Akita to Sakata cycling(B-14) ‘24.11th,May⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This route B-14 is in Area-B “Tohoku". See Area-B map/ See Japan map
Sight & Entertainment ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Food & drinks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Easiness ⭐⭐⭐
Road Condition ⭐⭐⭐
Safety ⭐⭐⭐
I wanted to visit this route for long days. Now the time has come. To come back in 2days, I decided to start from Akita, to which I’d already cycled from the north. But even I caught the first Shinkansen, I could reach Akita station at AM10:24. And it seemed little chance to have lunch on my way to Sakata, I waited for restaurants opening at AM11:00 around Akita station.
I found good Akita local cuisine restaurant, Kanbun Gonendo who served famous “Inaniwa Udon", traditional Akita’s Udon(pic.1). I ordered that Udon with Hinai-jidori, famous Akita’s brand chicken set lunch at \1,390-. Good start for my cycling trip!!
After passing a little complicated roads, I came to Prefectural route-56 which crossed the big river toward coast(pic.2).
Within 10km, the route jointed the R-7, but soon R-7 became a car road and the cyclist should go the deviation road for 5km(pic.3), but that road was very comfortable since few cars were there(pic.4).
After joining to R-7 again, I could not see the sea view but finally 25km from the start, the road came to the coast(pic.5). My excitement started when I saw Mt.Chokai ahead at Yuri-honjo city(pic.6).
Mt.Chokai sometimes disappear due to mountains in the foreground, but I had many chances to take pics(pic.7~9). Pic.8 area was originally in the sea with many islands but the area was filled with lava of Mt.Chokai.
Gradually Mt.Chokai came closest and the shape also changed. To cross the boarder of Akita pref. and Yamagata pref. , there was a slight hill climbing(pic.10). From this point, the mountain came behind me. And the coast line appeared(pic.11).
Though the route was a main road in this area, I felt it good condition for cyclists. Paving was so-so despite of such rural area, enough wide and not so busy, though sometimes big trucks passed by. And the sights I could enjoy all the way made me forget the toughness.
I was hurrying to Sakata city because I started late this time. But I wanted to visit “Maruike-sama" pond at the foot of Mt.Chokai near Sakata city. I was mesmerized by its deep blue in the website. It’s a little detour, but I dropped in it.
The water coming from that pond area was so clear that I could not believe that area was paddy field. It’s the blessing of Mt.Chokai. The pond itself was too small to be excited(pic.12). I should have visited “Mototaki Fukuryusui" in Mt.Chokai instead if I had enough time.
But still Mt.Chokai was visible and it reflected on the paddy field(pic.13). This clean water and vast paddy field made Yamagata good rice production area.
After visiting Maruike-sama pond, I took local roads for 10km toward Sakata city(pic.14). This south face view was also good!(pic.15).
Finally I reached Sakata city at PM5:00. This city thrived as a hub of internal trading in Edo era(17th century) and it preserves some traditional architectures(pic.16, 18). With clean water, rich rice production and wealth of trading, Sakata city has many good cuisine culture including Sake!!!
I had booked one good traditional restaurant “Izutsu" (pic.19) beforehand to enjoy local foods and Sake, that’s why I had to hurry up. When I entered it at PM6:30, it was already full of guests.
This time, I tried foods of mountains mainly. For seafood, I only ordered raw squid since this city is No.2 squid landing city next to Hokkaido. All of dishes were so nice, needless to say Sake. There are many famous brands from this city like “Hatsumago", “Jokigen"(pic.22), “Tatenokawa" which are also available in Tokyo. So I ordered ones which can’t be taken in Tokyo like “Ruri-iro-no-Umi" (pic.21). To my surprise, those minor brands were also so nice taste. Usually when I orders minor brand in local area, I felt a little bit unsatisfied but as expected, it’s Yamagata, Sakata city, every Sake was good.
I came out of the restaurant at PM9:30. Sakata is relatively big city in Northern cities, so I could see some people walking in the city. My mistake was not checking aurora in the sky, which was visible on the same night in this area..
<Transportation info>
From Tokyo to Akita: AM6:32 Shinkansen Komachi No.1 → AM10:24
<Other recommendable spots near my route>
Pls check the city guides: Nikaho city, near Mt.Chokai , Sakata city guide
<Connected routes>
B-12: Hirosaki to Noshiro