3 Days in Akita – Japan’s Most Unvisited Region

3 Days in Akita – Japan’s Most Unvisited Region

In this travel video series, I’d like to explore 
Akita prefecture in Tohoku region. Previous day, my Akita shinkansen from Tokyo delayed because of a strong wind, and 
this day shinkansen was even more delayed. Today I’m heading to Kakunodate City known for the traditional street 
that you can see the old scenery of the Edo period. As I arrived the Kakunodate Station, 
the snow stopped and I could see the blue sky looks like I came out of the snow cloud. I arrived at Kakunodate Station. Right in front of station they are welcoming tourists with 
amazake and sake with apple so I got hot amazake. They have another train called Akita Nairiku Line; 
it’s a long private railway going to the northern part of Akita. So I got a map, 
they have English and Japanese. There tourist information center so in case you 
don’t know where to go you can ask them. They can keep your luggage for 
¥500. You can ask questions where to go and they have restrooms and 
a plenty of the English brochure, so it’s a great place to start your walk. 
Okay so let’s walk to the main part of Kakunodate. Everyone in the town is shoveling the snow. And one of the famous thing from the Akita is Akita dog. I could see Akita dog waiting for his owner who was shoveling. It’s not area with lots of hotels, but 
at the corner entrance to the old town area there’s this Matcha Hotel. This is the main 
street of Kakunodate’s Old Town known as Bukeyashiki Street. Kakunodate is the only place in Japan 
where so many samurai residents remained as they were built during the Edo period. Some 
of these houses are open to visitors and you can explore them with an admission 
fee. The street is especially famous for the cherry bostom season creating the stunning 
view in spring. It’s a lunch time – I decid edto go to this restaurant of oyakodon, chicken and 
egg that are using Akita’s local chicken, hinajidori. And the oyakodon came; it was really 
good – the egg is sweet and soft and chicken it’s a little chunky but 
it has lots of taste – not dry, very juicy. Everyone is eating soft serve ice cream here. Along the street there are several houses that 
you can enter and I chose this bukeyashiki called Aoyagike. Of course you just look around 
or you can also have a tea for a thousand yen. The place display lots of 
sword and armors and I could see English explanation so it’s a good place to visit. So here you can try kabuto and armor. And 
if you make reservation you can do even more, the full armor you can try. When I arrived, it 
was very difficult to walk on the street, but they are swiping the snow of the street and 
it became much easier; very quickly it was improving. So this is a famous cherry blossom tree, 
number 79. This tree is more known for the cherry blossom season and this is one of the famous 
tree of the shidarezakura. Japan’s national Heritage shidarezakura. And across 
the town there lots of cherry blossom trees. It must be very beautiful in the springtime. 
Looks like this is the end of the Bukeyashiki Street. Now I see Kakunodate Station. As usual when you 
travel at the country side of Japan it’s always difficult to be because the number of 
the train is very limited and this day Akita shinkansen is now 1 hour delay. There’s a bus going to Omagari where 
I would change to the train to Yokote, and this one actually go through near the Bukeyashiki 
Street so in case you go to Omagari directly you might be able to take the one from the Bukeyashiki 
Street instead of walking back to the Kakunodate Station. JR line going to Morioka and this is Akita Nairiku Jukan Tetsudo. Akita shinkansen is all reserved seat from Tokyo, but 
only between Morioka and Akita you can get on without any reserved seat. You can purchase 
the shinkansen ticket without seat assigned. In this case if seat is available you can have 
a seat there. There’s actually local train of Tawazoko Line here too but train is very limited. 
So mostly the train running here is Akita shinkansen. I was told by the station person that probably I 
cannot connect to the train to Yokote, but I saw the train to Yokote, when I arrived Omagari Station. It seems I can take the 
train to Yokote directly. This to Tokyo. I can make it. I arrived at the Yokote Station finally. This is Ou Main lines -all lines – Kitakami Line station. 
Looks like this is the entrance to the hotel. Business hotel. Always good to put business 
hotel or any hotel between because very cozy. So they have a two bath on the first 
floor and the seventh floor. So this a natural hot spring, so let’s go one of them. Being honest, 
I didn’t succeed to plan this trip and I came to Yokote a day before the Kamakura festival which 
like a snow dome, and there wasn’t much snow in the town too. So original reason I came to Yokote
was to manga museum that I’m going next day, so I didn’t have much things to do here. When looking 
for some place to eat I saw something on the street. Someone dropped the smartphone. So I was just walking by the street and 
really middle of nowhere there was a phone dropped so I just checked and I passed by 
once, but I checked and someone calling. So I’m going to go back to the station to 
bring give it to the station person. If there’s a little more time, I could give 
to the person but I think just left right now. Oh there’s a kamakura. Let’s come back here later. 
I accidentally found it but it wasn’t that easy. The station person didn’t accept it because it was 
in the city and also police box was closed. y Yokote station person said you pick in the city 
you have to bring it to the police it’s not the going territory of the JR. So I went 
to the police box in front of the station and now it’s not open. There’s nobody so the 
number so I called the police and they said can bring to the main office of the police. 
And I’m a tourist and I don’t have the car so I can’t go there. And they came to pick up the phone. It’s very interesting. They’re very nice even just picking up I had to give them the 
my ID and everything but it was interesting experience. A few days ago I received the report 
from the police that the phone was handed to the person who lost it. Unfortunately the restaurant I 
wanted to go was full and I’m looking for another restaurant. Look like a a local 
neighbors are gathering and uh I want to give them a space so 
I’d like to look for something else. So right in front of the station 
there’s a kamakura a snow dome, so this is a kamakura, inside snow dome. It’s very 
warm inside like it’s made with ice and if you touch it’s very cold, but uh it’s 
very warm inside. Outside is much colder. So I went to get get a cup noodle in the 
vending machine of the hotel lobby and I forgot my key in the room and I was locked out, 
and hotel person was very kind that gave me another key quickly recognizing my face. I think 
it was like 20 years ago that I did this locked out. The hotel plan was including 
breakfast. It was at the restaurant by the public bath on the top floor and 
the restaurant has a nice view of Mount Chokai. And even more the breakfast was 
really good. There’s onsen tamago, like a half boiled egg; tororo which is a mountain 
yam and Akita’s special food kiritampo and nikujaga and different Japanese food 
like chikuzen-ni and homemade pickles like iburigakko. Now I’d like to go to Yokote Manga 
Museum, and you can go there by bus from Yokote Station. The bus going near 
the Manga Museum is very infrequent so you might want to make sure to 
check the timetable before you go. I arrived the area called Masuda. There lots of all traditional building. And looks like you here there’s a Manga Museum. It’s a very nice kind 
of local town I’m glad I came here. I came the wrong way toward the other way. So 
Morning Market Masuda-Machi Asaichi. It’s started in year 1643 Wow. Wow, it’s a beautiful house. Yeah it say Masuda Manga Museum. Where is it? Wow. The mountain is so beautiful. This is a Masuda Manga Museum. Yokote is 
known as the hometown of manga artist Takao Yaguchi. The Masuda Manga Museum preserve 
original artwork from various manga artists including his works. Takao Yaguchi learned a lot about 
the beautiful nature and the people’s life in Akita, especially about the life of people called 
matagi who live in the mountain of the Akita hunting bears and animals. It was very nice I wanted 
to stay maybe like one hour more but there no time. There was a nice kind of coffee shop 
to that you can have a coffee drink but uh I don’t have time so I to head to the bus stop. I got 
souvenir, a kind of it’s very cute – I’ll show you later. And this is a bath stuff, it’s a just a 
powder to put in the bath. The is the image of the Nyuto hot spring of Akita, which I just went but 
the this is a theme that in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo there’s a Hachiko dog which is a 
Akita dog and he can meet the owner Mr. Ueno. They go back to Akita for the Nyuto hot 
springs together, so what a great concept. Look at this amount of snow. By the bus stop there’s a coin locker and 
restroom in the building called Community Lounge. You can also take bus from this Jumonji Station of JR 
Line. Time schedule didn’t work out for me in this day. Before I get on the train to Akita Station 
I dropped by the Snow Festival – Kamakura Festival in the Yokote Station. And there are some 
stores and I got a Yokote yakisoba, which I wasn’t eating yet. So I got the kiritampo and Yokote’s yakisoba. So cute. Akita. Akio. I arrived the Akita Station. There lots of 
monument or statues, very fun station like a festival. Akita’s famous Namahage and Akita dog. All 
the different kind of station bento, ekiben, from Akita. So station is directly connected 
to the street of the city. Very interesting. This is Daiwa Roynet 
Hotel just opened yesterday. This hotel actually opened yesterday and this 
is the second night they are welcoming the guest. It’s a single bed and there’s a table or desk 
by the window and on the switch and there’s a fridge, and there’s a nightwear here a shirt 
and a pant; a safe box; cup and glasses and kettle. The kettle is Zojirushi, everyone’s favorite elephant 
logo and it’s very clean. And outside is the city view – not much things I can see 
but high floor. And there’s a two bottle of water and this is the bathroom, unit bath
very big. The washlet button is on the wall. So what you can get as amenity at the 
lobby is coffee, tea leaves, bath powder which is the same I just got in Yokote, and 
face wash and comb, razor and toothbrush. I took a little walk in Akita City and I went bed. I’d like to go get a train ticket first 
just in case, sometimes can be very busy. And if I go right before kind of stressful 
like can I make it? can I make it? so let’s go first. The hotel also had a breakfast 
but I decided to try the morning market near the hotel. City market. Looks 
like this is a like a local market. Ufortunately it’s closed today .This is a 
coffee shop Akaibunko. The morning market was closed so I came to this coffee shop 
right next to the morning market, and looks like if you order the drink you 
get the free toast. This store is all about the books and I can pick any books in 
front and read. And in addition you can also purchase it for 100 yen and 100 yen 
will donated to children who cannot buy books. Something really interesting is 
randomly I picked one book and it was about Akita, and and of course I brought 
it back with me. What an interesting coincidence! So it was very quick breakfast but I brought back this book. It that’s very nice. Okay now I’d 
like to check out. I’d like to take limited express Inaho to Niigata, platform number six. Byebye Akio. Today I’m taking 
the limited express called Inaho by JR East. This train connecting Akita and Niigata going through Yamagata 
Prefecture. The reason I wanted to be on it is many trains are based in Tokyo but this one is 
connecting the other parts of Japan and Japan, so I don’t have much opportunity to take this. 
And also this Inaho has a special Green Car that we don’t see in Tokyo with lots of privacy. 
And the riding in Inaho was amazing. It has a great seat that you really don’t see other passengers 
and also it has a beautiful coastal scenery and mountains. And of course I didn’t forget to 
get the lunch box. This one was really good and I actually found the selling Tokyo Station 
bento shop too. Eating local bento box and riding on the train as you see the scenery 
is one of the joy of riding trains in Japan. Unfortunately raining this day but when I passed by the beautiful coastal scenery 
the sky got clear and I could see some sunshine. I arrived Niigata station by Inaho. Very very 
comfortable I could be on it more. So if you get on it I think the extra cost for the Green 
Car totally worth it. And the great thing is when you go to Tokyo you can go directly to the shinkansen
on the same platform. There’s a gate for shinkansen and you don’t have to go up or down the stairs. I have 
one hour so I’d like to explore Niigata Station a little bit. Thank you for watching. Have a great trip 
to Japan. Have a great week until the next video.

Akita is a prefecture located in Japan’s Tohoku region. The area is known for deep snow and traditoinal foods and life style matching with the nature. I couldn’t do much as I miss planned the trip a bit, but I explored one of the major spots to visit in Akita, Kakunodate and Yokote. In addition, I used a special limited express Inaho on the way home .I hope you enjoy the travel vlog and find out if it’s your favorite area or not. Thank you for watching!

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Hotels I stayed in Akita
Yokote Plaza Annex : https://expedia.com/affiliates/kenchan/yokote-plaza-annex
Daiwa Roynet Hotel : https://expedia.com/affiliates/kenchan/daiwa-roynet-akita-ekimae

Book limited express and Shinkansen : https://www.japan-bullettrain.com/?via=kengo

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About me
Thank you for watching. My name is Kengo. I create Japan travel guide videos from Tokyo that showcase Japanese culture, essential travel tips, and must-visit places—from top spots to hidden gems across Japan. Please subscribe for my weekly exploration to discover the charm of Japan.

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