The Akitan
The Akitan is the quarterly magazine of the Akita JET community. Produced by volunteers, each issue features original writing, photography, artwork, and creative contributions from current and former JET participants across Akita. Through travel, culture, food, local events, interviews, essays, and creative works, The Akitan celebrates the people, places, and experiences that make life in Akita unique.
History
The Akitan traces its roots to News from the Center, a newsletter published by the Akita Prefectural Education Center for Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) from 1996 to 2005. Following its conclusion, the publication was revived as News from the PAs, which primarily served as a source of announcements and work-related information for Akita JET participants.
Over time, the publication evolved beyond a traditional newsletter into The Akitan, a quarterly magazine showcasing the people, places, and experiences that make life in Akita unique. Today, each issue features volunteer-submitted writing, photography, artwork, and creative works from members of the Akita JET community and is distributed to JET participants throughout the prefecture. Not only is the Akitan meant to be an avenue for the JET community to express themselves creatively and receive and share information, but it also serves as an archive with snapshots of Akita life as far back as 2010 for former ALTs to come back to.
Contribute
Contributions are always welcome! The Akitan is entirely driven by contributions from the Akita JET community, and we are always looking for new voices and perspectives.
Whether you have a travel guide, event coverage, photography, artwork, creative writing, recipes, interviews, essays, local recommendations, or simply a story you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you. If it celebrates life in Akita or helps others discover something new about the prefecture, it could be a great fit for a future issue.
To submit your work or ask any questions, please contact akitajoho@gmail.com.
Current Edition
2026
Spring Edition
Previous Editions
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2012-2013
Issues from before 2012 are no longer available on Issuu, and have been uploaded to the wiki as PDFs.
2011-2012
2010-2011
