I walked through Akita Station, Popo Road on Monday afternoon, and was surprised to see the new stores and Akita Cedar interior.  It smelled wonderful.

Akita City, and Prefecture have started a new campaign:

Northern Station Gate Akita, in hope of making Akita the gateway to Tohoku.  I think it’s a good idea, and wish them luck.

Even though Akita has some of the most beautiful scenery  I’ve seen, and the best Summer Festival, Kanto, it still has the lowest number of foreign visitors in Tohoku.  WHY!!!

What can we do to help sell Akita to the world?  I think the first thing is to be welcoming with visitors.  Learning English is the first step for this.  Next time you see a foreigner on the street, how about casually greeting them?  Nothing fancy, just Hello, or Good morning, etc.  It could be the beginning of an interesting conversation, or even a new friendship.