A popular local izakaya in front of the Akita station that has one of the widest collection of sake, with high cost-performance. Especially the Kikizake set (a set of tasting any 3 kinds of Japanese sake you like), is worth more than the price you will pay. Moreover, they serve extraordinarily delicious nibbles for drinks.

Resort Shirakami is a scenic train ride on the Gono Line, which has introduced a new railway car named Buna (beech) in July, 2016. With an exterior designed as Buna, using shades of natural green color to express the warm shining sunlight surrounding the forests. The interior is made with Buna and Sugi, the same trees along this train line to provide a warm and quiet comfortable feeling. The 3rd car has a food bar named Oraho, selling many kinds of local delicacies. Enjoy both the amazing scenery and local delicacies all at the same time.

The Akita pickles, called Iburigako, meaning vegetables (mostly Daikon radish) smoked and soused, is a local specialty that you will regret if you don't try. Gako means pickles of any kind in the Akita local language, which comes from the accent of “elegant (ga) fragrance (ko)”. Yokote-shi area, the southern and inland part of Akita, is the birthplace of Iburigako, and is generally made out of Daikon radish and sometimes carrots. Recently, eating this smoked Daikon pickles with cream cheese has become a new popular nibble for drinks.

A newly opened Japanese sake bar in 2016, serving sake from all 37 breweries of the Akita prefecture area. An all standing bar! More than 100 kinds of Japanese sake is here ready to be tasted. To get drinks, first go buy a ticket from the ticket machine, then pass it to the counter and exchange it for your sake and food. Sometimes Japanese sake events are held here, which would be a great chance to taste some rare kinds of sake.

Cooking at home or cooking at a restaurant, whatever you are searching for you are sure to love the visit to Akita Citizen’s Market. You can find anything you need here, not only fresh fish, salted seafood (including red salmon, Ikura, Tarako), dried fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, also flowers, tea, wine, even dresses and other everyday items or presents. Besides shopping, you might also want to visit the two directly managed seafood restaurants Ichiban Sushi and Fufuan, which has a promising reputation of highly selected ingredients and great taste for years.

As a historical sake company since 1901(Meiji 34), Yamamoto Gomei is the only sake manufacturer which uses only mineral water of the Mountain Shirakami from the primary brewing step till the end. Also, not to mention the highly selected farm grown rice that are carefully polished. Their ultra-heat treatment and low temperature storage for the bottles are also an important factor to ensure freshness and quality. This sake company collects many kinds of renowned local sake from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and in the same time enlarging exports to Southeast Asia areas in recent years.

You might be surprised to find an Italian restaurant in the countryside of Akita. Chef Sasaki came to Akita to start his own restaurant in Daisen-shi, in September of 2014, after 3-years experience in an Italian restaurant in Tokyo. As a concept of “grow locally eat locally”, he always uses the best seasonal food. Both Italian red wine and local Akita sake are ready for you choose.

Tsurunoyu is the most historical hot spring hotel in the Nyuto Onsen village. It goe back to the Genroku period (1688〜1704). The sign "Honijn" (meaning the headquarter during a war) still left on the roof shows that it has a profound history. Even in Japan, a country of many hot springs, the 50 meters radius how spring here is very rare. There are 4 types, white spring, black spring, Nakano spring and Ryuno spring. Especially the open-air bath of the white spring is the most famous. It is said that the name of Tsurunoyu came from an old story, that a hunter once saw a crane (tsuru) getting its wound cured in the hot spring.