Senshū Park — Attraction in Akita

After a last minute change of plans, we found ourselves in Akita for a few hours longer on a drizzly Friday morning in June than expected. We were hanging around to see the Akita inu at "Akita Dog Station" that didn't open until 11AM and stumbled across this park nearby while walking around earlier that morning.

I honestly wish I had known about this park earlier. It was the quintessential Japanese park with little shrines, a mini waterfall, garden, woods, bamboo and even a small eatery and gift shop. We didn't have time to do any eating or shopping, nor did we have time to go into the small museum located in a restored building. Instead we spent it just walking around the garden areas and enjoying being outside of the city. If you're in Akita, do yourself a favor and block out a few hours to give this park and surrounding areas some of your time, you...

I came here during the summer.

Experiences: There was a street market festival/bazaar going on at the time of visit, where there are many interesting food and crafts for sale around the entrance to the park.

There is also a bridge surrounded by large orchids which is the photo-ops place to go.

There are a few landmarks in the park, such as the castle ruins, where you can learn some history about the region. There is a also a akita inu experience next to the cafe, which lets you encounter the large sized akita doggo without touching.

Price: admission and akita dog experience is free.

Duration: About 2-3 hours excluding time spent on the bazaar.

Overall, I enjoyed the park as a short excursion...

Parks I usually give it a miss but with not much planned we headed up the hill to have a wander.

Crossing the road from our dormy Inn hotel we then crossed the bridge where we met an old lady selling ice cream but not any old ice cream.

She ingeniously shapes it into a rose with a mix of vanilla and rose flavoured ice. For the 200 yen and a really nice smile it made our day.

Going up the hill you come to a small cafe that sell really nice matcha .

Going further up to come to a small pond and shrine with colourful shrubbery.

Going even further up there is a small waterfall and a keep with a good view over Akita.

With nice weather it was a nice leisurely stroll that gives you a real sense of...