Yonezawa Station Festival Draws Crowds, Promotes New Video Game

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:40 JST, November 5, 2025

YONEZAWA, Yamagata — The 2025 Oshoshina-eki Matsuri festival was held in and around JR Yonezawa Station on Oct. 18 to commemorate Railway Day (Oct. 14).

The station organized the event as part of efforts to strengthen ties with the local community, partly in response to disruption caused by a malfunction affecting Yamagata Shinkansen trains.

Three universities from Yonezawa participated in the event, setting up festival stalls and a train station cafe. Passengers were welcomed on the platforms with a Hanagasa Ondo dance performance by students who belong to Kacho Fugetsu, a university club.

President Momotaro, the official mascot character of the popular video game series “Momotaro Dentetsu” (Momotaro electric railway), also made an appearance.

“Momotaro Dentetsu 2,” scheduled for a Nov. 13 launch, was promoted at the event for having more properties available, as the new game will have more properties players can purchase at the in-game version of Yonezawa Station than the current one. The game will also feature the historical figure Uesugi Yozan as a support character who joins the player after they monopolize the station’s properties.

“We were delighted that everyone enjoyed watching our dance, and we received a burst of energy from them,” said a 22-year-old fourth-year student at Yonezawa University of Nutrition Sciences, who performed the Hanagasa dance that day.