Akita inu. Akita JR Station 秋田駅 is the terminus station for Akita Shinkansen line 秋田新幹線 and is also served by Ou main line 奥羽本線, Oga line 男鹿線 and Uetsu line 羽越線. Finally reached the capital city of Akita Prefecture on the midway of my expedition of Tohoku region in May 2016. The first thing that comes to my mind whenever Akita is mentioned, is definitely Akita inu 秋田犬 (dog). The touching story of Hachiko, the loyal and faithful Akita inu who waited for his master’s return everyday at Shibuya Station over a period of nine years, continues to attract many visitors to pay respect to its bronze statue erected at Shibuya Station. Had the opportunity to come up close with Hachiko’s statue on my very first trip to Tokyo in 2011. Odate city 大館市, in Akita Prefecture, is the homeland of Akita inu. Apart from understanding the roots of Akita inu through the local museum, visitors can meet the dogs at various facilities as well. It takes about 1.5 hours by limited express Tsugaru train from Akita to Odate via Ou main line; this is one place I hope to visit on future trips to Japan.
Akita inu no sato / Akita inu museum 秋田犬の里・秋田犬ミュージアム: https://akitainunosato.jp/sp/
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| Met an Akita inu when I was at Tazawako-han 田沢湖畔. |
Trains serving this station include:
(1) Komachi こまち, the high speed train which commutes eastwards for Shizukuishi 雫石駅, Tazawako 田沢湖駅, Kakunodate 角館駅, Omagari 大曲駅 and ends at Morioka 盛岡駅. Here, the train combines with Hayabusa and continues its journey southwards to Sendai 仙台駅 and Tokyo 東京駅.
(2) Resort Shirakami リゾートしらかみ, is a limited express sightseeing train which commutes between Aomori 青森駅 and Akita 秋田駅 via Ou main line 奥羽本線 and Gono line 五能線. A total of three round trips is made per day (on most days) by a fleet of train comprised of three different themes - Buna 橅, Aoike 青池 and Kumagera くまげら.
https://www.jreast.co.jp/railway/joyful/shirakami.html
(3) Limited Express Tsugaru つがる, commutes between Aomori and Akita via Ou main line 奥羽本線, stopping by Shin Aomori 新青森駅, Hirosaki 弘前駅, Owani Onsen 大鰐温泉駅, Odate 大舘駅and Higashi-Noshiro 東能代駅.
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(1) Bus terminal, in front of West / Nishi Exit.
Platform #10: for Akita city loop bus Gururu 秋田市中心市街地循環バスぐるる.
A convenient feeder bus service which makes an anticlockwise loop in the city, stopping by places of interest such as Senshu Koen 千秋公園, Neburi Nagashi-kan ねぶり流し館 and Akita Shimin Ichiba / Citizen's Market 秋田市民市場. The buses are separated by 20 minutes interval and the bus fare per trip is 100 yen.
https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kurashi/kotsu/1012207/1007651.html
(2) Akita city tourist information center 秋田市観光案内所, located within the train station.
Operating hours: 0900 - 1900 hrs
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| Shopping malls in the vicinity: Fonte on the left and Seibu on the right. |
(3) Shopping malls and departmental stores, 1 minute walk from West / Nishi Exit.
There are a couple of shopping malls and departmental stores in the vicinity.
- ALS アルス and Topicaトピカ, both malls are connected seamlessly to the train station. MUJI and 100 yen shop WATTS are housed on the first floor of ALS, while there are restaurants and eateries, which operate till 2200 hrs, on the third floor of Topica.
- Fonte フォンテ , the first shopping mall on the left after taking the descending escalator after exiting from the train station. LOFT is on its second storey while Seria (100 yen shop) occupies the fourth storey.
- Seibu Akita Branch 西武秋田店. This is Seibu's only branch in Tohoku region and is located on the right after exiting from the west exit.
(4) Akita Shimin Ichiba / Citizen's Market 秋田市民市場, the biggest wet and dry market in Akita Prefecture is located 5 minutes walk from West / Nishi Exit. Dropped by the market after breakfast to check out the food/ingredients used by the locals here. Very spacious and well organised market in which the wet and dry areas are separated.
Operating hours: 0500 - 1800 hrs; closed on Sundays.
http://www.akitashiminichiba.com/
(5) Senshu Koen 千秋公園 and Kubota Castle 久保田城, 8 minutes walk from West / Nishi Exit.
(6) Akarenga kyodo-kan / Akarenga Museum 赤れんが郷土館, 15 minutes walk from West / Nishi Exit.
(7) Neburi Nagashi-kan ねぶり流し館, 15 minutes walk from West / Nishi Exit.
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Commemorative stamps:
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