kakunodate: samurai town

some of the many baths in just one day in the town of yufuin.

the hotel’s bus will take us into the town of kakunodate for the day. they will also pick us up from town at an appointed time in the evening with time to get back to the inn and bathe before dinner. (if you wish to return to the hotel earlier than prescribed shuttle time, there are taxis or the hotel shuttle that leaves hourly from the train station---ask us for details).

we have befriended the local rice farmers of this village over the years, and do believe our visit is the highlight of their year! on both nights in this inn they will visit to pound mochi rice with us (pictured on day 7) one night and teach us to wrap rice rope (they are currently in the lead in the guiness book of world records for longest continual rope woven from rice!) got to keep occupied during their long, snowy winters! 

kakunodate is an old samurai town with amazing architecture and museums,soy sauce/miso factories. it is referred to as the “little kyoto of the north” and very charming. kakunodate is a quiet town in the east of Akita. It is enclosed on three sides by mountains, and the Hinokinai-gawa River runs southwards through it. The original shape of the town was formed at the beginning of the 17th century, and from then on it developed as a castle town. Underneath its Tohoku appearance, the town has a smart, elegant feel, and is called the Little Kyoto of Michinoku (the old name of Tohoku).

A large number of samurai houses remain in Kakunodate, and the town is one of the best for seeing the layout of a Japanese castle town and the style of samurai houses. Some of the most impressive are the houses of Ishiguro, Aoyagi and Nishimiya. There are also shrines, temples and merchants' storehouses, which seem to surround the town and give visitors the feeling that the history of Kakunodate is still alive today.

two good links to the town:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/kakunodate/2951010001.html and

http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=357&pID=1564

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/akita/kakunodate.html