Akita Prefecture stretches along Japan's northwestern Tohoku coast, offering a remarkable blend of preserved feudal heritage, volcanic landscapes, and centuries-old culinary traditions. The samurai townscape of Kakunodate rivals Kyoto for beauty, while the impossibly blue Lake Tazawa—Japan's deepest—draws visitors year-round. Akita is famed for its Kanto Festival, when hundreds of performers balance towering bamboo poles hung with paper lanterns; for Namahage demon lore on the rugged Oga Peninsula; for steaming mountain onsen clusters at Nyuto; and for producing some of Japan's most celebrated sake and the uniquely tender Inaniwa udon.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Akita.
-
1
3,000 BCE–300 BCE (Jomon Era)
-
2
708 CE (Nara Period)
-
3
1603 (Edo Period begins)
-
4
1620
-
5
1868 (Meiji Restoration)
-
6
1890s–1940s
-
7
1976
-
8
2021
Historical sites
Places where Akita's past comes alive.
Akita-jo (Akita Castle) Ruins
Where: Terauchi, Akita City
Oyu Stone Circles
Where: Kazuno City
Kubota Castle / Senshu Park
Where: Akita City center
Kakunodate Samurai District
Where: Kakunodate, Senboku
Yokote Castle
Where: Yokote City