Odate Voyage Tips and guide

Ōdate (大館) is a city in Akita prefecture in northern Japan. Birthplace of Hachiko, the loyal dog statued in Shibuya.

Map of Odate

• Akitainu Tourism is a multiligual guide site for Odate and surrounding municipalities.

• The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site.

• The city's official site has a good tourism section though Japanese-only.

The north-eastern corner of Akita prefecture is serviced by 40.191944140.3716671 Odate-Noshiro Airport (大館能代空港; ONJ  ^IATA), which is located in Kitaakita city, approximately 30 minutes from Odate. The airport provides three flights per day to Haneda Airport in Tokyo (flight time 1 hour), all on ANA. Buses from/to Odate station meet all departing and incoming flights (¥1300, 35 min).

Interestingly, the airport does double duty as a Michi no Eki for drivers, with its Port One restaurant (2F) particularly popular for its affordable daily lunch sets (¥1200) and local fare like kiritampo and Momobuta pork.

40.288022140.5566142 Ōdate Station is on the JR Ōu Main Line between Akita (1:20 by limited express), Hirosaki (40 min) and Aomori (1:10). It is also the terminus of the minor JR Hanawa Line from Morioka, although this line is frequently affected by heavy snowfall in winter. A replica of Tokyo/Shibuya's famous statue of Hachiko the dog stands in front of the station.

Odate is served by the Akita Expressway from Akita, about 2 hours away.

It's not directly served by the main Tohoku Expressway between Tokyo and Aomori, but it's 30 min away from the nearest interchange, Kosaka.

Odate has a local bus network which operates a service within the city and to outlying areas. Taxis are also readily available.

While Odate itself is not a city of particular interest, there are many key sites within easy driving distance. An hour to the north-east is the beautiful Lake Towada and the Oirase Gorge, both areas of relative unspoilt beauty and popular tourist destinations in the summer months. Around 40 minutes to the south east is the Oyu stone circle, thought to date back 4,000 years to Japan's Jomon period.

Perhaps Odate's greatest claim to fame is the dog Hachiko, an Akita dog whose loyalty is celebrated in the famous statue outside Shibuya station in Tokyo. Hachiko was born in Odate before being taken to Tokyo, and the dog-enthusiast can visit his birthplace, explore the Akita dog museum or enjoy watching the Akita dog show held during Golden Week each year in Keijo park.

• 40.286665140.5560751 Akita Dog Visitor Center (秋田犬の里 Akitainu no Sato), 1-13-1 Onari-cho (in front of the station). 09:00-17:00; closed Mo. Watch Akita dogs (9:30-16:45) in the city's tourism center. You can also rent bicycles (\500/day, \300/4hrs).  (updated Apr 2024)

Without a doubt, the summer months are the best time to enjoy Odate, as the winters can be very harsh. During O-bon in the middle of August, Odate celebrates its "Daimonji Matsuri", which is possibly the city's biggest and most popular festival. The festivities culminate in fireworks and the setting-alight of a giant kanji character "dai" (大), meaning "big", and also the first character in the city's name, which can be seen on a hill overlooking the city.

The city is surrounded on all four sides by mountains, which means there's plenty of hot springs nearby.

• 40.421833140.6081391 Hikage Onsen (日景温泉) (Free shuttle bus from JR Jimba stn (陣場駅)). Remote mountain hot spring. Day trip and hotel stay packages available.  (updated Jan 2026)

Odate's most famous dish is kiritampo (きりたんぽ), which is made from new rice which is cooked, mashed up and worked onto a wooden skewer to resemble something like an American corn dog. This is then cooked over hot embers, and can either be covered in sweet miso and eaten off the stick, or removed from the stick, sliced up and added as an ingredient to a delicious soup, known as kiritampo nabe. The best time to enjoy this dish is in late autumn when the rice is freshly harvested and at its best. Visitors can also try their hand at making their own kiritampo at the Kiritampo Matsuri, held every year on the first weekend of October.

• Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku. Temporarily Closed for COVID19. The largest and arguably the best hotel in town. 
• Royal Hotel Odate (ロイヤルホテル大館).  
• Hotel Route Inn. The chain has two locations in Odate: Odate-ekiminami and Odate-Omachi. 

• Kitaakita
• Noshiro
• Fujisato
• Shirakami-Sanchi
• Kosaka
• Happo
• Kazuno
• Hirosaki
• Hachimantai

Aomori ← Hirosaki ←

N  S

→ Noshiro → Akita