Top Things to do in Akita
What to do and see in Akita, Tohoku: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in Akita, Japan including Our Lady of Akita, Akita Kanto Festival, Michi-no-Eki Akita Port, Senshu Park, Akita Akarenga Kyodokan, Akita city Minzoku Geinou Densho-kan, Kaneko House, Akita Museum Of Art, Port Tower Selion, Kubota Castle.
Restaurants in Akita
1. Our Lady of Akita
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By D2229BCtheresas - Singapore, Singapore
For those who wants to take bus to Our Lady of Akita: Just remember to board the bus at the rear door & after that, take the ticket from the machine inside the bus. Before alighting check your fare by matching the number issued on your ticket to the fare information digital board (located above the driver seat). When alighting, deposit ticket along with the fare in the fare box located at the front of the bus. ¥1000 note is accepted for any change if required. Buses leave aprox every 20-30 min from Akita West Entrance Bus Stop 12. #352 Nibetsu Line (Destination: Forest Study Center) #361 Akita Hot Spring Line (Destination: Yomogida Kamicho 蓬田上丁) #353 Nibetsu Line (Destination: Forest Study Center) Bus Route (Journey time aprox 20 min) Akita Station West Entrance Bus stop 12 - SenshuKubotaMachi - MeitokuES - TegataYamazaki - Sumiyoshicho - TegataKyukaMachi - HigashiJHS - TanakIriguchi - Karamiden - Ogiden - AsahiES - ShinToda - AsahikawaDanchi - KojoenIriguhi - KojoenNiChome - OnsenIriguchi - KeidaiKawara - Soekawa - SoekawaKamicho - Yuzawa 湯沢 (alight after freeway flyover) 19 stops One way fare ¥380. It is a 20 min walk uphill from Yuzawa Bus Stop. Just look for the church signboard & follow it. Seitai Hoshikai/Our Lady of Akita Open Hours: Apri-Nov 0900-1130 & 1300-1630 Dec-Mar 1000-1130 & 1300-1630. Wed Afternoon mass in Japanese Main Chapel: Statue of Jesus, Left hall: Wood Statue of St Mary in Tears, Right hall: Statue of St. Joseph. Garden of Mary, Outdoor Station of the Cross is a beautiful place for reflection. Unfortunately too cold to spend outdoor due to heavy snowfall when we visited. Not your typical Catholic church building. Structure is very Japanese and serene. Return take the bus opposite the road that you had earlier alighted. Lookout for a Small hut (bus shelter) with a Pole that has a blue, yellow, red round plate at the top & rectangle bus schedule plates. #361 Akita Hot Spring Line. (Destination: Akita Station) (20 stops & the fare is ¥380). #353 Nibetsu Line (Destination: Akita Station) (20 stops & the fare is ¥380). #210 Soekawa Line (Destination: Akita Station) (27 stop & the fare is ¥460).
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. Michi-no-Eki Akita Port
4. 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.
5. Akita Akarenga Kyodokan
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 108 reviews
Reviewed By stellastarstruck - Tsuruoka, Japan
We found the Red Brick Building fairly easily, parked and went in. The parking was free and there were a few stalls available. We bought a joint ticket for this building and the City Folklore and Performing Art Center and it was a good deal! I used to work in a bank, so it was interesting to me to see the gorgeous building and to read about how the building was made. I also really enjoyed the exhibits of the work of local artists and crafts. The museum was fairly quiet, even on a national holiday so was a good place to visit for two adults to visit. We enjoyed it a lot.
6. 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.
7. Kaneko House
8. 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.
9. Port Tower Selion
10. Kubota Castle
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 163 reviews
Reviewed By WarnerL_12 - Pasadena, United States
The building looks as if it is original, the give away is the elevator going all the way up to the fourth floor.
