kevincrumbs

I'm trying to plan out a February 2017 trip to Hakodate and the Tohoku region. I'm planning to take the Resort Shirakami from Aomori to Akita and will have the option of either spending the night in Akita. Is it worth doing so? My other option is to merely use Akita as a transit point and head straight onto the Shinkansen to head down to Tokyo. If I hadn't already done Sendai/Yamadera/Matsushima in July, I would consider that as an option.

jib71

I'd be inclined to stop somewhere on the way to Akita rather than in Akita City itself. There are some old fashioned onsen towns on the way down the coast. Fushifuro Furofushi onsen is rather well known but there must be others.

evergrn

Yeah there're supposed to be nice onsens, and you hear about Shiragami-sanchi and also Oga peninsula and its ogre (namahage) tradition. But Akita is one of the few Honshu prefectures I've yet to set foot on, and I suspect it's at the lowest end of most tourists' priority list along with places like Kochi.

jpdx

A friend of mine lives there, otherwise I'd see no reason to go. There are a few onsens nearby, but Akita town holds very little of interest for visitors. I was told it has the reputation of having the most beautiful women in Japan, though.

jib71

I think Akita ken has that reputation. (The prefecture, not the dog).

kevincrumbs

Thanks for the suggestions, all! It sounds like a resounding "no" to actually spending the night in Akita itself but some of the things I've read about Resort Shirakami involve spending one night somewhere else on the line (most likely at an ryokan) and then picking up the Resort Shirakami the next day to continue onto Akita/Aomori.

Not sure how attractive staying at an ryokan is as a solo traveller but I will keep it in mind.

freecia

I just did the opposite direction this summer and stayed overnight in Akita to eat at Nihonryori Takamura which was very good modern kaiseki. Good explanations of the food in English, too. Not at all fussy (which I tend to associate with Kyoto kaiseki) though the food is high end. It was also a nice to stop at a business hotel between various ryokan stays to get some laundry done.
http://tabelog.com/en/akita/A0501/A050101/5000664/

I went from Miyakowasure onsen in Natsuse to Kakunodate, enjoyed the old town, Kakunodate to Akita for dinner & overnight, Akita to Juniko, hiked a bit, Juniko to Furofushi onsen overnight, and then on to Aomori to get some souvenirs.

I did get to see four of the Resort Shirakami trains including the new one (rode two of the older ones). The new one was doing a special pre-release trip at Aomori. I was glad to have taken the Shirakami on two separate days since the weather was very overcast and bit rainy the first day. Not sure that will be an option in Feb. when you're going since it is on a less frequent winter schedule then?

freecia

Furofushi has solo western rooms with toilet (no shower). Good upgraded dinner, too. Just don't get the solo room at the end of the hall as it smelled like smoke. Well, it also had a pretty decent view of the men's side of the sea front rotemburo, but I am not sure that's really a feature.

kevincrumbs

Thank you so much for the details about your trip. I think I would indeed lean towards an onsen/ryokan along the Gono Line instead of Kakunodate, mainly due to a lack of time and needing to prioritise. The other thing is I would ideally like to do Shin-Hakodate to Shin-Aomori on the Shinkansen and then connect to the Resort Shirakami on the same day. If I then head down to Tokyo via either the Shinkansen or by air, that makes for a very long travel day and breaking it up would be nice.

Everything I've read indicates that it's not a daily service in the winter, which will complicate this itinerary. In addition, the winter timetable isn't out yet, so I won't know for awhile which exact dates I'll be able to take the Resort Shirakami.

freecia

Furofushi also picks up at Shin-Aomori by bus during the winter departing at 12:55. 3 day advance registration required. Other ryokans might do something similar. You could take the train one way and the bus the other if Shirakami isn't running every day.
http://www.furofushi.com/english

blem

This is the 2015-16 Resort Shirakawago schedule. I understand the 2016- 2017 ( available in Jan 2017) is likely to be similar. I'm travelling in March 2017 & have based my schedule on this. Anyway if there are major differences, the back up plan is to use non Resort S trains.
I'm starting from Akita (after a couple of nights to get over jet lag) then head to Furofushi for a night, followed by another night in Iwakiso Onsen in Hirosaki before heading to Aomori.
The Resort S schedule is very limited in winter but if the dates coincide with your travels, you can do partial journeys.

From what I've read, I concur with others there's very little to see & do in Akita.

http://jprail.com/travel-informations/seasonal-trains-schedule/schedule-of-2016-spring-seasonal-trains-of-japan-railways.html#Rapid_Resort_Shirakami

http://jprail.com/travel-informations/trip-report/2013-winter-tohoku-nagano-trip/trip-to-tohoku-and-nagano-in-2013-winter-part-4-from-akita-to-hirosaki-by-resort-shirakami.html