Shonai Town, Higashitagawa District, is located in the center of Yamagata Prefecture's Shonai region. It is a relatively new town formed in 2005 by the merger of two towns. The urban area is concentrated along National Route 47 and a prefectural road, with roads radiating out from this central area to surrounding settlements and municipalities. Until the Edo period, the area was a vast wilderness due to the inability to draw water from the Mogami River. However, it is now one of Japan's leading rice-growing regions. The Yazawa area is also the birthplace of the rice variety "Kamenoo." Major tourist attractions include the Cart Soleil Mogami River, the Jizo Pine of Hotta, a prefecturally designated natural monument, and the Milk Ginkgo Tree of Migasawa, also a prefecturally designated natural monument.