Akita must be the shortest and simplest itinerary in this Tohoku trip, all thanks to the availability of the roundtrip sightseeing bus, which is not really a sightseeing bus per se but rather one of the local buses that go around the lake in clockwise direction. I opted to put this trip on the last day of the itinerary, the same day heading back to Tokyo to take advantage of the rail pass. While I have already maximized the rail pass and spent more than double the amount I paid for it, this Tazawako - Tokyo route was the longest at 3 hours and most expensive at around JPY16,000 (~PHP6,140). I spent the entire trip standing up. More on that later.
Lake Tazawa is the country’s deepest lake and is located in the city of Semboku in Akita prefecture. The lake is very near the Akita/Iwate border, which means that starting the itinerary in Morioka only necessitates 35 minutes on the Akita shinkansen. Trouble started brewing early in the morning as announcements were made about delays due to an accident in the bullet train line between Tokyo and Morioka. The Morioka - Tazawa leg was affected for a few minutes and I really thought I wouldn’t make it to the bus anymore since it has limited departures. Good thing, they actually adjusted the bus departure to accommodate the delay.
You can find a detailed route map here: https://www.city.semboku.akita.jp/en/documents/BusRouteMapen.pdf while the schedule shown in the following link was still accurate as of September 2024: https://ugokotsu.co.jp/wp-content/jikoku/latest/tazawa2023.pdf. The two red time slots are only available on weekends, which leaves you with just four on weekdays. The bus stops at two popular tourist attractions in the lake: 20 minutes at Katajiri for the Tatsuko Statue; and 10 minutes at Gozanoishi for the red torii.
If you want to spend more time at each attraction, you can always stay there if 20 minutes and 10 minutes are not enough for you. The problem is, the next bus won’t be coming until 2 hours or so later. That’s a long wait. There really is nothing to do at the sites of the Tatsuko Statue and the red torii other than take photos and videos. There is a shrine across the street from the red torii, but that’s about it. Since I was alone and fast, I still managed to squeeze a toilet break at Katajiri. There’s a public toilet right next to the bus stop at the parking lot.
Will the bus really wait for you? Yes. The bus stops at Katajiri and then the driver will hold up a sign in English telling you what time you have to be back on the bus. You can leave your bag in your seat but I took it with me because I don’t trust people, even if this is Japan. I was supposed to leave it in a locker at Tazawa station but I didn’t have time. Apparently, I didn’t have to, so that saved me a couple of hundred yen in the end. Just be sure to be back on the bus by the time the driver indicated unless you want to be stranded there for two hours waiting for the next one.
There is a hotel right next to the Tatsuko Statue. If you are a big fan of lakes and just want to live right next to them for a day or two, then this is an overnight option worth checking out. As for the ten minute stop at Gozanoishi, it is indeed shorter but will also suffice for you to run to the red torii and take selfies there. There’s also a toilet, a store, and some drink vending machines at the bus stop there. Overall, the round trip from Tazawa station and back including all the extended stops will just take an hour and a half of your time. You can sync them with the bullet train arrivals and departures.
As for payment, you can buy a paper ticket at Tazawa station. Since I didn’t have the time, they just asked me to pay on the bus. It turns out it accepts credit card tap payment, but ONLY VISA. You tap in as you get on and tap out as you get off back at the train station. Tapping out during the Tatsuko Statue stop means having to tap in again and you will be charged double, so don’t do that. The total amount for the round trip is JPY1,210 (~PHP465). Affordable. Convenient. I can’t complain! If you want to spend more time in Akita, you can check out some onsen and ski resorts just north of the lake.
As for my bullet train nightmare experience, the accident indeed snowballed into something worse. We were herded like sheep to a Hayabusa train in Morioka instead of our original red train. Delays and transfers, we ended up the aggrieved party since the people who were really supposed to be on that train had the reserved seats, even if we also had reserved seats of our own. I know this is just an isolated incident. I’m just disappointed because I didn’t expect to stand all the way for a bullet train ride that expensive and long.
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