While Kyoto and Kanazawa receive more international visitors for their historical districts, Kakunodate in Akita prefecture offers a samurai quarter of comparable beauty with far fewer crowds. Founded in 1620 by the Ashina clan, its bukeyashiki (samurai residence) district has remained essentially unchanged for 400 years.
The Bukeyashiki District
The samurai quarter consists of broad avenues lined with black cedar-board fences behind which stand traditional samurai residences, their gardens visible through gates. Six of the most important residences are open to visitors, including Aoyagi-ke (the grandest, housing multiple museum buildings showing samurai artifacts, Edo-period items, and Akita dialect documents) and Ishiguro-ke (a beautiful residence still owned by the original samurai family's descendants). Entry fees for individual residences range from ¥300–500.
Cherry Blossoms
Kakunodate's defining visual is in late April and early May, when 150 weeping cherry trees — some over 350 years old, designated as natural monuments — bloom along the samurai district avenues. The combination of black fences, traditional architecture, and cascading pink blossom branches creates one of Japan's most photographed spring scenes. The Kakunodate Cherry Blossom Festival draws significant crowds during peak bloom; book accommodation months in advance for this period.
Kabazaiku: Cherry Bark Craft
Kakunodate's traditional craft is kabazaiku — decorative items made from wild cherry tree bark (not the famous blossoming trees). Tea caddies, boxes, pens, and trays are made by stretching and laminating cherry bark over wooden bases, creating a distinctive reddish-brown surface with natural grain patterns. The craft developed when samurai needed supplemental income in peaceful times. Workshops and shops along the main street demonstrate and sell kabazaiku, with prices from ¥1,000 for small items to ¥50,000+ for elaborate tea sets.
Combining with Akita
Kakunodate is 45 minutes from Akita city by shinkansen (Komachi from Tokyo to Kakunodate: about 3 hours 50 minutes, JR Pass eligible). Akita city itself offers the Akita Museum of Art (Hiroshi Sugimoto architecture, excellent permanent collection) and is the origin of Akita Bijin — Akita women traditionally considered Japan's most beautiful, supposedly due to the pure water and limited sunlight of the region. The Noshiro area north of Akita has excellent skiing in winter.
Getting Around Kakunodate
The samurai district is 15 minutes' walk from the station. Bicycle rental is available near the station (¥500–700 per day) for exploring both the samurai district and the merchant town (machiya street) on the opposite side of the Hinokinai River. The contrast between the austere samurai quarter and the more colorful merchant district is interesting.
