Cape Nyudo, Mount Kanpu & Akita City Port Tower Selion

For lunch that day, we stopped by Cape Nyudo (入道崎) and dined at one of the restaurants there.

Website: https://oganavi.com/spot/48/

We went with one that has an interesting menu that everything can eat and does not have too long of a queue.

The restaurant that we went to only has an open floor seating area. Good for families but not so good if you want to sit comfortably.

This ishiyaki dish here (2,300 JPY) is one of Oga's specialty dishes, whereby a red-hot volcanic glow stone is placed into a hot broth filled wooden bucket to boil seafood. Can you see the broth bubbling right after the stone is added in this picture here? 

I ordered the 2,300 JPY kaisen don because it has hotate, uni and prawn.

Group pic! 

This place serves ramen which the kids can eat.

After that, we explored the area a bit.

We even went up the lighthouse.

View from the lighthouse.

After that, we drove around the Oga area to this observation deck - 八望台.

We were slowly moving higher and higher up,

Mt. Kanpu (寒風山) was probably the highest point.

There is a charge of 550 JPY to the 360 degree observatory.

The wall with all the celebrities' signatures.

Posters explaining about the Geopark.

As you can see, it was pretty misty when we were there and visibility wasn't that great,

Look at the winding road we took to get up there!

After Mt. Kanpu, we drove to Roadside Station Akitakō (道の駅 あきた港). 

The ground floor of has many stalls selling souvenirs, locally grown vegetables and food products.

Website: http://www.selion-akita.com/

There you can find the Akita City Port Tower Selion (秋田市ポートタワーセリオン), which has a free observation deck.

The elavator to get up also offers a nice view as it is transparent and allows you to see outside.

The view here is nice as it is by the port and you can get a nice view of the sea. We managed to catch the sunset while we were there! As it was cloudy when we were there, we did not get a very nice sunset view.

 

Day 2 in Akita

Day 2 in Akita

Early in the morning, we ate breakfast at hanamaru udon because it was open and near us.

The open space outside Akita Station looks so new, wide and clean.

On this day, we rented a car so that it is easier for us to travel around.

Along the way, we saw windmills.

First stop was to take picture withThe Big Namahage Statues( 巨大なまはげ).

Website: https://oganavi.com/spot/94/

As we continued our journey, we made a pit stop at this place that has a nice little cafe.

After that, we continued our journey to the Namahage Museum (なまはげ館).

Website: https://namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/

There we got to enjoy a show about namahage. The room itself is smoky and we all had to sit on the floor. The namahage will appear as the story is being told to us and they will start scaring kids who are there. 

The story itself is used to frighten lazy or naughty children. Some of the kids near us were really scared and cried very loudly.

In Akita, at most tourist spots, we will see these carts with old ladies selling rose shaped ice cream called Babahera Ice (ババヘラ). The rose shape reminds me of the ice cream in Seoul but the flavours are different. Babahera is made of strawberry and banana flavoured ice cream.

Here are some shots taken inside the museum.

Everything namahage is in this museum. If you are interested to learn more about namahage, this is the place to visit. While I did not read in depth all the signs and explanations, it was nice to just look at all the displays that were available.

Lastly, a group pic before continuing our journey.

 

Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉 こまちの湯 ドーミーイン秋田)

For our trip to Akita, we stayed at Dormy Inn Akita, Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu (中通温泉 こまちの湯 ドーミーイン秋田).

Website: https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/akita/

This here is our double room on the 8th floor.

The best is pretty small but it has pretty good services.

The room does not have a bath because they have shared baths here.

Here is the sink, that is right in front of the entrance.

Right in front of the shared bath, there are some free services for guests. In the morning, they provide yoghurt drinks and later in the day ice cream.

Also, on the first floor, there is free beer available for guests. 

At night, there is also free duck soba for guests which I did not get to try.

Considering the price we paid and all the free services available, this hotel provides a pretty good deal even though we did not utilise all of the free services. I highly recommend this place for those who are on a budget but want to stay at a place other than a hostel.