Yamagata Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region of Japan and is divided into four parts: Okitama, Murayama, Mogami, and Shonai. The name of the prefecture, "Yamagata," is said to derive from a reference in the book "Wana-ryuju-sho" to the southern part of present-day Yamagata City as "Yamakata-yamagata-go" ("Yamagata Township"). As a region with a clear difference between winter and summer, visitors can clearly feel and see the change of the seasons. Summer is characterized by higher temperatures and longer hours of sunlight in the Tohoku region. Yamagata Prefecture is rich in nature, with tourist attractions such as "Zao," famous for its ice trees and hot springs, and "Yamadera," associated with the haiku poet Matsuo Basho, allowing visitors to feel nature up close. Yamagata Prefecture also has many local dishes that can be preserved even in the cold winter, such as "natto soup," which is made by grinding natto in a mortar until the grains are no longer visible and then thickening the soup, and "imoni," a stew of taro, beef, konnyaku, and green onions in soy sauce flavor, which is unique to snow country. Yamagata Prefecture's charm lies in its abundance of gourmet foods made from the land blessed with nature and the fresh ingredients harvested from it.