How to go from Akita to Niigata? 

  • Published on : 29/06/2022
  • by : Japan Experience

With a Japan Rail Pass

The route from Akita to Niigata offers great views with a Japan Rail Pass : as the train enters Yamagata Prefecture, mountains give way to the coast.

0 KM - Akita Station

68 KM - 0H54 - Kisakata Station

From Kisakata and for 40 km, you will have beautiful views to the left of the mountains in Chokai National Park. One of them is Mt. Chokai (2,236 m), a semi-dormant volcano known as the Mt. Fuji of Akita. As the train enters Yamagata Prefecture, mountains give way to the coast, with views out to sea on the right.

105 KM - 1H26 - Sakata Station

A large port town located at the mouth of the Mogami-gawa River.

117 KM - 1H37 - Amarume Station

Amarume Station is a stop on the Uetsu Line and also the terminus for the Riku Saisen Line running east to Shinjo. If you want to go back to Tokyo, change here for a local train to Shinjo (50 min), from where you can pick up the Shinkansen which runs via Yamagata south to the capital.

Must-sees on the journey from Akita to Niigata
Enjoy onsen, art, sake and snow in the prefectural capital of Akita
Stop at Kisakata Station for views of Mount Chokai
Sakata is a large port town at the mouth of the Mogami-gawa River
Tsuruoka Station is near the three sacred Dewa-Sanzan mountains
Atsumi Onsen, the hot spring resort nestled in between mountains and the coast
Murakami is a castle town famed for its salmon
Niigata is the coastal prefectural capital
A map of the itinerary

162 KM - 2H07 - Atsumi-Onsen Station

In between mountains and the coast, Atsumi served as a border checkpoint for travelers more than 1,000 years ago. Nowadays, the town is a hot spring resort.

212 KM - 2H48 - Murakami Station

The railway line runs along the coast as far as Murakami. Unfortunately, the many tunnels prevent passengers from enjoying the landscape.

273 KM - 3hH35 - Niigata Station

Niigata is also the departure station for the Joetsu Shinkansen to Tokyo and the Genbi Shinkansen to Echigo-Yuzawa.

Akita Kanto Matsuri

Akita Kanto Matsuri

©Rosino,https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/flicker/,CC BY-SA 2.0,https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosino/2804812215/

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