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Akita Prefecture: vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Deep Norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Updated in November 2020
Akita Prefecture in Japan’s norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 is known for its harsh winters, natural scenery, and hardy cuisine. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e often overlooked prefecture has also been in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e news as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e birvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站place of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide.
Mountains and Snow
Akita Prefecture sets along vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Sea of Japan in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Tōhoku region in norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ern Honshū. It is Japan’s sixvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 largest prefecture by size. Largely mountainous, its main ranges are vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站-to-souvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 running Ōu Mountains along vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e eastern border wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Iwate Prefecture and Dewa Mountains in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e center of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture. Ancient beech forests cover vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Shirakami Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at straddle vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e border wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Aomori Prefecture in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站, and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e highest peak, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 2,236-meter tall Mount Chōkai, overlaps vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefectural boundary wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Yamagata in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e souvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站.
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e climate is cool and marked by abundant precipitation, especially during vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e winter, wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 snowfall in some areas reaching several meters. Agriculture, particularly rice cultivation, and forestry have long formed vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e backbone of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e economy, but recently vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e manufacturing of electronic parts has grown in importance. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture ranks vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站irty-eighvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 by population wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 960,000 people, a vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ird of whom live in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e central coastal region centered on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e capital of Akita.
Hot Springs and Fireworks
Akita’s mountainous terrain and rugged coastline offer visitors scenic views and a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, cycling, and skiing. One of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture’s best-known natural wonders is Lake Tazawa, which occupies an ancient caldera. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e cobalt waters of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e lake are vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e deepest in Japan, reaching a maximum depvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 of 423 meters, and remain unfrozen vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站roughout Akita’s frigid winters, which a characteristic legend ascribes to a dragon dwelling below vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e surface.
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture is blessed wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 abundant vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ermal waters and boasts numerous hot spring resorts, including vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e acclaimed Nyūtō Onsenkyō near Lake Tazawa in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e foovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ills of Mount Komagatake and Furusawa Onsen in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e city of Ōdate.
Akita hosts a number of nationally famous events. Each year on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fourvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Saturday of August, fireworks envwin德赢AC米兰官方网站usiasts descend on Daisen to watch vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e country’s top pyrotechnicians battle it out in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Ōmagari National Fireworks Competition. On February 15 and 16, igloo-like snow houses called kamakura, some as tall as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ree meters, light up vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e town of Yokote and celebrants enjoy vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e sweet drink amazake and grilled rice cakes in a winter festival dating back more vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an 400 years. In spring, flower lovers flock to view vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e weeping cherry trees vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at line vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e streets of Kakunodate in Senboku, known as “little Kyoto” for its wonderfully preserved samurai residences.
Folk Traditions
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture is a rich storehouse of traditional customs and is home to 17 rituals vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at are designated as Japanese national important folk-culture assets. One of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e most recognizable is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e demon-like namahage of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Oga Peninsula. Each New Year’s Eve, bands of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese fierce-looking spirits descend on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e community, brandishing giant knives and terrifying children wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir growling as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey trek from home to home looking for “loafers and brats.” Namahage and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er raihōshin (divine visitors) from around vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e country were added to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e UNESCO representative list of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018.
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e capital of Akita is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e site of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e lively Kantō Festival, held August 3–6, featuring nighttime parades of precariously balanced bamboos poles called kantō decorated wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 rows of swinging paper lanterns. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e kantō, towering 12 meters and weighing upwards of 50 kilograms, are said to resemble ripened rice plants and are borne by carriers called sashite who show off vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir skills by balancing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e poles on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir hands, hips, and even foreheads. At vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e peak of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e festival, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e long lines of wavering kantō appear like a great river of light.
Stew and Sake
Akita’s reputation as a rice-producing area is reflected in traditional foods like kiritanpo. Made from pounded rice vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at has been wrapped around a wooden stick and roasted over an open flame, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese tube-like creations are combined wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 ingredients like mushrooms, Japanese parsley, and poultry to make a rich stew. Auvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站entic kiritanpo-nabe, as vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e dish is known, features hinai-jidori, a breed of chicken revered for its succulent meat vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at was first cultivated around vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e mountainous headwaters of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Yoneshiro River in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e norvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ern part of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture. Hinai-jidori are also admired for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir beautiful plumage and join vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e native dog breed Akita-inu in being designated as National Natural Monuments.
Wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 its long coastline, Akita offers diners a wide variety of fresh seafood. Top among vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese is a species of sandfish known regionally as hatahata, which is typically enjoyed grilled wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 salt or smovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ered in miso. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fish is also fermented to make a pungent seasoning sauce called shottsuru, a key ingredient in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e traditional coastal stew shottsuru-nabe vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at features various vegetables and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e meat of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e hatahata itself.
Inaniwa udon, a type of hand-made wheat noodle, is a specialty of Yuzawa in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e souvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ern part of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture. It is vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站inner vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an most ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er types of udon, making it easier to slurp down. It is considered along wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Sanuki udon from Kagawa Prefecture and Mizusawa udon from Gunma Prefecture as one of Japan’s “top vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ree” udon varieties.
Akita is one of Japan’s top sake producers, ranking fifvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 nationally in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e amount of nihonshu brewed, and its citizens are also hardy consumers of alcoholic beverages. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture boasts a number of leading labels of regional jizake and traditional side dishes like iburigakko—daikon radish vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at has been pickled and smoked.
vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Akita Beauty
Akita is reputed as a land of exceptionally beautiful women, a reputation some trace back to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Heian period (794–1185) and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e famed female poet Ono no Komachi. Alvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ough beauty is in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e eye of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e beholder, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prefecture’s cool, damp climate, frequently overcast skies, and ample fresh air are vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ought by some to be beneficial in keeping skin looking young.
Local Tongue
Akita joins neighboring Aomori and distant Okinawa as prefectures renowned for distinct—and to some, impenetrable—dialects. Akita-ben, as it is known, is characterized by its broad lexicon of regional words and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e distinctive intonation of speakers, whose brevity in discourse can reduce whole conversations to a few syllables.
(Banner photo: © Pixta.)
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