Akita, Japan's Secret Paradise
Winter Sports Heaven, Festival Hotspot and Home to a Space Center
Winter snow, history, local culture and the unhurried pace of rural Japan make Akita fun for the whole family. This unspoiled region has something for every visitor.
Not many tourists venture into northern Honshu, yet Akita Prefecture has a lot to offer. From November to March it's a winter wonderland with deep drifts, icicle sheets hanging off every roof and superb skiing and snowboarding. Winter festivals celebrate ancient traditions like the building of snow shrines, or kamakura, complete with offerings of sake and fruit.
In spring Akita has wonderful cherry blossom. In summer its lakes, rivers and coast offer excellent sailing. Lake Tazawa has many hot springs resorts. The largest surviving primeval beech forest in the world spans the border with Aomori prefecture.
Festival Fun
With over 80 local festivals, Akita has something going on all year round. From the world's largest drum at Tsuzureko Drum Festival to Namahage Sedo, when red and blue ogres invade Oga City, the unique culture of Northern Japan is waiting to be enjoyed. At the Heso, or "Belly Button" festival held in the centre of the region, celebrants paint comical faces on their stomachs. The All Japan Fireworks Competition is held here in August.
History Ancient and Modern
The earliest buildings in Akita are the remains of 4,000 year old stone circles. Akita was largely cut off from the rest of Japan until 685 AD, when Abe no Hirafu conquered the indigenous Ezo tribes and began the Japanese settlement of the region. A fort was built at present-day Takashimizu in 733. Kubota Castle Town was founded in 1604 in the same area, and Akita City was officially established there on April 1, 1889.
Akita was the last Japanese city to be bombed in World War II, during the night of 14-15 August 1945, hours before Japan announced its surrender. Because it was so far North, Akita escaped some of the worst bomb attacks. Akita Castle, former seat of the ruling Satake clan, is now a public park with a replica of the 733 AD castle gate, but many original shrines and buildings survive.
The town of Kakunodate has a district of beautifully preserved samurai houses where descendants of the original owners give guided tours and talks on family history. Some homes offer talks in English, and most will allow photography.
Akita - The Future
Akita is looking beyond the 21st century. With one of the four JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) testing sites located at Noshiro, it continues a tradition of spaceflight testing established in 1962.
The region also has two of Japan's newest universities: Akita Prefectural University, set up in 1999 and specialising in science and technology, and Akita International University, established in 2004 with specialisms in global studies and business. AIU offers all tuition in English and has exchange agreements with 73 universities around the world. It ranks in the top 5 universities in Japan for humanities and foreign studies.
Travel from Tokyo takes an hour by air, or under four hours on the Akita Shinkansen bullet train, named "Komachi" after 9th century poet and beauty Ono no Komachi, said to be a local girl. Akita's reputation as a region of beauties endures to this day.
