Getting Here and Around

If you are considering visiting Tsuruoka from Tokyo, the most inexpensive way is by overnight highway bus. Buses leave from various major Tokyo stations between 10 pm and midnight, and arrive in Tsuruoka in the early morning (from ¥4,000). Tsuruoka is 2½ hours south of Akita by JR Uetsu Line (¥2,270).

It's easiest to get to the base of Haguro by bus (35 minutes), either from Bus Stop 1 in front of JR Tsuruoka Station, or from Stop 1 at the nearby S-Mall (Shonai Kotsu Mall). There are four departures in winter and at least hourly departures in summer; it's not a JR bus. A fare of ¥820 will take you from the station to the Zuishin-mon Stop at the entrance to the trail to the peak. Most buses from Tsuruoka toward Haguro continue to the summit, Haguro-san-cho, which is not much farther, but the fare jumps to ¥1,180.