Atsumi Onsen Tours and Trips (Yamagata)

Pickled red turnips grown on slash-and-burn farms on a slope
"Atsumi turnip" is a red turnip that has been cultivated for over 400 years on the slopes of a small settlement in the Atsumi region of Tsuruoka City. There are records that it was presented to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Its surface is reddish purple and contains two to four times as much glutamic acid, a savory component, as white turnips, making it distinctive for its savory flavor, moderate spiciness, and pleasant texture. "Atsumi turnip pickles" are made by pickling this turnip with just salt, sugar, and vinegar, and are a typical souvenir from Atsumi Onsen. The sweet and sour, refreshing spiciness lingers in your mouth.

Akiko Yosano and Atsumi Onsen
Atsumi Onsen has long been visited by many writers and artists, including Matsuo Basho. Yosano Akiko also visited here in 1935, after the death of her husband Tekkan, to heal the emotional pain. She left behind around ten poems. One of these, "In the morning market in the valley of Dewa in the rain, an oh-mune woman sells umbrellas," is a poem about the famous morning market. A monument to this poem is inscribed next to Bankokuya. Perhaps her energy was restored by the hot springs, as she was active in publishing "Yosano Hiroshi's Collected Manuscripts" that same year, and embarking on a modern translation of "The Tale of Genji."