秋の山形といえば「芋煮」。その中でも毎年9月に山形市で開かれる 「日本一の芋煮会フェスティバル」 は、県内外から大勢の人が訪れる一大イベントです。
2025年は 9月14日（日） 開催。 山形の秋の味覚を思いっきり楽しめるチャンスです。
📖 History of the Imoni Festival
Yamagata Prefecture is often called the *“Sacred Land of Imoni”* because of its deep-rooted culture of gathering by the riverside to share hotpot in autumn. Its origins trace back to the Edo period, when villagers would bring harvested taro and vegetables to the riverbank, cook them together, and celebrate the bounty of the season.
In 1989, the **Japan’s Largest Imoni Festival** was launched with the aim of recreating this tradition on a grand scale in modern times.
At first, it was a small, homemade event organized by local volunteers, but with each passing year, it grew larger in scale. Thanks to the cooperation of not only local residents but also companies and municipalities, it has now evolved into one of Yamagata’s major autumn tourism events, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from all over Japan.
The festival used to be held on the **first Sunday of September** every year, but in recent years it has become irregular due to typhoons and bad weather. The venue is the banks of the Mamigasaki River in Yamagata City (near the Sogetsu Bridge). For locals, it is a seasonal tradition that signals the arrival of autumn, and for visitors, it is a rare chance to experience “a culture unique to Yamagata.”
Moreover, the Imoni Festival is not just a food event—it also plays an important role in sharing regional pride and hometown spirit with the wider world. From children to the elderly, generations gather together, and the sight of families, friends, and travelers sharing one big pot truly embodies the essence of “Yamagata.”
🍲 The overwhelming scale of cooking in a gigantic pot
What sets the Japan’s Largest Imoni Festival apart from other food events is its overwhelming scale.
The star of the venue is a gigantic pot measuring six meters in diameter. This massive pot is so large that it has to be lifted and set in place by a crane, boasting a Guinness-level size.
The ingredients poured into it are in quantities far beyond imagination.
-
Taro: about 3 tons (several truckloads)
-
Beef: about 1.2 tons (equivalent to several thousand servings of steak)
-
Konjac: about 3,500 sheets
-
Green onions: about 3,500 stalks
-
Seasonings: soy sauce, sugar, and sake measured in hundreds of liters
The ingredients are procured in huge quantities from local farmers and suppliers, and the preparation begins all at once on the morning of the event. The sight of workers using giant shovels and heavy machinery to throw the ingredients into the pot is truly as powerful as watching a construction site in action.
What’s more, the firepower is on a grand scale too. Logs are piled onto a massive iron plate to create the fire, while the crane-suspended pot is heated and the stew simmered. As steam rises and the savory aroma of soy sauce spreads across the entire riverside, the anticipation of the crowd reaches its peak.
The imoni stew simmered in this way is served all at once to thousands of people in a single round. The long line forming in front of the giant pot, the smiling faces of people receiving their bowls, and the scenes of friends spreading out picnic sheets along the riverbank to enjoy the meal together—all of these become etched in memory as “a quintessential autumn landscape of Yamagata.”
🍖 The flavor of Yamagata’s Imoni stew
In Yamagata City, imoni is soy sauce–flavored with a beef base.
In contrast, in the Shōnai region (Tsuruoka and Sakata), it is miso-flavored with a pork base, making the seasoning quite different even though both are called “imoni.”
It’s highly recommended to try both when traveling!
Enjoy the soy sauce flavor in Yamagata City, then head to Tsuruoka to savor the miso version—this way, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Yamagata’s food culture.
🎉 How to Enjoy the Festival
-
Line up at the giant pot to get a steaming hot bowl of imoni
-
Stroll through the festival stalls and enjoy local gourmet foods and seasonal delicacies
-
Watch stage events and performances
-
Don’t miss out on commemorative goods and pairings with local sake
The experience of gathering around the pot with everyone on the riverbank, surrounded by the autumn breeze, is truly exceptional.
🚍 Access Information
-
Venue: Mamigasaki Riverbed, Yamagata City (near Sogetsu Bridge)
-
Access: Shuttle buses operate from JR Yamagata Station
-
By car: Temporary parking lots are available, with shuttle buses running to the venue
-
Official Website: Announcement of the 37th Japan’s Largest Imoni Festival
🏡 After enjoying the Imoni Festival, head to Tsuruoka and the Shōnai region
Since you’ve come all the way to Yamagata, it would be a waste to end your trip with just imoni!
After enjoying the festival in Yamagata City, why not head over to the Japan Sea side—to Tsuruoka City and the Shōnai area?
-
In Shōnai, you can enjoy miso-flavored imoni.
-
Rock oysters and other seafood from the Shōnai coast are also highly recommended.
-
There are also many historical and cultural sites to explore, such as the Dewa Sanzan mountains and the Matsugaoka Reclamation Site.
For your stay, head to *Watausagi*, a traditional Japanese house guesthouse in Tsuruoka.
It’s a homely place where you can relax and recover from your journey while blending into the local lifestyle. With a kitchen available, you can even buy an imoni set from a local supermarket and cook it yourself.
🌸 Summary
The **Japan’s Largest Imoni Festival** is a one-of-a-kind event where you can experience Yamagata’s food culture firsthand.
Carrying on a historic tradition into the present day, the imoni stew simmered in a gigantic pot is sure to become an unforgettable memory of your journey.
And if you head to Shōnai to try the miso-flavored imoni, you can enjoy Yamagata’s charm twice over.
This autumn, be sure to plan a trip that combines the Imoni Festival in Yamagata City with a stay at *Watausagi* in Tsuruoka.
That’s all for today’s article.
Likes and follows make me happy ❤️
Related Articles
No worries even if it rains! Guesthouse Watasagi is also recommended for potato stew parties!
English 
Japanese