[Akita] Yokote & Yuzawa Area: Full of Food and Sightseeing Attractions!

A variety of attractive tourist destinations

The area around Yokote and Yuzawa in Akita Prefecture has historically been famous for its many hot springs. Furthermore, it is also popular as a scenic spot where you can enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery, centered around Mount Kurikoma. Even if you visit solely for the hot springs, you'll be captivated by the unique topography, making it a popular spot that will make you want to visit in different seasons

In spring, the scenery is covered in fresh greenery, and in summer, the mountain climbing season begins in earnest, welcoming many climbers. If you climb Mount Kurikoma in the summer, you can get a panoramic view of Akita's many famous peaks. It is especially popular during the peak viewing season for autumn leaves. In addition, you can enjoy skiing in the winter, so tourists will never get bored throughout the year

During the autumn foliage season, the spectacular view of Oyasu Gorge in Yuzawa City is also popular, where you can see the deep valley carved by erosion. Another attraction is the Doroyu Onsen hot springs in the surrounding area, a traditional hot spring resort. While it is bitterly cold in the winter, the cool breezes at Oyasu Gorge in the summer make it a recommended cool spot in Akita

Kawarage Jigoku in Yuzawa is considered one of Japan's three most sacred places, alongside Mount Osore in Aomori and Mount Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture, and was once a place for ascetic practices that were off-limits to women

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The abundance of gourmet food is also one of the attractions

This area is popular not only for its autumn leaves and hot springs, but also for its wide variety of gourmet food

As the home of Inaniwa udon, which has a 300-year history, gourmet fans visit from all over the country. The reason why udon has become a local specialty is also due to the flourishing flour-based food culture in this region

Another Akita specialty is Iburi-gakko, a pickled vegetable made mainly from smoke-dried radish, which originated from the Iburi-zuke brand sold by Ogatsuno Kimuraya in Yuzawa City in 1964. Incidentally, "gakko" is the Akita dialect word for pickles, meaning smoked pickles

Yokote city is also known for its ramen and yakisoba. Among them, Yokote yakisoba is said to be one of the three great yakisoba in Japan, and has won the B-1 Grand Prix, a B-class gourmet food competition, in the past, and is now gaining popularity in the B-class gourmet category

Due to the mountainous terrain, the areas around Yokote and Yuzawa experience large temperature differences, but this makes it ideal for growing sweet fruit. The apples and cherries grown in this area are of particularly high quality, even within Akita Prefecture, and are widely supported as popular tourist souvenirs

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