogami River boat ride ahead of time.

Four Seasons on the Mogami River

In spring, the trees bud after the snow melts, and mountain cherry trees seen between them color the mountains. By early summer the fresh greenery shines in the sunlight and spreads as far as the eye can see.

In autumn, the brightly colored leaves of the mountains color the surface of the water, and a view like a painting spreads out around the boat.

In winter, snow keeps falling quietly, and the scenery is like being lost in the world of an ink painting. Tozawa Village is buried in snow for about four months of the year.

In summer a sudare screen shades the sun, and in winter the boat is fully enclosed like a yakatabune, a roofed pleasure boat, and heated from December to the end of March. When it rains, a vinyl roof is put over the boat.

If you can choose the season, come in early summer for green and sunlight, in autumn for the color on the water, and in winter for the snow that turns the gorge into an ink painting.

Boat Lunches, Hand-Made Soba and a Meal at the Landing

A boxed meal can be prepared for the boat, so the ride can double as lunch on the water. The menu runs from a Yamagata Wagyu steak bento and a Shonai pork yakiniku bento to the Mogami River Oshin bento and a bamboo-basket bento.

Imoni soup and salt-grilled sweetfish are on the menu as single items, and a small portion of imoni can be added to a bento as a set.

The grounds of the boarding place at Furukuchi Port hold the pickup point for boat lunches, a soba restaurant and a soba-making workshop. The soba there is made by hand from a locally grown buckwheat variety with a sweetness and aroma. The soba-making experience needs reservations made three days ahead.

At the landing at Kusanagi Port, set meals and regular menu items are served. The Shiraito Falls drive-in has a restaurant serving ramen and rice bowls, and a fast corner with standing soba, soft-serve ice cream and skewers. From the glass-walled interior of the parlor at Shiraito Falls, the autumn-colored Mogami Gorge can be seen in full.

If you want a meal on the water, choose a bento and add the small imoni. If you would rather make something with your hands, the soba workshop lets you turn the local buckwheat into hand-made soba.

Basho, Yoshitsune and a Shrine Beside the River

Matsuo Basho came down the Mogami River in early summer, when the water was abundant, and wrote a verse about the journey. Tozawa Village lay on his route and is where he composed the haiku of rainy-season rains gathering into a swift Mogami River. It is said that he had first written the river as cool at present-day Oishida and changed the word after meeting the swollen torrent.

In the Edo period, after Mogami Yoshiaki and others opened a route from upstream to the river mouth, boat transport developed, and Tozawa prospered as a key point on it. The Tozawa-han Funabansho checkpoint was set up here, and the boarding place still carries its name.

The historical tale of Yoshitsune has Minamoto no Yoshitsune's party going up the Mogami River toward Oshu Hiraizumi and passing Shiraito Falls in Tozawa Village. A waka by his wife, the Kita no Kata, is recorded from that occasion. The waterfall is named for water that drops into the river like white threads, and it flows without a break all year round.

On the right bank of the Mogami River stands a shrine that can be reached only by boat. Its origin is that Yoshitsune's retainer Hitachibo Kaison parted from him here during the flight north, withdrew into the mountains, mastered the esoteric teachings of Shugendo, became a hermit, and kept telling of Yoshitsune's last days.

If you like stories with your scenery, the boatmen's telling of the Yoshitsune legend and the one word Basho changed here give the gorge a second layer beyond the view.

To stay overnight in the area, browse places to stay in Shinjo.

Getting to Tozawa

Leg	How	Time or cost
Furukuchi Port to Kusanagi Port	Boat	About 60 minutes
Kusanagi Port back to Furukuchi Station or the Tozawa-han Funabansho boarding place	Route bus	500 yen for adults
From JR Furukuchi Station	Taxi from the stand in front of the station	Not listed

New to rural buses and one-man trains? See how to ride them, step by step.

Hours and Fees

The regular route runs all year with no closed days.

Place	What	Hours or fee
Mogami River boat ride, April to November	Adult	3,000 yen
Mogami River boat ride, April to November	Child	1,500 yen
Mogami River boat ride, December to March	Adult	3,200 yen
Mogami River boat ride, online booking	Discount on the adult fare	100 yen off
Soba-making at the boarding place	Per person	2,200 yen