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Our three unmissable highlights in Akita.
Akita’s three essentials — a fast track to the best
• Lake Tazawa — Japan’s deepest lake (423.4 m). Its lapis surface mirrors the sky with an almost otherworldly glow, earning a place among Japan’s classic vistas.
• Akita Kanto Festival — Held Aug 3–6. Thousands of lanterns sway on towering bamboo poles, a luminous prayer for abundant harvest handed down through generations.
• Nyuto Onsen Village — Seven rustic inns scattered through beech forests, each with its own spring source and water chemistry — the ultimate hot-spring hopping paradise.
“Little Kyoto of the North” — streets lined with Edo-period samurai estates.
Once home to over 80 retainers — a grand cluster of samurai estates!
Along this Edo-period boulevard, some 80 samurai families maintained expansive residences.
Broad gardens and long black board fences still speak eloquently of rank and authority.
Enduring war and fires — preserved by the community’s devotion
During the Boshin War and major Meiji-era fires, townspeople rallied to fight the flames and restore the streetscape.
Thanks to their efforts, estates dating back over 400 years remain in active use today.
Grace from Kyoto — the “marriage” story of the weeping cherries
The ~400 weeping cherry trees coloring spring trace back to saplings brought by a bride from Kyoto —
a living testament to cultural exchange that carried miyabi (courtly elegance) into a samurai town.
Japan’s deepest lake (423.4 m). A famed “Japan Top 100 Views.”
Depth of 423.4 m — Japan’s deepest lake
That abyssal blue, reflecting sky and cloud, looks like a polished jewel set in the mountains.
Calm days reveal gradients of lapis and turquoise that photographers adore.
The Kunimasu trout that vanished
Before WWII, acidic water was diverted for power generation; the lake’s unique endemic trout, Kunimasu, disappeared from Tazawa.
The tale still haunts conservation lore in Japan.
Legend of Lady Tatsuko
A maiden longing for eternal beauty is said to have become a dragon and guardian of the lake —
a myth that shimmers in statues and shrines around the shore.
Hunt all three statues
Not just the famous golden statue on the shore — seek the Tatsuko Kannon and the shrine’s Tatsuko image as well,
beloved for beauty blessings.
Dramatic cliffs and the UNESCO-listed Namahage ritual culture.
88 hamlets, 88 faces of Namahage
Each district keeps its own mask designs and costumes — a patchwork of histories encoded in horns, eyebrows, and straw capes.
Tough love from “ogres”
The red (male) and blue (female) figures storm through New Year doorways, scolding laziness and chasing off ill fortune to revive the household.
It’s a stern ritual with a tender heart.
999 steps to Goshado
Legend says the Namahage built them in a single night. Climb the stone stair to a view that roars with myth and surf.
Seven secluded inns with distinct sources — the ultimate hot-spring hop.
Seven inns, ten-plus spring types — a “department store” of waters
From milky sulfur baths to clear chloride springs, each inn has its own source and chemistry — all within a forested valley.
350+ years of healing
Dating back to the Edo era, Nyuto preserves the culture of toji (therapeutic stays) amid rustic architecture and beech woodlands.
Access
About 30 minutes by bus from Lake Tazawa. Between geothermal steam and primeval trees, it feels like a hidden sanctuary.
Oasis in central Akita on the former Kubota Castle grounds—famous for cherry blossoms and fall colors.
Kubota Castle (1603) — stronghold of the Satake clan for 15 generations.
Modern garden craftsmanship (1896) — by landscape master Yashei Nagaoka.
The meaning of “Senshu” — “a thousand autumns,” a wish for everlasting prosperity.
Otemon corner turret reborn (1989) — restoring the classic skyline in blossom and foliage seasons.
World Heritage beech forest — a living “green dam.”
A living “green dam” of primeval beech
Layer upon layer of leaf mold and roots soak up rainfall like a giant sponge, steadying rivers and life far downstream.
A single 200-year-old beech can hold tons of water annually.
World Natural Heritage (1993)
Roughly 17,000 ha of core zones remain pristine — a “living laboratory” of biodiversity where human footprints are kept to a minimum.
A dragon’s eye pattern appears briefly on Kagami-numa in late spring.
A short-lived miracle on Kagami-numa
Typically visible for just 1–2 weeks from late May to early June: central snow lingers as the rim thaws, forming a blue ring — the dragon’s eye.
How to catch the moment
Early mornings are best. Local forecasts track temperature and weather to predict the peak — when the “eye” opens, make a wish!
98°C water and steam blast from canyon seams — raw geothermal power.
Feel the planet breathe
From cracks in the canyon walls, 98°C water and steam jet with a hiss and roar.
Walk the riverside path to feel hot mist brush your face — a thrilling, volcanic promenade.
Cooldown, the local way
Nearby foot baths and open-air tubs turn raw geothermal drama into soothing warmth.
Barren, sulfurous sacred ground; nearby Kawarage Oyutaki is a natural hot-spring waterfall.
One of Japan’s Three Great Sacred Places
Alongside Osorezan and Tateyama, this sulfur-bleached wasteland has long been a place of ascetic training and awe.
Kawarage Oyutaki
In summer, the 20 m waterfall itself becomes a natural hot spring — a rare “bathing under the falls” experience enveloped in steam and birdsong.
Free 360° observatory at 100 m — glorious sunsets over the Sea of Japan.
Free 100 m observatory — generosity with a view
Watch the sun sink into the Sea of Japan, then linger as city lights glitter like jewels below.
More than a lookout
A couples’ heart bench, kids’ play area, and farmer’s market make it easy to spend an hour — or an evening — together.
Nicknamed “Tohoku’s Yabakei” — emerald waters and cliffs.
Why “Dakigaeri” — “to pass while holding each other”
Long ago, the cliff-hugging path was so narrow that travelers braced one another to squeeze by.
Today, safe trails reveal emerald pools and sheer rock walls.
Mikaeri (“Look-Back”) Falls
The showpiece cascade literally makes you turn back again and again — a play of light, water, and gorge acoustics.
Mossy rocks exhale spring water filtered through Mt. Chokai.
Not a river’s fall — a mountain’s breath
Rain and snowmelt from Mt. Chokai filter underground for years, then exhale through mossy rock in white veils.
Film crews love the dreamlike contrast of green and silver.
Selected among the “100 Best Waters of Heisei”
Boardwalks let you admire fern fronds, moss carpets, and the intricate roots threading between stones — nature’s fine embroidery.
23 km “Obako-go” scenic line at the foot of Mt. Chokai; themed trains, too.
Old-school “tablet exchange” still lives
At single-track stations, staff pass metal tokens between driver and platform — a ritual where time seems to slow for a moment.
Community-run and endlessly inventive
Ride seasonal specials like the “Doggo Train,” taste home-style dishes on food trains, and enjoy warm community hospitality along the way.
Japan’s strongest acidic spring (pH ≈ 1.2) and massive flow; famed healing retreat.
Astoundingly acidic — about pH 1.2
Japan’s strongest acidic spring and massive flowpower give Tamagawa its fame as a therapeutic retreat, with unique water bottles for “spring touring.”
Natural rock-bed warming
Lie on warm stones in the open air — a rare combination of mild radiation and geothermal heat nurtures deep relaxation amid mountain silence.
Powder snow and “snow monsters” in winter; alpine flowers in summer.
Snow monsters with room to breathe
Rime-ice “monsters” rival Zao’s but with fewer crowds, so you can linger for photos in ghostly white forests.
Flowers ride the gondola in summer
As a “Flower Hundred Famous Mountains” site, Moriyoshi bursts with alpine blooms; guided tours reveal hidden ice art and animal tracks in other seasons.
Little New Year festival each February: step into snow huts for amazake and mochi.
Welcoming the water deity for over 450 years
Step inside snow huts for steaming amazake and grilled mochi as children invite, “Come in!” — a tradition of warmth in the heart of winter.
Night of a thousand candles
Along the river, hundreds of mini kamakura glow like stars on snow — a memory that lingers long after your breath stops fogging the air.
One of Tohoku’s Big Three — performers balance lanterned poles like ripened rice stalks.
O-waka: 12 m tall, ~50 kg — a living monument
Performers shift the pole from palm to forehead, shoulder, and hip as lanterns sway like ripened rice — the chant “Dokkoisho!” rooting strength into the earth.
By day and by night
Daytime showcases skill competitions; at night, the lanterns ignite a moving galaxy down Akita’s avenues.
Late Jomon ring formations — special historic site; world heritage component (2021).
Late Jomon rings aligned with the sun
The twin circles align with summer solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset lines.
Burials found beneath stones suggest rites uniting worship and mourning.
World Heritage component (2021)
In the on-site museum, 3D scans and VR immerse you in a 4,000-year-old worldview under northern skies.
94.2 km “Akita ♥ Bijin Line” — superb foliage and rice art views.
“Akita ♥ Bijin Line” — beauty in motion
Windows frame samurai towns, rice art, and river valleys like a rolling exhibition.
Community passion kept the line alive with creative themed trains.
Autumn’s grand performance
Scarlet and gold mountains, blue skies, and the train’s retro bell let every bend feel like a page from a picture book.
From Neburi-nagashi to Kanto — exhibits, films, and full-size poles.
From Neburi-nagashi to Kanto
Trace how a lantern-floating rite evolved into today’s pole-balancing spectacle through films, artifacts, and full-size displays.
Inside an Edo merchant’s house
With rain jars, shoji light, and period furniture intact, the building itself tells of daily life —
and you can try on festival outfits to feel the beat up close.
Former Akita Bank HQ (1912) in red brick Renaissance style; Important Cultural Property.
Renaissance red brick (1912) — former Akita Bank HQ
Vaults turned into galleries, a domed ceiling, and a grand stair compose a stately mood —
after dusk, illumination warms the brick like a European square.
History in the details
Guided tours point out hidden craftsman marks and playful remnants from a century ago.
Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s mural “Events of Akita” and a Tadao Ando building of serene concrete and water.
Foujita’s monumental mural “Events of Akita” (20.5 × 3.65 m)
Commissioned as an artwork that would endure “like a cave painting,” this sweeping panorama captures the region’s seasons and spirit.
Tadao Ando’s serene architecture
Bare concrete, a reflecting pool, and a spiral stair become a sculpture of light you walk through — building and art resonate as one.
30 km artificial lake formed by Moriyoshi Dam; boat route to remote Komata Gorge.
A time-travel lake born of a dam
Cruises glide the only route to remote Komata Gorge, revealing cliff walls and a chain of falls where a river once ran.
Autumn’s mirror trick
When the wind stills, the lake paints an upside-down tapestry of color locals call the “reverse brocade.”
Anglers and photographers share the hush.
Since 1853 — miso & soy sauce brewery with atmospheric shop and tasting room.
Founded in 1853 — from farm vats to a beloved brewery
Try the rich “Kodai Miso” aged three years in cedar. The aroma alone feels like stepping into a forest.
“Bunko-gura” tasting room
Once a storehouse, now a free tasting hall where fresh soy sauce and miso turn tiny rice balls into revelations.
Weekend tours even peek into the koji room — a fragrant world of living microbes.
Once a seascape like Matsushima; a quake uplifted the seabed, leaving islets in rice fields.
From seascape to rice-field archipelago
Once comparable to Matsushima, the coast rose about 2 m in an 1804 quake, leaving islets marooned amid paddies —
pines and camellias still cling to a hundred little hills.
Basho’s verse still echoes
From the Nemuno-oka deck, the composition of sky, plain, and “floating” islands feels like time folded over itself.
Close-up exhibits and mini amusement park “ANIPA.”
Since 1972 — 114 species across 15 ha
Treetop paths skim over habitats for eye-level encounters; the SL mini-train tugs on nostalgia as much as it does kids.
Family-friendly policy
Free admission for high school students and under — learning and play hand in hand.
300+ honeys from around the world with hands-on experiences and famed soft-serve.
From a lone roadside tent to a honey wonderland
Summer workshops let you spin the extractor and watch liquid gold stream from combs.
The famed honey soft-serve can sell 1,200 a day without feeling heavy on the palate.
Taste the world
Sample 300+ honeys — rare botanicals, local acacia, chestnut, buckwheat — and pose with the red London bus out front.
Immersive complex with crafts, planetarium, and kamakura displays — a mini Akita.
A “mini Akita” across an area as big as four Tokyo Domes
Craft studios, planetarium, and even year-round kamakura displays compress the prefecture’s charms into a single campus.
Make, watch, and wander
Paint a kokeshi, see artisans at work, then pop into the adjacent modern art museum — a full day slips by without trying.
“Dewa Fuji” — a dignified active volcano and one of Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains.
A sacred peak with many faces
Pilgrim shrines dot the trails; winter sculpts rime-ice statues, and spring thaws reveal alpine meadows where Chokai-fusuma blooms.
Legends on the skyline
Whether named for birds pausing mid-journey or for its noble profile from the sea, Chokai weaves myth and view into every ascent.
Home of Hachiko. Learn the breed’s history and meet the dogs.
Hachiko’s homeland
Near Odate, breeders from the preservation society demonstrate grooming and host puppy meetups — a direct link to a loyal legacy.
Admire with manners
Exhibits trace bloodlines and the breed’s character. Many Akita dogs are sensitive; look with love, approach with respect.