The Tsuchiyu Cedars are a heavy growth of big trees, located in Tozawa Village, Mogami County, Yamagata prefecture.

The group of trees is to the left of Mogami Canyon. The district has been designated as Yamagata Natural Park and the hiking course is popular.

The Tsuchiyu Cedars are more than 1000 years old and are dotted around the district. The biggest cedar is 17.5m in circumference and 30m tall.

The district is called 'Fantastic Forest'. Mogami river, one of Japan's three major rapid rivers, runs through this district and the rich water is a source of life in the forest.

In winter, all the trees are covered with snow and the view from a boat is splendid. In spring, the blooming of the lily japonica warms your heart.

The Big Cedars of Omiwa are located in Tamozawa, Kanayama Town, Mogami County, Yamagata prefecture. They were originally planted for lumber.

The cedars, up to 128, are some of the biggest cultivated trees of their kind in Japan. They were first planted as saplings back in the Edo period, probably in 1764, making them about 230 years old.

Mogami district has much snow in winter. In May 2006, there was such a heavy snowfall that six trees were bent by the weight of snow. As a result, these six trees, all of them over 250 years old, were cut down.

To see such enormous trees felled was overwhelming, particularly because two of the trees were 50m tall with trunks 80cm in circumference. Their immensity was a living demonstration of history.