Three days in Akita: city sights or lake scenery?
For park and samurai houses, stay one night each in Akita and Kakunodate. If the lake is your priority, stay two nights in Kakunodate and give houses and Lake Tazawa separate days. Reboard the same loop bus after sightseeing breaks at the lake.
Choose an itinerary for 3 days / 2 nights
Three days: Akita city to Kakunodate’s samurai district
Stay one night in each area to see Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s houses. On the accommodation-change day, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and the actual JR fare.
Three days: Akita city to Kakunodate’s samurai district →3 days / 2 nightsThree days in Kakunodate with a lake day trip
Stay two nights in Kakunodate, visiting the houses and Lake Tazawa on separate days. At the lake, take the sightseeing breaks on the loop bus and return on the same bus. Costs include house admission and the lake bus only; calculate return JR travel separately.
Three days in Kakunodate with a lake day trip →Three days: Akita city to Kakunodate’s samurai district
Stay one night in each area to see Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s houses. On the accommodation-change day, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and the actual JR fare.
Day 1 · Senshu Park
Walk in Senshu Park on day one, then move to Kakunodate for Aoyagi House the next day.
- Akita Station or nearby accommodation → Senshu Park walk
From Akita Station, the walk is about five minutes to Senshu Park’s Pocket Park or 15 minutes to the Ninomaru site. Allow extra time for your route from the hotel and walking inside the park. Walk around the moat in daylight and continue uphill if the slopes are manageable. Allow a suggested 60–90 minutes. To visit Kubota Castle’s Osumiyagura interior, check its operation on your date and adjust your walking time.
- Senshu Park → Check-in, dinner and overnight stay
Return to your accommodation after the walk, check in and eat near the station. Shorten the walk and rest at your accommodation if arriving late.
For a late arrival, take a short moat-side walk before dinner.
Day 2 · Move to Kakunodate and visit Aoyagi House
Move from Akita to Kakunodate and visit Aoyagi House today.
- Check out of Akita accommodation → Kakunodate Station
Take the Akita Shinkansen from Akita towards Morioka and alight at Kakunodate. Reserve a seat on a train that stops there. You pass Omagari without changing trains.
- Outside Kakunodate Station’s ticket gates → Aoyagi entrance
Follow the station street to the T-junction by Kakunodate Post Office and turn right into the samurai district. Find Aoyagi House’s sign and entrance at 角館町表町下丁3. Walking estimates from the station differ: about 15 minutes from the tourism association and 20 from the city. Allow time for navigation and rests.
Official walking routeTourism association facility guideCity government
- Lunch and Aoyagi visit → Hotel check-in and dinner
After lunch, explore Aoyagi House’s exhibits and gardens and take a rest in the samurai district. Allow a suggested 90 minutes for the visit. Ordinary April–November hours are 09:00–17:00; individual adult admission is JPY 500. Afterwards, return to your accommodation for check-in and dinner.
Tourism association facility guideCity governmentCurrent facility guide
This is an accommodation-change day. If reaching Kakunodate late, shorten the house visit and prioritise check-in and dinner.
Day 3 · Kawarada House and return to Akita Station
Visit Kawarada House, then return from Kakunodate to Akita.
- Accommodation and station street → Visit Kawarada House
Follow the street past the post office to Kawarada House at 角館町東勝楽丁9, about 15 minutes’ walk from the station. Visit the house and garden in the morning. April–November hours are 09:00–17:00, last admission 16:30; individual adult admission is JPY 500. Check at the entrance whether guided viewing from 10:00 is running that day.
Official Kawarada informationCity governmentOfficial walking route
- After visiting Kawarada → Lunch and walk to Kakunodate Station
Have lunch after sightseeing, then return towards Kakunodate Station. Choose another restaurant if a long queue risks missing your train.
- Kakunodate Station → Akita Station
Take the Akita Shinkansen from Kakunodate towards Akita. Choose a train stopping at Kakunodate and reserve seats for your date. Arrange onward airport or intercity transport from Akita Station separately.
For a morning departure, move today’s house visit to the previous day. Allow time to walk back to Kakunodate Station after sightseeing.
Included: For one adult, the subtotal includes an Akita–Kakunodate ordinary-class reserved-seat e-ticket at JPY 2,870 each way or JPY 5,740 return, plus individual admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada at JPY 500 each.
Extra costs: Two nights’ accommodation, meals, station access and travel before arriving in Akita and after returning are excluded. This is not a current sale quote for your date or a paper-ticket price. Check differences by travel date and booking product and the IC-linking conditions.
The subtotal includes admission for one adult plus a regular-season e-ticket reference price. Ekinet registration, booking and a linked transport IC card for each traveller are required.
JR EAST e-ticket price tableConditions of useTourism association facility guideOfficial Kawarada information
Three days in Kakunodate with a lake day trip
Stay two nights in Kakunodate, visiting the houses and Lake Tazawa on separate days. At the lake, take the sightseeing breaks on the loop bus and return on the same bus. Costs include house admission and the lake bus only; calculate return JR travel separately.
Day 1 · Aoyagi House
Spend two nights in Kakunodate with separate house and lake days. Visit Aoyagi House first; shorten sightseeing if arriving late.
- Kakunodate Station → Aoyagi House entrance
Walk to Aoyagi House at 角館町表町下丁3. The tourism association gives about 15 minutes from the station, while the city gives 20. Allow for your walking route and a margin.
- Aoyagi → House exhibits and street walk
Explore Aoyagi House’s gardens and exhibits of swords and other weapons in the afternoon. Allow a suggested 90 minutes, then walk through the samurai district and take a rest. April–November closing time is 17:00. For winter, check your date’s operation rather than applying October hours. Retrace your route to accommodation near the station after the visit and walk.
For late arrival, shorten today’s visit or move it to tomorrow. Winter closing times may be earlier; check the facility’s guidance.
Day 2 · Lake Tazawa loop
Visit Lake Tazawa today, taking the walking breaks on the loop bus before returning to the station on the same bus. Large suitcases cannot be carried on the lake bus; leave them at your accommodation where you are staying another night.
- Kakunodate Station → Tazawako Station and bus stop outside
Take the Akita Shinkansen from Kakunodate towards Morioka and alight at Tazawako. Outside the station, change to a Lake Tazawa loop bus with sightseeing stops. Choose return trains after checking the bus’s arrival back at the station.
- Lake sightseeing stop → Reboard the same bus
At Katajiri, see the Tatsuko statue and lake views; at Gozanoishi Shrine, visit the shrine. Walking breaks are 20 and ten minutes respectively. Fit your walk to the sight and back within each break and reboard the same loop bus.
Operator’s loop-bus timetableOfficial Tatsuko statue access guideOfficial city access guide
- Tazawako Station → Return to Kakunodate Station and accommodation
Back at Tazawako Station, enter the station and take an Akita-bound Shinkansen to Kakunodate. The operator advises that not every loop bus connects with the Shinkansen; reserve a train with enough time after the bus arrives. Have lunch after returning to the station rather than during a short sightseeing stop. Rest at your accommodation and have dinner; do not add hot springs or a sightseeing cruise today.
Official JR timetableOperator’s loop-bus timetableService status
If you let your bus leave to stay longer, check the next service’s fare and your return train again.
Day 3 · Kawarada House and departure from Kakunodate
Visit Kawarada House on your final morning, then leave Kakunodate. A morning departure leaves too little visiting time; adjust the previous days’ order first.
- Booked Kakunodate accommodation → Kawarada House entrance
Walk from your accommodation’s actual address to Kawarada House at 角館町東勝楽丁9. The city’s approximately 15-minute walking estimate starts at Kakunodate Station, not your accommodation.
- Kawarada → House and garden visit
April–November Kawarada hours are 09:00–17:00, last admission 16:30; individual adult admission is JPY 500. Allow a suggested hour for a morning house and garden visit. The facility is closed from 28 December to 4 January, so check it opens on your date first.
- Kakunodate Station → Booked departure service
Head to Kakunodate Station after sightseeing. Check a train stopping at your destination and reserve seats using the JR timetable for your date. Search onward transport to Akita Station or the airport separately.
Check Kawarada’s New Year closures and allow time to walk to the station after sightseeing.
Included: For one adult, the subtotal includes individual admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada at JPY 500 each, plus one JPY 1,160 lake loop from Tazawako Station. Return on the same bus after sightseeing stops.
Extra costs: Return JR travel between Kakunodate and Tazawako, travel before and after the trip, two nights’ accommodation, meals, luggage storage, cruises and additional facilities are excluded. For a longer lakeside stay followed by a later bus, check ticket conditions and extra fares separately.
Costs are for one adult. Read the included items and extra costs together.
Tourism association facility guideOfficial Kawarada informationFare tableOperator’s loop-bus timetable
Frequently asked questions
Are the Tatsuko statue and cruise pier at the same stop?
Use Katajiri · 潟尻 for the Tatsuko statue and the eastern lakeside stop, Tazawako-han · 田沢湖畔, for the cruise pier. They are different stops. The Tatsuko itinerary uses the 20-minute Katajiri sightseeing break and returns on the same bus. If you let it leave and take a later service, replan your return train and extra bus fare.
Official Tatsuko statue access guideOperator’s loop-bus timetable
Sources and dates checked
- Akita City park guide ·
- Tourism association facility guide ·
- City government ·
- Official Tatsuko statue access guide ·
- Fare table ·
- Official access ·
- FAQ ·
- Current facility guide ·
- Official city access guide ·
- Operator’s loop-bus timetable ·
- Service status ·
- Official JR timetable ·
- Official walking route ·
- Official Kawarada information ·
- JR EAST e-ticket price table ·
- Conditions of use ·
- Ugo Kotsu conditions of carriage, articles 16 and 21 ·