A walk down the main street of Sakata.

A few shots of a dwindling port town on The Sea of Japan coast

Some of the more colourful buildings I found as I walked Sakata City’s main strip.

Now, the question remains, ‘how do these people survive?’

My assumption is that they earned a whole lot of money during the bubble years, and they’ve kept hold of it until now when their pension provides a little buffer. To be honest though, your guess is as good as mine.

Hair Salon Hiyori

Still inhabitable it seems.

Not as bad as the last place, but still.

At first I wondered why those doors opened out onto a platform without rails. I for one do not want to go up there! Where the bottom shutter is was a temporary MUJI. They have since built the largest MUJI in Tohoku near the Sankyo Rice Warehouses.

This place just looked like a robot face. It’s probably not so bad inside.

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More stuff

This was a very informative piece about Yamagata Prefecture’s only inhabited island, also in Sakata City:

The Island of Tobishima: A Slow Travel Gem

And this was an incredible conversation about probably the biggest turning point in Japanese culture:

The Meiji Restoration

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Daily Yamabushi for The Week

And then of course there are mansions like this, Seienkaku, the holiday home for the Honma Family right next to the Honma Art Museum.

Daily yamabushi posts for the week of May 30 to June 5, 2025.

Read Daily Yamabushi at timbunting.com/blog. Everything I make is free of charge if you know where to find it. I’d start here.

1. In it to win it

2. A little bit reality

3. Not yet. Not now.

4. Routine. Routine. Routine.

5. The uninspiring counts

6. Rest for the wicked

7. Get back to it