Akita Prefecture – Culture, Sightseeing and History

Akita, Japan – History, Cities, Festivals, Food and more.

When you ask most people if they’ve ever heard of a place called Akita, Japan, many people will either say no, or they’ll say isn’t that a dog breed’s name? But, if you were to ask people if they ever heard of the famous statue of Mary Magdalen that cried real human tears, you’ll have a lot of people saying yes. If you were to ask them where this happened, many will tell you… I don’t know.

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So besides having the name of a type of dog breed, this rather large prefecture in Japan gets very little recognition in terms of it’s existence yet so many people are influenced by the area. This area’s largest attraction is the statue of Mary who has cried real tears. Many documentaries have shown and showed cased this statue, and the tears that have come from it, are actually human tears. So either it’s an epic hoax or that’s one interesting statue.

There are a few other things about Akita, Japan that are mildly interesting. Because honestly, this place of Japan besides its absolute beauty is not a very happening place. In fact it’s more so a major farm Prefecture, as it’s one of the largest growing Prefectures of rice in Japan. With that in mind it shouldn’t surprise you to know it’s also well known for it’s sake breweries. It’s also noted that Akita has the highest consumption rate of sake per person in the whole of Japan.

Again doesn’t surprise me after learning about this prefecture, there is nothing to do but drink and work! Since the 1945 the population has slowly been declining. Theory? Kids grow up and say…. “Screw this” and move to the city. If that’s the truth of the matter or not, I’d say it’s in the top 5 reasons why population has been declining. This area of Japan only has 1 million people who reside there, so if you’re looking to move somewhere in Japan that is not that crowded, you found it!

But this area despite it’s children not wanting to take up the family business (which is only about 11 percent of the population) Akita, is teeming with festivals, onsen, sightseeing, culture and women hunting >_<…

Let me explain a bit on the last part. In Akita, the women there are called Akita Bijin which means ‘beauties of Akita’. It’s well known across Japan that they are renowned for their white skin, rounded faces and high voices. These traits in Japan are highly desirable.

The sightseeing besides the geography of Akita which is absolutely amazing, has mostly increased because of a popular Korean TV drama called Iris. A few scenes just so happened to be filmed in Akita at a Lake called Tazawa and at the Oga GAO Aquarium.

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Here is a great blog about Akita, Japan for additional information

READ MORE ABOUT JAPANESE PREFECTURES HERE

Main Cities of Akita:

Akita

Daisen

Katagami

Kazuno

Kitaakita

Nikaho

Noshiro

Oga

Oudate

Semboku

Yokote

Yurihonjou

Yuzawa

Famous Festivals and Events:

Kariwano Big Tug Destival – Daisen (February)

Amekko Festival, Odate (February)

Kamakura Snow Statue Event, Yokote (February)

Tsuchizaki Shinmei Festival, Akita (July)

Akita Kanto Festival, Akita (August)

Nishimonai Bon Dancing Festival, Ugo (August)

Kemanai Bon Dancing Festival, Daisen (August)

All Japan Firework Competition, Daisen (August)

Kakunodate Festival, Senboku (September)