In the spirit of the Hyakumonogatari, I decided to look up and translate some scary and eerie stories, one short, one medium length, and one long, from where I live in Akita Prefecture to share.

No matter where I go in Japan, and no matter how much I like, say, the forests in Kobe or the jungles of Naha I always found myself going back to wilds of Akita.

Akita Inu are big, affectionate, hardy companions that helped people for over 1000 years in many different ways. In these times especially, at least for me, playing with an Akita Inu helped alleviate a lot of stress.

Aizu-Wakamatsu which is really worth a trip if you are interested in Japan's history and architecture. In this article let's take a look at four highlights of the city which you can easily enjoy on one day.

People know Akita prefecture for its Namahage, beautiful ladies, rice, sake, Akita-inu and bears (no joke, big honkin bears). Here are the five best castles and castle ruins in Akita, in my opinion.

Fukushima, located in the Tohoku region of Japan, is the third largest prefecture in the nation. It is a relatively unpopulated region, comprised of mountainous areas and national parks divided into three main sections: Aizu, Nakadori (the central area), and Hamadori (the coastal area).

If ever you find yourself in Akita City, Senshu Park (千秋公園）deserves to be near the top of your sightseeing list. Built on the ruins of Kubota Castle, home of the first lord of Akita, Kubota Han, the park is still a major location for tourists and locals alike.

For me, finding out about a second “hidden” language was like unearthing a hidden shrine in my backyard, and I spent many hours in old libraries and online trying to learn about Akita-ben, the Akita dialect. One thing I learned on my study was that the vocab of Akita is not unified: people use different words in the south and north, but the grammar has consistent traits.

There’s no better place to see jellyfish than at the Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka, located on the Sea of Japan in the north’s Dewa Sanzan, or Three Sacred Mountain region.

The “living Buddhas,” or sokushinbutsu as they are known in Japanese, differ from the more well-known mummies of Egypt in that they self-mummified while still alive.

Fukushima prefecture is located in Japan's northern Tohoku region. When planning a trip to Fukushima, don't miss out on any of these top things to do and see.

Here are a few prime sweets cafes you can find in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture's biggest city.