Location: Akita Prefecture
Top Things to do in Akita Prefecture
Top Hotels in Akita Prefecture
10 Things to do in Akita Prefecture That You Shouldn't Miss
Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken) is a prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
Restaurants in Akita Prefecture
1. Dakigaeri Valley
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 150 reviews
Reviewed By MarvinY52
The views are nice and the trail not too difficult for all ages. The full trail can be completed in slightly over an hour (or an hour if you hurry past the photo ops). Something I wish I knew before coming was transport options and could not find an updated one in 2018. There is a Free shuttle bus from Kakunodate station (yes, they do a return leg too) at 4 times a day during 10 oct to 10 nov 2018. Timings in the picture. The visitors centre at the station will be able to advise you. (Come out of the station, its a standalone hut on the right). The visitors centre can also hold your bags for you, but if they run out of capacity, there are always lockers.
2. Akita Kanto Festival
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 105 reviews
The Kanto, or "Pole Lantern", Festival is held from August 3-6. Performers take to the street en masse to show their skill in balancing bamboo "kanto" poles. Each pole, which can be up to 40 feet tall and 90 pounds in weight, has paper lanterns tied to its top-- all with a real, lit candle inside! Entertainers are expert in wielding these, and when the Night Parade takes over the festival's main street, over 250 kanto poles light the area, and a 90-minute show gets underway. Energy is high as drums, flutes, and a crowd chanting "dokkoisho!" accompany the performers as they heft aloft the kanto. Afterwards, guests are welcome to give it a try themselves.
3. Samurai District
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 543 reviews
This historic neighborhood consists of wide, tree-lined streets with mansions built during the Edo Period, only six of which remain and are open to the public. The area is particularly beautiful in late April, when the cherry trees are in full bloom.
Reviewed By WarnerL_12 - Pasadena, United States
There are a minimum six houses to visit (of which two are admission), others to be viewed from the exterior free since they are city maintained
4. Tazawa Lake
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 481 reviews
Reviewed By journata - New York City, United States
cycling around this lake is everything! the perimeter around the lake is remnants from the bubble era, which is not necessarily a bad thing. there's plenty of nostalgia and nature to be experienced while riding through local villages and bike paths through the greenery. the statue is what it is but perfect photo opp for IG bragging. rent a bike when you get off the bus, pick up some drinks and snacks at the shop and stroll around the lake!
5. Senshu Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 387 reviews
Reviewed By N6532NValanb
Senshu Park is seldom crowded. It is most beautiful when the cherry blossoms are out in late April, autumn, or in winter after a fresh snowfall.
6. Namahage Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 194 reviews
Reviewed By Seaview5
An excellent museum. Our guide had given us a translation of the dramatic re-enactment in store for us when we entered the house. We had to remove our shoes and those unable to sit on the floor were able to stand at the back. After this realistic presentation of the New Year’s Eve happenings in this part of Japan, we went into the main museum next door and, first of all, watched a short film showing a real occasion. The purpose of the visit from these ogres is meant to be educational but the look of terror on the faces of the children was, in our opinion, upsetting. Within the museum was a wide array of costumes and masks and, at the entrance, you could see a craftsman making a mask. Also on this beautiful site is a Shinzan Shrine, which is apparently a key aspect of the Namahage Sedo Festival.
7. Oga Peninsula
8. Akita city Minzoku Geinou Densho-kan
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 145 reviews
Reviewed By HotEarth - Melbourne, Australia
I was indeed surprised by the displays inside this place. There were quite some Kantos of different sizes for visitors to try out with! Additionally there are some exhibits about some overseas Kanto performances during some cultural exchange events. This is definitely a good place to visit if you missed the Kanto Festival, which usuall runs in early August.
9. Akita Museum Of Art
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 225 reviews
Reviewed By StrangeTrout - Exeter, United Kingdom
I wrote a review about this amazing gem of a museum when I first visited but it's gone so I am reiterating my love now because I think it's worth it. The guide book gave this a rating of 'underwhelming' and 'provincial' - the first inaccurate, the second snobbish, there's nothing wrong with not being in a metropolis. This museum is firstly an extraordinary building which wows from the first step inside. The concrete and steel staircase could be cold and functional but is a thing of striking beauty which, try as I might, I just could not capture in my photos and the view from the cafe with its long low windows is a view I could look at all day. On our visit, there were three exhibitions which were all interesting and beautiful in different ways - 1. A gallery of photographs of local people, art and events which was fascinating and joyous and a celebration of life lived 'provincially' which I thought was wonderful and we spent a great deal of time here; 2. Kisling. WOW! An artist I didn't know and whose beautifully staged paintings stole my heart; and 3. Tsuguharu Foujita's Events in Akita is astonishing in the flesh. This is what we had travelled to see and it was definitely worth it - there are two levels from which to view the painting, one at eye level from a mezzanine gallery so as to take in the entire 20m length and from the floor looking up at it's glorious vibrancy. All-in-all this is a wonderful museum, small but oh so perfectly formed. If you want big and flashy and crowded and to see the exhibits through the lens of your camera phone, then this is not the place for you but if you want to wander through the beautiful galleries of an extraordinarily well-thought out art gallery, dive in because you won't regret it.
10. Kakunodate
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 159 reviews
Kakunodate is an old castle town located on the northern part of the Senboku Plain. Located along the banks of the Tamagawa and Hinokinaigawa Rivers and cradled on three sides by mountains, this town is known both for its historic samurai mansions and the beautiful blossoming cherry trees that line the streets. Popular with tourists from all over the world, it has an atmosphere truly appropriate to its nickname of “the Little Kyoto.”
Reviewed By 781sarahb - Tacoma, United States
My sister and I had originally planned to spend our 2 days in this area hiking Nyuto/Hachimantai and Akita-Komagatake... but unfortunately the rainy season lingered and so we got tired of being soaked and fighting our way through the muddy/jungly terrain. Having basecamped at semi-remote Kuroyu Onsen (see separate review), Kakunodate was a one-hour drive south - but the driving was easy compared to other routes we did in Hachimantai. We had not planned this side-trip so we visited the very helpful tourist information/office first. My sister does speak Japanese - so that made things easier. We were given some English summaries/maps of the samurai houses - and specific advice to visit the museum house first (which cost about $5 equivalent each) and allocate an hour/most of our available time there (this was fairly accurate). We were also advised to drive to the samurai house district since we were told walking the whole route alone was a couple hours. Although we were told there was free parking, we somehow didn't find it at first - and paid $3 to park along the river (where there are many cherry trees that bloom in the spring); after heading out on foot, we actually did find a small free parking lot by the public restrooms that had room. We hit the museum first. I haven't studied or seen samurai gear much so seeing all that was the most interesting to me. The extensive gardens/grounds (with at least a dozen different buildings) were also impressive. We visited about 5 other free-to-enter samurai properties; most were smaller and simpler - and you could only walk around the exterior of the single-structure grounds. There were also lots of nice eating establishments in the samurai district - and, overall, it is a really cute area for tourism. We did enjoy an umeboshi (pickled plum) soft serve ice cream and we bought lots of low-cost handkerchiefs for coworkers. We were one of probably 20 small groups walking the same route of houses - nearly all others were Japanese families.
