Yumeria is a complex facility jointly established with Shinjo Station that serves as the final stop on the Yamagata Shinkansen. The floats of the Shinjo Festival - registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage - are the first thing that will jump out at you when you exit the ticket gate. It is well worth seeing these floats that are produced every year based on kabuki plays and historical stories. They are splendidly decorated with the mountains, flowers, waterfalls and buildings around them centered on life-size dolls.
A number of manga artists have a connection with the Shinjo and Mogami district. These include Yoshiro Togashi who is the author of HUNTER×HUNTER which has many fans around the world. The Shinjo Mogami Manga Museum has also been established here. It exhibits valuable materials such as works, figures and autographs done at the hands of these manga artists. You can enter the museum for free, so those who have never read such works are also welcome in addition to manga fans.
You will also find the Mogami Bussankan here selling special products of the eight municipalities of Mogami. You can easily buy souvenirs while waiting to board the Shinkansen. If you visit Shinjo, how about a souvenir of its specialty kujira mochi (rice cakes)? These are sweets made by turning glutinous rice and non-glutinous rice into powder before adding seasoning and walnuts and then kneading everything together and steaming them. The usual flavors are miso, soy sauce, brown sugar and white sugar. However, new products containing bean paste and edamame (green soybeans) have also been released in recent years. This means that there are an abundance of varieties. The traditional rustic taste and springy texture go perfectly with Japanese tea.