The exterior of one of the samurai houses.

The exterior of one of the samurai houses. (Photo: Michelle Madden)

Kakunodate Samurai Village Akita

Step back in time inside these Edo period houses

Anonymous Jun 12, 2013 - 1 min read

The exterior of one of the samurai houses.

The snow around the samurai houses was really picturesque. It must look amazing when the snow is actually falling.

Birds painted on a traditional screen door.

A vase in the museum complete with beautiful artwork.

Some original artwork. It really helped me to imagine what life was like back then.

The contrast of dark wood and white walls define this Edo style architecture.

The wash house outside. The texture and colour of the wood is really beautiful.

Swords I saw inside the museum in one of the houses.

The attention to detail in the design is amazing.

All sizes and shapes of swords in the museum.

Some beautiful kimonos in the museum. The patterns on the fabric are absolutely stunning.

When I was there in the beginning of May the snow had not yet melted though the weather was quite warm.

Some history on the variety of cherry blossom trees in the area.

A huge mound of snow that was slowly melting in the heat.

Kakunodate is a small town with a well-preserved samurai district in Akita. Taking the bullet train from Tokyo is about a three hour journey. The samurai district is a ten minute walk from the station and easy to find with the maps provided at the station. There are many houses you can enter, however to see the best ones you will have to pay a small entrance fee. There is a wonderful old world ambience to this little town. It feels as though you have traveled back in time. It is easy to imagine samurai walking down these roads past the Edo period houses and cherry blossom trees.

Anonymous @michelle.madden__archived