Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street
角館武家屋敷通り39°36′ N 140°34′ EOld townLaid out in 1620
Kakunodate's Bukeyashiki Street suits travellers on the Akita Shinkansen who like Edo-period house plots and weeping cherries; it's busiest by far in cherry season, so come early in late April or in quieter months.
Photo 掬茶 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Visiting with care · Open to visitors
- Enter only the houses that open to visitors, and check each one's days; the former Ishiguro (Kei) house closes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
- The seasonal car park at the entrance runs from April to November and holds 400 cars.
- Step through a gate only where a house is open to visitors, and walk on the edge of the lane so cars can pass.
Related places
Kakunodate was replanned in 1620 by the Ashina clan, and the town later grew as a castle town under the Satake. The quarter where the retainers lived is called Uchimachi. It still keeps the late-Edo layout of each house, with a main house, a gate and a storehouse arranged on a square plot.
Tamachi holds a second street of these houses. The former Ishiguro (Kei) house, built in 1935 as a branch of the Ishiguro family's main house, mixes a Japanese house with a Western-style room. Entry is free from 9:00 to 16:30, and it closes on Mondays and Wednesdays and over New Year.
The Kakunodate Cherry Blossom Festival fills the town in spring, and in festival season the car park at the entrance can stay open until 22:00 when the bloom allows. The car park opens at 7:30 in April and May and at 8:30 from July to November.
Worth knowing
- Pair Kakunodate with Lake Tazawa and a night at Nyuto Onsen; all three sit on the Akita Shinkansen side of Semboku City.
- Walk from JR Kakunodate Station or hire a bike at Shimoda Rental Cycle, which is a minute's walk from the station.
Quick answers about Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Streetよくある質問
Is the Kakunodate samurai district free?
Walking the streets is free, and so is the former Ishiguro (Kei) house. Other houses charge their own fees.
When was Kakunodate's samurai quarter built?
The Ashina clan laid out the town in 1620, and the Uchimachi quarter keeps its late-Edo layout today.
Can you visit Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street?
Open to visitors. Enter only the houses that open to visitors, and check each one's days; the former Ishiguro (Kei) house closes on Mondays and Wednesdays. The seasonal car park at the entrance runs from April to November and holds 400 cars.
What are the opening hours of Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street?
Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street is open the streets are open at all hours. Each house sets its own times; the former Ishiguro (Kei) house, for one, opens 9:00–16:30 and closes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
How should you behave at Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street?
At Kakunodate Bukeyashiki Street: Step through a gate only where a house is open to visitors, and walk on the edge of the lane so cars can pass.
Within 12 km
