Aikawa

Kitaakita City Hall - Aikawa Branch Office

Pre-merger Aikawa Town

Former flag of Aikawa Town

Aikawa sewer drain cover with the old symbol of Aikawa Town

Aikawa (合川) is a district (地区; -chiku) in Kitaakita, Akita, Japan. Before the Kitaakita City merger, the area encompassed by Aikawa District used to be the autonomous municipality of Aikawa Town (町; -machi). In March 2005, Aikawa merged with Takanosu Town, Moriyoshi Town, and Ani Town to form Kitaakita City.

Outline

Aikawa Town was born in 1955 as the result of the merger of Ochiai Village (落合村), Kamiōno Village (上大野村), Shimoōno Village (下大野村), and Shimokoani Village (下小阿仁村). Both Kamiōno Village and Shimoōno Village had been born just five years prior, in 1950, as a result of Ōno Village (大野村) splitting in half.

Just a short distance southwest of Takanosu in Kitaakita is the town of Aikawa. Aikawa, meaning 'join' and 'river,' has it's central hamlet located on the north banks of where the Ani River and Koani River converge. In the flood plains of these two rivers in Aikawa are fertile rice fields which make for beautiful views, particularly in autumn when the harvest has arrived and foliage has commenced. Aikawa's greatest claim to fame is its Hydrangea Festival, held in late July when the flowers are in full bloom. Indeed, the hydrangea is the symbol of town.

Location and Population

Aikawa is located in the western part of Kitaakita. Aikawa has an area of 112.80km², making it the smallest of the districts in Kitaakita by far. The population in 2005 was 7,550, giving the former town a population density of 66.93 persons per km², the highest of the four towns at the time.

Sightseeing

Suiun Park

• Hokuōnomori Park (北欧の杜公園)

See: Hokuōnomori Park

This park, which contains Kitaakita Shimin Hospital is an expansive park with many recreational activities available. The park is designed to invoke a Scandinavian atmosphere.

• Suiun Park (翠雲公園) Homepage

This park is located uphill from Akita Refresh Academy and is home to wide swaths of hydrangeas. The park's keeper is said to have planted a hydrangea for each new child born in Aikawa until he ran out of space in the park.

Festivals

Aikawa Matobi Festival

• Aikawa Station Spring Festival (合川駅春まつり). Last weekend in May (2017 date: May 28) 2017 Pamphlet

This modern festival is celebrating its 7th consecutive year on May 28th, 2017. This festival is one of many which is sponsored by the Akita Nairiku Line and is easily accessible by train - just disembark at Aikawa Station and you're there! This festival features live music and dancing, as well as festival-standard food carts.

The biggest draw of this event is the butter mochi tossing event: festival staff toss butter mochi into the crowd while participants scramble to retrieve them. This is a playful, modern take on traditional mochi tossing, which itself has a long history in Japan as method of sharing happiness.

• Aikawa Hydrangea Festival (あじさい祭り). Late July.

The hydrangea was the symbol of Aikawa Town before the 2005 merge, however the region is still known for the large blooming flowers. The exact date of the festival changes based on when the full bloom is expected, but it's usually held in late July.

• Aikawa Matobi and Furusato Festival (合川まとび & ふるさとまつり). August 14, 7:30.

The festival is held near Aikawa Junior High School in a large parking lot in front of the Aikawa Agricultural Community Center (合川農村環境改善センター) and the local hospital. It's near the river in Aikawa. The festival is a Shinto/Bhuddist fire cleansing ritual for the river and the surrounding rice fields. There's obon dancing, enka, taiko, drinking, yaki-soba, gakko galore, and all the other accouterments of the typical Japanese festival.

Onsens

• Kanazawa Onsen (金沢温泉) (location)

A very old and worn-down onsen close to the Odate-Noshiro Airport. Looks like a factory from the outside. Has a small changing room, many shower stalls, a normal-temperature bath, a high-temperature bath, and a small area outside enclosed by high walls with a small deep tub that wasn't even filled at the time of writing this. The water is intentionally a murky color. This onsen is straight out of the Shōwa Era. Not exactly recommended.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市上杉字金沢6-25

☎ 0186-78-5020

Hours: 8:30-21:00

Admission: Adults ¥300.

• Sazanami Onsen (さざなみ温泉) (location)

No soap provided. Indoor bath only. The baths are extraordinarily hot. There is a cold water tap over the tub to cool it down - ask the fellow patrons if you can run it for a while. Mostly frequented by locals. Like Kanazawa above, this facility has a Shōwa Era flavor to it.

Open: 9:00-21:00

Cost: ¥350.

☎ 0186-78-4171.

Address: 北秋田市川井字鳥屋沢36-4

• Himawari no Ie (ひまわりの家) (Homepage)

(Not a real onsen)

Location (Map lists location as 秋田県民生協会)

Open: 9:00-19:00

Cost ¥300

☎ 0186-78-4025

Restaurants

Yama-chan Ramen (山ちゃんらーめん): (location)(blog review)

Yama-chan Ramen offers a great selection of various ramen, from a kimchi-infused bowl to a wonton dish. Their prices are pretty reasonable, ranging from about ¥550 to ¥750 for a bowl, and the bowls are a bit larger than at some of the chain ramen restaurants. A local couple owns and operates this shop, and they are extremely pleasant to speak to; they even allow you to change the TV channel should you request it.

As delicious as the food is, I don't recommend incorporating Yama-chan ramen into the middle of the Aikawa beer crawl, as the food is rather filling. If they are still open should you finish, however, by all means it is worth it.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市川井字鳥屋沢36-6
Telephone: 0186-78-3346

Kemuri-ya (けむり屋): (location)

This is a yaki-niku restaurant in the center of downtown Aikawa. If you're looking for a vegetarian option, they sell Bibimbap as well, but it comes in a normal bowl instead of sizzling hot stoneware. Many students say Beko-chan in Takanosu is better.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市川井字才ノ神61

Katsura-ya (かつら屋): (location)(website)

An izakaya/lunch spot just opposite the train station exit in Aikawa. Looking out of the exit, go across the street and to your left and look for the Yebisu Beer flag. This place is owned by the Takeishi family and has a very reasonably priced and filling 定食 (ていしょく) that is ¥700—you can get this for dinner instead of shelling out a bunch of money for appetizers and side dishes. They also serve fresh turtle, beer, yaki-tori, sashimi, and lots of Chinese food. The beer is cheap and tasty and there are manga magazines galore to peruse.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市新田目字大野52-1
Telephone: 0186-78-5195

Shopping

A-coop (Aコープ):

On the main street (near Yama-chan Ramen, on the opposite side) is located is the biggest supermarket in Aikawa. It sells almost everything one would need for daily living, including vegetables, fruit, meats and fish, Japanese pantry items, pre-made deli items, juice, alcohol, yogurts, bread, etc. Some of these items may cost a little more than what you'd get at Itoku or Big, but sometimes I prefer coming here because local farmers will sell their produce directly to this store, so you help the community. You can get pumpkins and spaghetti squash when they're in season for a great price. Sometimes the local cafe (Fumikirino Cafe) will sell their famous chiffon cake here too!

This supermarket now operates as a part of Family Mart, listed below.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市川井鳥屋沢２５
Telephone: 0186-78-4760
Hours: 9:30-20:00

Lawson (ローソン): (location)(website)

At the intersection of the 24 and the 3 in Aikawa, you will find a neon-lit コンビニ (convenience store) called Lawson. This place has an excellent selection of late night snacks, including but not limited to Pizza-man, Curry-man, Teriyaki burgers, and Chiki-bunz. If you're in the mood for a drink, a decent variety of beverages will greet you, from Asahi Super-Dry to various sports drinks to Japan's famous green tea. The added bonus of Lawson's is that its location makes it a great starting and ending location for a コンビニ/bar crawl.

Address: 秋田県北秋田市川井字才ノ神54-1
Telephone: 0186-78-2963

Family Mart (ファミリーマート): (location)(website)

This convenience store offers a better bread selection than the local Lawson's, and the prices for many other products are comparable. Family Mart is also a well placed stop along the Aikawa beer crawl.

(Information about the Sunkus in Aikawa, before it got rebranded as Family Mart: Pronounced "Sunks," this コンビニ gets its name from a combination of "Sun" and the Japanese pronunciation of the word "thanks." Its logo is indistinguishable as it spells out "SUNKUS," with the "K" looking like an elementary school child, stemming from "SUN" + "Kids" + "US.")

Address: 秋田県北秋田市川井鳥屋沢２５
Telephone: 0186-78-3372

Facilities

Kitaakita Budokan (北秋田市立武道館)

This venue is between Aikawa Junior High School and the Aikawa Gym. It served as the Aikawa JHS kendojo/judojo, where the kendo and judo clubs practice. In order to appeal to more general audiences it was rebranded as the Kitaakita City Budokan in 2024. Other factors that contributed to this change include the diminishing number of students at Aikawa JHS, increased use of the building by the general public, and the good condition of the building (relative to similar venues around the city).

Schools

Aikawa area has one junior high school, one elementary school, and one alternative school.

• Aikawa Junior High School
• Aikawa Elementary School
• Akita Refresh Academy

Aikawa area was also home to the following former schools.

High Schools

• Aikawa High School (merged to create Akita Hokuyō High School in 2011)

Junior High Schools

• Kamiōno Junior High School (name changed to Aikawa Higashi Junior High School in 1956[?])
• Shimoōno Junior High School (name changed to Aikawa Kita Junior High School in 1956[?])
• Ochiai Junior High School (name changed to Aikawa Nishi Junior High School in 1956[?])
• Shimokoani Junior High School (name changed to Aikawa Minami Junior High School in 1956[?])
• Aikawa Kita Junior High School (merged to create Aikawa Junior High School in 1960)
• Aikawa Nishi Junior High School (same as above)
• Aikawa Minami Junior High School (same as above)
• Aikawa Higashi Junior High School (merged into Aikawa Junior High School in 1962)

Elementary Schools

• Kamiōno Elementary School (name changed to Aikawa Higashi Elementary School in 1956)
• Shimoōno Elementary School (name changed to Aikawa Kita Elementary School in 1956)
• Ochiai Elementary School (name changed to Aikawa Nishi Elementary School in 1956)
• Shimokoani Elementary School (name changed to Aikawa Minami Elementary School in 1956)
• Aikawa Nishi Elementary School (merged to create Aikawa Elementary School in 2012)
• Aikawa Minami Elementary School (same as above)
• Aikawa Kita Elementary School (merged into Aikawa Elementary School in 2015)
• Aikawa Higashi Elementary School (same as above)

See also

• Kitaakita