Akita travel guides: the Akita Kanto Festival, samurai streets of Kakunodate, deep snow country, and northern Tohoku traditions.
Results of the 98th Omagari National Fireworks Competition (August 29, 2026): hometown maker Komatsu Enka Kogyo of Daisen won the Prime Minister's Prize and three of the four divisions; Kita-Nihon Hanabi Kogyo took creative fireworks. Plus the verified night-before guide: program, sold-out tickets, 77 extra trains, weather, streams, and how to plan 2027.
The Akita Kanto Festival (3-6 August 2026): around 280 bamboo poles strung with ~10,000 lanterns, balanced on palms and foreheads on Kanto Odori.
Each spring, snowmelt floods Akita's Lake Shusenko until the shoreline trees stand in cobalt-blue water — a submerged forest at its best in early-to-mid May, and possibly on borrowed time.
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Nearly every image on Hidden Japan Gems was photographed by me on a Sony α7 across five years of walking Japan; a few licensed photos fill the gaps. Please don't re-use my photos without permission — reach out if you'd like to.
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