One night in Akita: choose park and port or samurai houses
With one night, choose one base for Akita City and the port or Kakunodate’s houses. Visit the park and port on separate days or divide the two houses between days, rather than combining both cities and the lake. Shorten or skip day-two sightseeing for a morning departure.
Choose a 2 days / 1 night itinerary
One night: park and port from Akita Station
Stay near Akita Station for one night, visiting the park and port on separate days. Before your departure day, check that the return bus from Selion leaves enough time for your onward train.
One night: park and port from Akita Station →2 days / 1 nightOne night: Kakunodate’s samurai houses on separate days
Stay one night in Kakunodate to take your time with the houses and gardens of the samurai district. Visit Aoyagi on the first day and Kawarada on the second. To see both, choose an arrival and departure that leave enough time for sightseeing.
One night: Kakunodate’s samurai houses on separate days →One night: park and port from Akita Station
Stay near Akita Station for one night, visiting the park and port on separate days. Before your departure day, check that the return bus from Selion leaves enough time for your onward train.
Day 1: Senshu Park
Walk through Senshu Park on your arrival day. Start beside the moat, then continue uphill to the Ninomaru site if the slopes suit you.
- Akita Station and nearby hotels → Walk through Senshu Park
From Akita Station, allow about five minutes to Senshu Park’s Pocket Park or 15 minutes to the Ninomaru site. Walk beside the moat and continue uphill if the slopes suit you. Set aside 60–90 minutes for an afternoon walk. If rain or a late arrival leaves little daylight, keep to a shorter walk by the moat. The park is open around the clock, but this itinerary recommends visiting in daylight. To go inside Kubota Castle’s Osumi Yagura, check its opening dates and visiting hours and adjust your walk accordingly.
- Senshu Park → Hotel check-in and dinner
After the walk, return to your hotel and check in at the time stated in your booking. Have dinner near the station and spend the night at the same property.
If you arrive late, take a short walk beside the moat before dinner.
Day 2: Selion observation deck and departure from Akita Station
Visit the Selion observation deck, then return to Akita Station. Only plan lunch at the port if there is enough time before your return bus.
- Akita Station West Exit, stand 4 → Selion bus stop
Board a Selion-bound bus at stand 4 of Akita Station’s West Exit bus terminal and get off at Selion. The adult fare is ¥550 one way. Choose your return bus to Akita Station before deciding how long to stay at the port.
- Selion bus stop → Port tower entrance and fifth-floor observation deck
Enter through the front of the port tower and take in Akita Port and the sea from the free fifth-floor observation deck. It opens from 09:00 to 21:00. Rista and Plaza are separate buildings from the tower that houses the deck.
Observation deck hoursTourism federation: Selion buildings and entrances
- Selion observation deck → Break and return bus stop
After enjoying the port views, take a break and head back to your bus stop. Services are infrequent, so choose your return bus before planning a meal. If there is no time for lunch at the port, eat after returning to the station.
- Selion return bus stop → Akita Station West Exit
Take the bus from Selion to Akita Station’s West Exit. The fare is ¥550 each way, or ¥1,100 return.
- Akita Station → Continue to your next destination
Return to Akita Station for your onward journey. For Tokyo or Morioka, check your travel date’s Akita Shinkansen timetable, stopping stations and reserved seats. For the airport, check the airport bus separately. Leave time for food and boarding between your return bus from Selion and your onward service.
Official JR timetableOperator’s Selion timetableFAQOfficial access information
Choose your return bus first. If there is no time to eat at the port, have lunch back at Akita Station.
Included: Return Selion bus fare at ¥550 per adult each way; the observation deck is free. Paid indoor facilities at Senshu Park are excluded.
Additional costs: Accommodation, meals, travel to and from Akita, airport transfers and additional facilities are excluded.
For one adult. Read the included items alongside the additional costs.
Fares and times by bus stopFacility directionsObservation deck hours
One night: Kakunodate’s samurai houses on separate days
Stay one night in Kakunodate to take your time with the houses and gardens of the samurai district. Visit Aoyagi on the first day and Kawarada on the second. To see both, choose an arrival and departure that leave enough time for sightseeing.
Day 1: Aoyagi Samurai House
Visit Aoyagi on your arrival day in Kakunodate. Choose a train that leaves time to finish an afternoon visit; shorten your visit if you arrive late.
- Around Kakunodate Station → Walk to the Aoyagi entrance
Follow the road from the station, then turn right at the T-junction by Kakunodate Post Office into the samurai district. Use the tourist association’s walking route and signs to find Aoyagi’s entrance at 角館町表町下丁3. The association gives a 15-minute walk from the station, while the city gives 20 minutes. Allow extra time for finding your way and photos, and check the route separately if starting from your accommodation.
Official walking routeTourist association facility informationCity information
- Aoyagi Samurai House → Exhibitions and garden: ¥500
Explore Aoyagi’s exhibitions and garden in the afternoon, allowing about 90 minutes. Regular hours from April to November are 09:00–17:00, with individual adult admission of ¥500. Separate tours and paid activities are not included in this amount.
- Aoyagi Samurai House → Hotel check-in and dinner
After your visit, walk through the samurai district and past the post office towards the station to check in. Have dinner at a restaurant whose opening hours you have checked, then return to your hotel. If a late arrival means missing Aoyagi today, reconsider which houses you can visit tomorrow around their opening hours and your departure.
If you arrive late, shorten the visit or move it to tomorrow. Winter closing times may be earlier; check the facility’s information.
Day 2: Kawarada Samurai House and departure from Kakunodate Station
If you visited Aoyagi yesterday, see Kawarada before leaving today.
- Station road and samurai district → Visit Kawarada
Follow the same road from the station and the T-junction by the post office to Kawarada in the samurai district. Its address is 角館町東勝楽丁9, about a 15-minute walk from the station. Visit the house and garden in the morning. April–November hours are 09:00–17:00, with last admission at 16:30 and individual adult admission of ¥500. A guided visit is listed from 10:00, lasting about 10–15 minutes; ask at the entrance whether it is running and accepting visitors that day.
Official walking routeOfficial Kawarada informationCity information
- After visiting Kawarada → Depart from Kakunodate Station
Walk back to Kakunodate Station via the road by the post office. Choose an afternoon departure if you want lunch first. Check your travel date’s JR timetable for a train that stops at your destination and reserve your seat.
For a morning departure, move this house visit to an earlier day. Leave time to walk back to Kakunodate Station after sightseeing.
Included: Adult admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada: ¥500 each.
Additional costs: Accommodation, meals, arrival and departure trains, taxis, additional tours and activities cost extra.
For one adult. Read the included items alongside the additional costs.
Tourist association facility informationOfficial Kawarada informationCurrent facility information
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to visit two Kakunodate houses?
For individual adult admission, Aoyagi and Kawarada cost ¥500 each, or ¥1,000 to visit both once. Accommodation, meals, rail travel and separate tours are excluded. Check each facility’s winter hours. Aoyagi’s winter closing time differs between the tourist association, 16:30, and the city, 16:00; confirm your date’s closing time with the house. Kawarada’s December–March last admission is 16:00, closing at 16:30. It closes from 28 December to 4 January.
City informationTourist association facility informationOfficial Kawarada information
Sources and verification dates
- Akita City park information ·
- Observation deck hours ·
- Facility directions ·
- Operator’s Selion timetable ·
- Fares and times by bus stop ·
- Tourist association facility information ·
- City information ·
- Official access information ·
- FAQ ·
- Current facility information ·
- Official JR timetable ·
- Official walking route ·
- Official Kawarada information ·
- Tourism federation: Selion buildings and entrances ·