tohokuprefecture
Akita
Akita is a prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast of northern Honshu, in the Tohoku region, a country of rice, sake and mountain onsen whose capital, Akita city, is about four hours from Tokyo on the Akita Shinkansen.
- Prefecture
- Akita
- Region
- Tohoku
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
Samurai lanes under weeping cherries, a deep blue lake, and onsen in the beech woods.
Akita lies between the Ou mountains and the Sea of Japan, its broad plains planted with the rice that makes its sake, and its mountains dense with beech and cedar. Snow is deep here in winter, and the culture of the place grew up around it: long evenings, hearty food, strong drink and a love of festivals. It is one of the quietest and most rewarding prefectures in Japan.
Its heart, for most guests, is the inland corner around Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa and Nyuto Onsen, all within an hour of each other on the line of the Akita Shinkansen. Kakunodate was laid out in 1620 as a castle town, and its samurai district keeps its wide streets of black wooden fences and old houses beneath weeping cherry trees. Lake Tazawa, a short drive away, is the deepest lake in Japan, and above it in the forest of the Nyuto mountains a scatter of old onsen inns sit on springs of milky white water.
On the coast, the Oga Peninsula is the home of the Namahage, ogres of straw and red masks who visit each home on New Year's Eve to scold the idle, a custom inscribed by UNESCO as part of the Raiho-shin rituals of Japan. Akita's crafts are as fine as any in the north: the cherry bark work of Kakunodate, the bentwood boxes of Odate and the lacquer of Kawatsura, and its sake is among the most admired in the country.
see and do
What to see in Akita
Kakunodate samurai district
A quarter of samurai houses behind black fences, among them the houses of the Aoyagi and Ishiguro families, open to visitors, with their gardens, armour and family treasures, along streets shaded by weeping cherries descended from trees brought from Kyoto.
Lake Tazawa
The deepest lake in Japan at 423 metres, nearly circular and a vivid blue, with the golden statue of Tatsuko, the girl of legend who became its dragon, standing in the water on the western shore.
Nyuto Onsen
Seven old onsen inns in the beech forest of the Nyuto mountains above Lake Tazawa, each with its own spring, several of them milky white, and some with open-air onsen among the trees.
The Oga Peninsula and Namahage
A rugged peninsula on the Sea of Japan, where the Namahage Museum shows the masks of every village and a nearby farmhouse recreates the New Year's Eve visit of the ogres.
Akita Museum of Art
A museum by Tadao Ando in Akita city, built to house Tsuguharu Foujita's vast mural of the festivals and daily life of Akita, more than twenty metres long, painted in 1937.
Kanto festival
Akita city's summer festival, in which performers balance tall bamboo poles hung with dozens of lit paper lanterns on their palms, foreheads and shoulders; the Kanto Festival Center shows the poles and lets visitors try one.
Dakigaeri Gorge
A gorge of clear blue water between Kakunodate and Lake Tazawa, crossed by a red suspension bridge, with a level path along its edge through the trees.
Lake Towada, south shore
Akita shares the great caldera of Lake Towada with Aomori, and its southern shore, around Oyu and the Hachimantai plateau, is a land of onsen and beech woods.
experiences
The best of Akita
A samurai house, opened for you
An afternoon in Kakunodate with a guide who knows the old families, walking the samurai lanes, visiting a house and its garden and watching a craftsman make cherry bark boxes.
Milky water in the forest
A night at an onsen inn in the Nyuto mountains, with open-air onsen of milky white water among the beech trees and a dinner around the irori hearth of mountain vegetables and wild duck hotpot.
Akita sake at the source
A visit to a sake brewery in Akita, where the cold winters and soft water of the Ou mountains make some of the most elegant sake in Japan, with a tasting led by the brewer.
The lacquer of Kawatsura
A morning in the workshops of Kawatsura in Yuzawa, where lacquer has been made for some eight centuries, watching the layers applied and choosing a piece to take home.
plan your visit
Akita on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Three nights suit Akita well: one in Kakunodate and two at Nyuto Onsen or by Lake Tazawa, with a fourth for the Oga Peninsula or the coast.
- Getting there
- By the Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kakunodate in about three hours, Tazawako in a little under three, and Akita city in about four. There are also flights from Haneda to Akita Airport of about an hour, and Lake Towada is about two hours by car from Lake Tazawa.
- Pairs well with
- Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa and Nyuto Onsen form a single easy stay, and from them the road runs north to Lake Towada and Oirase, or east over the mountains to Morioka and Iwate.KakunodateLake TazawaNyuto OnsenOirase and TowadaHirosakiIwate
journeys
Akita on a private journey
We bring guests to Akita on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Akita: questions answered
What is Akita famous for?
Akita is famous for the samurai district of Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa, the milky onsen of Nyuto, the Namahage of the Oga Peninsula, its rice and sake, and the Akita dog.
How do you get from Tokyo to Akita?
By the Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo, about three hours to Kakunodate and about four to Akita city, or by a flight of about an hour from Haneda to Akita Airport.
How many days do you need in Akita?
Three nights cover Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa and Nyuto Onsen at an easy pace, and a fourth adds the Oga Peninsula or the coast.
How deep is Lake Tazawa?
Lake Tazawa is 423 metres deep, the deepest lake in Japan, and its depth gives it the intense blue for which it is known.
What are the Namahage?
The Namahage are ogres of Akita folklore, played by young men in straw capes and fierce masks, who visit homes on the Oga Peninsula on New Year's Eve to scold idle children and bless the household. The custom is part of the Raiho-shin rituals inscribed by UNESCO.
Can Akita be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Akita included. The Expert Japan Itinerary is a journey planned to the day by us, travelled at your own pace.
tohoku
More in Tohoku
Akita, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Akita, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone. The Expert Japan Itinerary is a journey planned to the day by us, travelled at your own pace.