Three days in Akita: more city time or the lake?
Stay one night each in Akita and Kakunodate for the park and samurai residences. If the lake is the priority, stay two nights in Kakunodate for residences and Lake Tazawa on different days. At the lake, plan to return on the same circuit bus after its walking stops.
Choose a 2 nights, 3 days itinerary
Three days: from Akita city to the samurai district
Stay one night in each destination for Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s residences. On the hotel-change day, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and actual JR fares.
Three days: from Akita city to the samurai district →2 nights, 3 daysThree days: a Lake Tazawa day trip from Kakunodate
Stay two nights in Kakunodate for residences and Lake Tazawa on different days. At the lake, use the circuit bus’s walking stops and return on the same bus. Costs include only residence admission and the lake bus; JR return travel is separate.
Three days: a Lake Tazawa day trip from Kakunodate →Three days: from Akita city to the samurai district
Stay one night in each destination for Akita’s park and Kakunodate’s residences. On the hotel-change day, check reserved seats on a Shinkansen stopping at Kakunodate and actual JR fares.
Day 1 · Senshu Park
Walk through Senshu Park on day one, then move to Kakunodate for Aoyagi on day two.
- Akita Station and hotel area → Senshu Park walk
From Akita Station, Senshu Park’s pocket park is about five minutes on foot; Ninomaru is about 15 minutes. Allow separate time for travel from your hotel and walking inside the park. Walk around the moat in daylight, climbing to Ninomaru if slopes suit your group. Allow about 60–90 minutes. If also visiting Kubota Castle’s Osumiyagura interior, check operation on your date and adjust your walking time.
- Senshu Park → Check-in, dinner and overnight stay
After the walk, return to your hotel to check in and have dinner near the station. Shorten the walk and rest at the hotel if arriving late.
If arriving late, take a short moat walk and have dinner.
Day 2 · Travel to Kakunodate and visit Aoyagi
Move from Akita to Kakunodate and visit Aoyagi today.
- Check out of your Akita hotel → Kakunodate Station
Take a Morioka-bound Akita Shinkansen from Akita Station to Kakunodate. Reserve a seat on a service stopping there. You pass Omagari without changing trains.
- Outside Kakunodate Station’s ticket gates → Aoyagi entrance
Follow the station road and turn right at the T-junction by Kakunodate Post Office into the samurai district. Find Aoyagi’s sign and entrance at 角館町表町下丁3. The tourism association gives about 15 minutes’ walk from the station; the city gives about 20. Leave time for navigation and breaks.
Official walking routeTourism association: facility guidanceCity hall
- Lunch and Aoyagi visit → Hotel check-in and dinner
After lunch, explore Aoyagi’s exhibitions and garden, then take a break in the samurai district. Allow about 90 minutes for the visit. Ordinary April–November hours are 09:00–17:00; individual adult admission is JPY 500. Afterwards, return to your hotel, check in and have dinner.
Tourism association: facility guidanceCity hallCurrent facility guidance
You are changing hotels today. If arriving late in Kakunodate, shorten the residence visit and prioritise check-in and dinner.
Day 3 · Kawarada residence and return to Akita Station
Visit Kawarada, then return from Kakunodate to Akita.
- Hotel and station road → Visit Kawarada
Follow the post office road to Kawarada at 角館町東勝楽丁9, about 15 minutes’ walk from the station. Explore 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. Ask at the entrance whether guided visits from 10:00 are running that day.
Official Kawarada informationCity hallOfficial walking route
- After the Kawarada visit → Lunch and walk to Kakunodate Station
Have lunch after the visit, then return towards Kakunodate Station. If restaurant waits are long, choose another place to avoid missing your departure.
- Kakunodate Station → Akita Station
Return on an Akita-bound Akita Shinkansen from Kakunodate. Choose a service stopping at Kakunodate and reserved seats for your date. Arrange onward travel from Akita Station to the airport or another city separately.
For a morning departure, move this residence visit to the previous day. Allow time to walk to Kakunodate Station afterwards.
Includes: For one adult: Akita–Kakunodate ordinary-class reserved-seat e-tickets at JPY 2,870 each way, or JPY 5,740 return, plus individual admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada at JPY 500 each.
Additional costs: Excludes two hotel nights, meals, station access and transport before Akita arrival or after returning. This is not the actual sale price for your date or a paper-ticket price. Check differences by date and booking product, plus IC-linking conditions.
Admission and regular-season e-ticket reference amounts for one adult. Requires Ekinet registration/booking and a transport IC card linked for each passenger.
JR East: e-ticket price tableConditions of useTourism association: facility guidanceOfficial Kawarada information
Three days: a Lake Tazawa day trip from Kakunodate
Stay two nights in Kakunodate for residences and Lake Tazawa on different days. At the lake, use the circuit bus’s walking stops and return on the same bus. Costs include only residence admission and the lake bus; JR return travel is separate.
Day 1 · Aoyagi residence
Spend two nights in Kakunodate, giving the residences and lake separate days. Visit Aoyagi first; shorten the visit if arriving late.
- Kakunodate Station → Aoyagi residence entrance
Walk to Aoyagi at 角館町表町下丁3. The tourism association gives about 15 minutes from the station; the city gives about 20. Plan your walking route and extra time separately.
- Aoyagi → Residence exhibitions and street walk
Explore Aoyagi’s garden and exhibitions of swords and weapons in the afternoon. Allow about 90 minutes, then walk through the samurai district and take a break. April–November closing is 17:00. For winter travel, check facility operation on your date rather than using October hours. Return along the same route to your hotel near the station afterwards.
If arriving late, shorten the visit or move it to tomorrow. Winter closing may be earlier; check facility guidance.
Day 2 · Lake Tazawa circuit
Visit Lake Tazawa today, using the circuit 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 hotel, 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 Station, then change to a Lake Tazawa circuit bus with walking stops. Choose return trains after checking the bus’s return arrival at the station.
- Lakeside walking stops → Reboard the same bus
At Katajiri, see the Tatsuko Statue and lake views; at Gozanoishi Shrine stop, explore the shrine. These walking stops last 20 and ten minutes respectively. Fit walking to the sights and back within that time, then reboard the circuit bus you arrived on.
Operator: circuit-bus timetableOfficial Tatsuko Statue accessCity: official access
- Tazawako Station → Return to Kakunodate Station and your hotel
On return to Tazawako Station, take an Akita-bound Shinkansen to Kakunodate. The operator states that not every circuit bus connects with Shinkansen services; choose reserved seats with enough time after the bus arrives. Have lunch after returning to the station, rather than during the short walking stops. Rest at your hotel and have dinner; do not add hot springs or a cruise today.
Official JR timetableOperator: circuit-bus timetableOperating status
If staying after your bus leaves, recheck the next service’s fare and your return train.
Day 3 · Kawarada residence and departure from Kakunodate Station
Visit Kawarada on the final morning, then leave Kakunodate. A morning departure leaves little time for the visit; adjust earlier days’ order first.
- Your booked Kakunodate hotel → Kawarada residence entrance
Walk from your booked hotel’s address to Kawarada at 角館町東勝楽丁9. The city’s approximately 15-minute walking estimate starts at Kakunodate Station, not your hotel.
- Kawarada → House and garden visit
Kawarada opens from 09:00 to 17:00 in April–November, with last entry at 16:30. Individual adult admission costs JPY 500. Allow about 60 minutes for the house and garden in the morning. It closes on 28 December–4 January, so check that it is open on your date first.
- Kakunodate Station → Your booked departure
Walk to Kakunodate Station after the visit. Check JR trains stopping at your destination and reserved seats for your date before boarding. Look up onward travel to Akita Station or the airport separately.
Check Kawarada’s New Year closures and leave time to walk to the station afterwards.
Includes: For one adult: individual admission to Aoyagi and Kawarada at JPY 500 each, plus one JPY 1,160 lake circuit bus from Tazawako Station. Return on the same bus after the walking stops.
Additional costs: The subtotal excludes return JR travel between Kakunodate and Tazawako, transport before and after the trip, two hotel nights, meals, luggage storage, cruises and extra facilities. If staying longer and taking another lake bus, check ticket conditions and additional fares separately.
For one adult. Read included items and additional costs together.
Tourism association: facility guidanceOfficial Kawarada informationFare tableOperator: circuit-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 east-side Tazawako-han (田沢湖畔) stop for the cruise pier. These are different stops. The statue route uses Katajiri’s 20-minute walking stop and assumes returning on the same bus. If letting it leave and taking another service, rearrange the return train and check additional fares.
Official Tatsuko Statue accessOperator: circuit-bus timetable
Sources and dates checked
- Akita city: park guidance ·
- Tourism association: facility guidance ·
- City hall ·
- Official Tatsuko Statue access ·
- Fare table ·
- Official access ·
- FAQ ·
- Current facility guidance ·
- City: official access ·
- Operator: circuit-bus timetable ·
- Operating 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 ·