Took a trip west to the city of Akita ( ah-key-tah ), on the 8:48 Komachi Shinkansen, in red.
The route was through the foggy mountains and the farmland in the valleys between. The fields were mostly post harvest rice with the occasional yellowing mature Buckwheat. We had been hoping to see more fall color, but autumn came late this year.
The coastal city of Akita has a population of just over 300,000 and is located just across the Sea of Japan from Ladivostok. The local mascot is the Akita Inu, (dog)
The first of our two destination in the city was the Kubota Castle grounds, The original moat still survives but has been filled in with grasses and a field of Lotus.
The main Gate to the castle, though rebuilt, is as it was, large and imposing.
Within the grounds and old walls are Shinto shrines, and Inari as the principle Kami with their fox messengers. One-third of all Shinto shrines in Japan are Inari.
Although the main castle is gone, the tower, the crowning structure, was rebuilt and houses a small history presentation.
The second goal of the day was to visit the Akita Art Museum. Not to see the current exhibits but to see the building. It was designed by one of John’s favorite architects, Tadao Ando. (The overall picture below was pulled from the web as John was too excited at the time to take one himself.)
The cafe on the second floor overlooks the Kabota Castle park and is reflected in the infinity pool.
Our short window between trains was then over and it was time to go back to the foggy mountains and Morioka.
