Happō

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Happō
八峰町
Happō
Happō in Akita
Location in Akita
Location
CountryJapan
RegionTōhoku
PrefectureAkita
Physical characteristics
Area234.19 km²
Population8,017 (as of 2012-02-01)
Symbols
TreeJapanese Beech (ブナ)
FlowerKatakuri (片栗)
BirdCommon Gull (カモメ)
Town emblem
Town Hall
Address〒018-2502 秋田県山本郡八峰町峰浜目名潟字目長田118番地
Telephone☎ 0185-77-2111
WebsiteHomepage

Happō (八峰町; -cho) is a town in northwest Akita Prefecture.

The town's name in Japanese is somewhat misleading. Although it literally means 8 peaks, the town does not have these geological features. This is because the name is taken from the first kanji of the two towns that it was formed from—Hachimori (八森) and Minehama (峰浜).

History

In 2001 a merger committee was formed with the purpose of merging the towns of Futatsui, Minehama, Hachiryu, Yamamoto, and Kotooka with Noshiro. In 2004 the committee recommended discarding the Noshiro name, and renaming the new city Shirakami, after the nearby world heritage site, Shirakami-sanchi. This proposal was strongly rejected by the mayor of

Happō Town Hall

Fujisato. His reasoning was that Shirakami itself was originally an Aomori name, and much of the new town would not even be included in the protected area.

Following the rejection of the merger, a new merger committee was formed to join together the towns of just Minehama and Hachimori. Although the first two names that were proposed were "Minami Shirakami" and "Akita Shirakami," NPOs from Aomori strongly voiced their protest. The committee did not recognize that the protests influenced their decision, but eventually settled on "Happō," a name entirely unrelated to the World Heritage Site.

Festivals

  • Shirakami Shrine Festival. People from town carry a heavy shrine to a waterfall where they bathe it in the water. From 7:20 am to 12:50 pm, starts at the Shirakami Shrine.
  • Happō Fireworks. Fireworks over the sea of Japan. 8pm at 浜海岸 (hamakaigan, the beach).

Schools

Junior high school

Elementary schools

See

Make your own soba! Map
☎ 0185-77-2669
Call to reserve a lesson time with the area's most prominent soba chef. Lessons cost ¥1000. Making and eating the noodles takes about 2 hours.

Restaurants

  • Boschetto (ボスケット) A very small bakery along the main road through Happo. While the selection is very small and limited, everything is delicious and worth the slightly higher than normal prices. The croissant comes at a high recommendation. If you are passing through Happo, you should try and stop here.　Open from 9 AM to 7PM, but they close if they sell out of bread. Closed Mondays. (map)　☎0185-77-2889
  • Kanoura Shokuko (鹿の浦食堂) Quaint little Japanese shokudo with a great cliffside view of the ocean and a menu prominently featuring squid. Friendly owner will welcome you back each time and maybe even give you a free bag of fruit if you play your cards right. Excellent chahan. Just across the parking lot is a soft cream place (ビット鹿の浦) which has a wild variety of flavors, from lavender to wasabi to miso, ¥250.
    八森字鹿の浦８９−２, on the W side of the route 101. (map) ☎ 0185-77-3082

Onsen

  • Hatahata-kan (ハタハタ館). 秋田県山本郡八峰町八森字御所の台５１ Map. ☎ 0185-77-2770 Homepage Admission: ¥500.
    This lovely onsen is located in Hachimori on Rt 101 just south of the border with Aomori. Conveniently opposite the Akita Shirakami Station (あきた白神駅) (with pedestrian bridge). Perched on cliffs overlooking the Sea of Japan, one set of pools gets a wooden theme with beautiful cedar baths and a large wooden boat, and the other side a stone theme. Sides change daily, and both have outdoor pools overlooking the ocean. During sakura season, the nearby hillside is covered with blossoming cherry trees.
    Since 2013, English Camps organized by Akita Prefecture have been held at the adjoining Akita Shirakami Center (あきた白神体験センター). Those lucky enough to attend the camp have access to the onsen.
  • Akita Shirakami Onsen Hotel (あきた白神温泉ホテル) 〒018-2677 秋田県山本郡八峰町八森字磯村100 Map Homepage ☎ 0185-77-2233
  • Hachinori Yukko Land (八森湯っこランド) 〒018-2619 秋田県山本郡八峰町八森字長坂2-1　Map ☎ 0185-77-3707
  • Shioji Sō (潮路荘) ☎ 0185-77-2776 - Closed down!

See also

Akita Prefecture
Northern Akita Fujisato • Happō • Kamikoani • Kazuno • Kitaakita • Kosaka • Mitane • Noshiro • Ōdate
Central Akita Akita City • Gojōme • Hachirōgata • Ikawa • Katagami • Oga  • Ōgata  • Semboku
Southern Akita Daisen • Higashinaruse • Misato • Nikaho • Ugo • Yokote • Yurihonjō • Yuzawa
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