Three days in Akita: city or lake?
Stay one night each in Akita and Kakunodate for park and samurai houses. Prioritize the lake with two Kakunodate nights and separate house and lake days. Plan the lake circuit to return on the same bus after walking stops.
Choose a 3 days, 2 nights itinerary
Three days: Akita city and Kakunodate’s samurai houses
Stay one night in each area to visit Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s houses. For the hotel move, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and the actual JR fare.
Three days: Akita city and Kakunodate’s samurai houses →3 days, 2 nightsThree days based in Kakunodate: a lake day trip
Stay two nights in Kakunodate, visiting houses and Lake Tazawa on separate days. Use the circular bus’s walking stops, then return on the same bus. Costs include only house admission and the lake bus; calculate JR return travel separately.
Three days based in Kakunodate: a lake day trip →Three days: Akita city and Kakunodate’s samurai houses
Stay one night in each area to visit Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s houses. For the hotel move, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and the actual JR fare.
Day 1 · Senshu Park
Walk Senshu Park on day 1, then move to Kakunodate for Aoyagi House on day 2.
- Akita Station and your hotel → Senshu Park walk
From Akita Station, allow roughly five minutes to the park’s pocket park or 15 minutes to the Ninomaru site. Allow separate time for your hotel approach and walking within the park. Walk around the moat in daylight and climb to Ninomaru if comfortable with slopes. Allow 60–90 minutes. If adding Kubota Castle’s Osumiyagura interior, check dated hours and adjust your walking time.
- Senshu Park → Check-in, dinner and overnight stay
Return to your accommodation to check in, then eat near the station. Shorten the walk and rest at your accommodation if arriving late.
If arriving late, take a short walk around the moat before dinner.
Day 2 · Move to Kakunodate and visit Aoyagi House
Move from Akita to Kakunodate for Aoyagi House today.
- Check out of your Akita hotel → Kakunodate Station
Take an Akita Shinkansen towards Morioka from Akita Station to Kakunodate. Reserve a seat on a train stopping there. You pass Omagari without transferring.
- Outside Kakunodate Station’s ticket gates → Aoyagi entrance
Follow the station road and turn right at the T-junction in front of Kakunodate Post Office to enter the samurai-house district. Find Aoyagi’s signs and entrance at 角館町表町下丁3. Station walking estimates differ: roughly 15 minutes from the tourism association or 20 from the city. Allow extra time for navigation and rests.
Official walking routeTourism association facility guideCity hall
- Lunch and Aoyagi visit → Hotel check-in and dinner
After lunch, visit Aoyagi’s exhibits and garden and rest in the samurai-house district. Allow roughly 90 minutes. General April–November hours are 09:00–17:00, with individual adult admission ¥500. Return to your accommodation to check in and eat dinner afterwards.
Tourism association facility guideCity hallCurrent facility guide
You change accommodation today. If reaching Kakunodate late, shorten the house visit and prioritize 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 road → Visit Kawarada House
Walk past the post office to Kawarada House at 角館町東勝楽丁9, roughly 15 minutes from the station. Visit the house and garden in the morning. April–November hours are 09:00–17:00, last reception 16:30, with individual adult admission ¥500. Ask at the entrance whether guided viewing from 10:00 is running that day.
Official Kawarada informationCity hallOfficial walking route
- After visiting Kawarada → Lunch and walk to Kakunodate Station
Have lunch after viewing, then return towards Kakunodate Station. If the restaurant queue is long, choose another place to avoid missing your train.
- Kakunodate Station → Akita Station
Return on an Akita-bound Akita Shinkansen from Kakunodate. Choose a reserved seat on a train stopping there in your dated timetable. Plan onward airport or intercity travel from Akita Station separately.
For a morning departure, move this house visit to an earlier day. Leave time to walk back to Kakunodate Station afterwards.
Included: One adult: reserved ordinary-class e-tickets Akita–Kakunodate at ¥2,870 each way, ¥5,740 return; individual admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada at ¥500 each.
Separate costs: Two nights’ accommodation, meals, station access and travel before reaching/after returning to Akita excluded. These are not dated sale prices or paper-ticket prices. Check differences by date/product and IC-linking conditions.
Admission and regular-season e-ticket reference prices for one adult. Ekinet registration/booking and a linked transport IC card for each passenger are required.
JR East e-ticket price tableConditions of useTourism association facility guideOfficial Kawarada information
Three days based in Kakunodate: a lake day trip
Stay two nights in Kakunodate, visiting houses and Lake Tazawa on separate days. Use the circular bus’s walking stops, then return on the same bus. Costs include only house admission and the lake bus; calculate JR return travel separately.
Day 1 · Aoyagi House
Spend two Kakunodate nights with separate house and lake visits. Start with Aoyagi House, shortening the visit if arriving late.
- Kakunodate Station → Aoyagi House entrance
Walk to Aoyagi House at 角館町表町下丁3. The tourism association lists roughly 15 minutes from the station and the city roughly 20; plan your walking route with extra time.
- Aoyagi → House exhibits and district walk
Visit Aoyagi’s garden and exhibits of swords and weapons in the afternoon. Allow roughly 90 minutes, then walk and rest in the samurai-house district. April–November closing is 17:00; check winter dates rather than applying October hours. Return along the same route to your station-area accommodation to rest.
For a late arrival, shorten the visit or move it to the next day. Winter closing may be earlier; check facility guidance.
Day 2 · Lake Tazawa circuit
Visit Lake Tazawa today, using the circular bus’s walking stops 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 station-front bus stop
Take a Morioka-bound Akita Shinkansen from Kakunodate to Tazawako. Transfer outside the station to a Lake Tazawa circular bus with walking stops. Choose both train journeys after checking the bus’s station arrival time.
- Lakeside walking stops → Reboard the same bus
See the Tatsuko Statue and lake at Katajiri, then visit the shrine at Gozanoishi Shrine stop. Walking stops last 20 and 10 minutes respectively. Fit the walk to each sight and back within those times and reboard your original circular bus.
Operator circular-route timetableOfficial Tatsuko Statue accessOfficial city access
- Tazawako Station → Return to Kakunodate Station and your accommodation
On returning to the Tazawako station-front stop, enter the station and take an Akita-bound Shinkansen to Kakunodate. The operator notes that not every circular bus connects with the Shinkansen; reserve a train with enough time after bus arrival. Eat lunch after returning to the station rather than during short walking stops. Rest at your accommodation and have dinner; no hot spring or sightseeing boat is added today.
Official JR timetableOperator circular-route timetableService status
If letting the bus leave to stay longer, recheck the next service’s fare and your return train.
Day 3 · Kawarada House and departure from Kakunodate Station
Visit Kawarada on your final morning, then leave Kakunodate. A morning departure leaves little viewing time; adjust the earlier visiting order accordingly.
- Your booked Kakunodate accommodation → Kawarada House entrance
Walk from your booked accommodation to Kawarada at 角館町東勝楽丁9. The city’s roughly 15-minute estimate starts at Kakunodate Station, not your accommodation.
- Kawarada → House and garden visit
Kawarada opens April–November 09:00–17:00, last entry 16:30, with individual adult admission ¥500. Allow roughly 60 minutes for a morning house and garden visit. It closes 28 December–4 January; check that it opens on your date first.
- Kakunodate Station → Your booked departure
Go to Kakunodate Station after viewing. Check a dated JR train stopping at your destination and your reserved seat before boarding. Look up onward connections to Akita Station or the airport separately.
Check Kawarada’s year-end closures and leave time to walk back to the station after viewing.
Included: One adult: Aoyagi and Kawarada individual admission ¥500 each and one Lake Tazawa circular bus from Tazawako Station at ¥1,160. Return on the same bus after walking stops.
Separate costs: Kakunodate–Tazawako JR return travel, travel before/after the trip, two nights’ accommodation, meals, luggage storage, sightseeing boats and extra facilities excluded. For longer lakeside stays and later buses, check ticket conditions and additional fares separately.
For one adult. Check both included items and separate costs.
Tourism association facility guideOfficial Kawarada informationFare tableOperator circular-route timetable
Frequently asked questions
Are the Tatsuko Statue and boat pier at the same stop?
Use Katajiri (潟尻) for the statue and eastern Tazawako-han (田沢湖畔) for the boat pier. They are different stops. This statue route uses Katajiri’s 20-minute walking stop and returns on the same bus. If staying for a later bus, reassess your return train and extra fares.
Official Tatsuko Statue accessOperator circular-route timetable
Sources and check dates
- Akita city park guide ·
- Tourism association facility guide ·
- City hall ·
- Official Tatsuko Statue access ·
- Fare table ·
- Official access ·
- FAQ ·
- Current facility guide ·
- Official city access ·
- Operator circular-route timetable ·
- Service status ·
- Official JR timetable ·
- Official walking route ·
- Official Kawarada information ·
- JR East e-ticket price table ·
- Conditions of use ·
- Ugo Kotsu transport conditions, articles 16 and 21 ·