Akita, Japan (Part 2): Around the City

The next day we headed out to check out downtown Akita Center.  Since it was raining we stuck to indoor museums.  First up was the Kanto Festival Center.  We didn't have the chance to visit Akita during their famous Kanto Festival so we thought this was the next best thing.  This museum was so awesome!

Here is a display from inside the museum.

And here is another display, which depicts the lantern festival that is famous in this town.  The size/weight of the lantern (which hold lit candles by the way) depends on the age of the male.  The younger they are the smaller the pole with the lanterns.

The best part of this museum was that we got to actually try it out, minus the lit candles of course!  This part was so much fun and I really appreciate that the staff was so accommodating and really wanted us to have this experience, even if it meant tracking down an employee that spoke some English just to help us out.  It was fun and definitely a memorable experience.  And no, this is not easy!  And yes, this was heavy so I was surprised to know this would be the size for a child (maybe teen).

After the festival museum we headed down the street to Akarenga, which is an old brink building that doesn't look Japanese at all, and used to house the Akita Bank.  You can see inside how it would have looked as a bank.  Many things inside are still the original.

This is the original fireplace.

After the museums we decided to find lunch.  The night before we passed by this restaurant called Pamplemousse, which looked really cute when we walked by.  We didn't know what they served so we were pleasantly surprised when we walked in and found very quirky decor AND an English menu.

Talk about quirky, in a very good way...the bell to signal to the server that you were ready to order was a bike bell.

Ryan and I both ordered a drink because, well, they all sounded so wonderful that we couldn't imagine passing on these.  Mine was amazing banana milk!

I don't need all of this to feel like I had a healthy and delicious meal but I can certainly appreciate the care that goes into running a restaurant like this and the food they are striving to provide to their guests.

Here is the menu.  How cute?!?!  And there you can see the banana milk that I ordered.

I absolutely love this menu and I love that it was also in English so I could fully appreciate it.

After seeing this menu I definitely knew I wanted to come back with my sister and so we are planning a trip there the next time she comes to visit me.

And of course I love this idea!  This place was so cute and I am so glad we decided to eat there.

Now for the food...

I could't resist the cheese plate.  It was yummy!

Ryan had a crazy version of a croque monsieur or something similar.

And yes, I totally did this!  I could not resist and I didn't see any reason to skip out on trying this.  It was definitely worth it!  Of course I couldn't finish it all, but it was certainly fun trying!

We also went to an art museum but I don't have pictures of that because they didn't allow pictures to be taken inside.

The next day before we left we headed to Kubota Castle and the park where this is located in Akita.  It was a short walk from the hotel.  It was raining the day before so we avoided outdoor activities.  Thankfully it was nicer that next day so we could check out the castle.

The park itself is pretty large and there is a lot of space to walk around.

The park had plenty of beautiful scenery and the weather was pretty good so it was nice to walk around, especially before we would be sitting in the car for a 4-5 hour drive.

I love this picture of one of the gates into the castle area.

As expected there was a shrine by the castle.

Lots of paper cranes!  It's hard to tell but these are all origami paper cranes that are linked together.

Then we finally made it over to the castle tower.  I am definitely glad we were able to see this castle before heading home.

We climbed all the way to the top so we could check out the awesome views.  Way out in the distance from one of the sides we were able to see out to the water (on the west coast, looking towards Korea).

One last picture of the park.  Really peaceful and serene.  Not a lot of people were out.  It was late November but the weather was actually warmer than I would have expected, which was nice.

That's all for our Thanksgiving mini-vacation.  Akita was definitely a good choice and I am so glad we went.

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to a lantern festival?  How are your balancing skills?  What is your favorite kind of pancake?

Akita, Japan: Lake Tazawa and Kakunodate

For Thanksgiving weekend we headed to Akita!  It's about a 4 hour drive from where we live and on the complete opposite coast.  We decided that with less than a year left in Japan we should take advantage and get out and sightsee as much as possible.

Although we stayed in the Akita City, we took a side trip to visit Lake Tazawa and Kakunodate, both within Akita prefecture and about an hour west of Akita City.

First up we stopped at Lake Tazawa, which is the deepest lake in Japan.  This is a crater lake and has very clear water.  Surprisingly not many people were around and it was like having the place to ourselves.  The lake is absolutely beautiful and I could have stayed there all day looking at the mirror like surface of the lake.

At the point of the lake where we started there was this little shrine.

In the distance you can see the famous statue of Tatsuko.  She is the lady of the famous legend about this lake.  She was a princess and prayed to be preserved forever as a beautiful young woman.  Instead she was turned into a dragon and sent to live in the bottom of the lake.  She is forever remembered by this statue.

Here I am with Ryan at the lake.  Beautiful scenery!

More shots of the very still lake and the impressive reflection on the surface.

Here is a close up of the Tatsuko statue.  In many pictures I have seen online she is more underwater. The base of the statue and the rocks surrounding this are usually covered.

I love the way the clouds are pictured on the surface of the lake!

A little further around the lake was a large shrine with a torii gate overlooking the lake.

It's a slightly different view and the water at this end wasn't quite as still.

A little back from the road was the actual shrine associated with the torii gate.

After we finished at Lake Tazawa we headed to nearby Kakunodate, which is known for being a well preserved samurai village.  This is the map that shows which buildings are open for tourists/which are museums.

Our first stop was for lunch.  I had cold soba noodles and Ryan had curry.

After lunch we checked out one of the museums.  These pictures show what homes and life looked like during this time period.

This was the well.  It was covered over for safety reasons.

Here is the bucket that goes along with the well.

This is a kitchen.  You can see where the pit is in the food for building a fire and the rope is where the pot could be hung for heating.

Then we went to another museum.  This was a very large house with multiple structures that was owned by one a well known family.  The houses on this street that weren't turned into museums were still being lived in.  From what I understand many of the current residents are descendants of the original samurais that lived there.

This is the door into main house.

Inside the armory section of this house was a collection of weapons and traditional samurai dress.

There were also some kimonos on display.

And of course there was some art work displayed.

After leaving the armory we followed the path around to the outside courtyard area.

Another museum we entered had some anatomy books and other interesting things to look at.

This was a collection of old cameras.

This was on display in one of the courtyards along the main street.  Definitely interesting to look at!

Here are some shots from along the street.  Those trees will bloom with cherry blossoms on the spring and line the streets in this old samurai village.

After we walked around Kakunodate for a little bit we headed back to Akita City to grab some dinner and walk around the main shopping area.  I am definitely glad we went ahead and planned a visit to Lake Tazawa and Kakunodate!

QUESTIONS:  Have you heard of Akita (my guess is that you have heard of the dog breed)?  Does your town have any local legends?  Do you live near a lake?  Have you ever visited a samurai village?