Akita-ken

Akita-ken (Akita Prefecture) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita. Akita is the original home of the Akita dog (Akita inu), the famously loyal dog of Hachiko fame.

Located in the north of Honshū, Akita Prefecture faces the Sea of Japan in the west and is bordered by four other prefectures: Aomori in the north, Iwate in the east, Miyagi in the southeast, and Yamagata in the south. Akita Prefecture is rectangular in shape, roughly 181 km from north to south and 111 km from west to east. The Ōu Mountains mark the eastern border of the prefecture, and the higher Dewa Mountains run parallel through the center of the prefecture. Like much of northern Japan, the prefecture has cold winters, particularly away from the sea. The Oga Peninsula is a prominent feature of the coastline.

The Akita Shinkansen provides hourly service from Tokyo station to Akita station. Trains are all-reserved and are known as Komachi trains. The trains only stop at Ueno, Omiya, Sendai, Morioka, and Shizukuishi before slowing down to travel to Tazawako, Kakunodate, Omagari, and finally Akita over conventional rail lines. Trains also reverse direction once at Omagari, the stop before Akita. Komachi trains from Tokyo reach Akita in four hours and cost 16,810yen each way. Beware that the Komachi trains are coupled to Hachinohe-bound Hayate trains, which split at Morioka, but as all seats are reserved the chance of getting in the wrong car is minimal at best. Japan Rail Pass is accepted.