Due to the many forests, there are many woodworkers who carve all types of wood (including my favorite, cherry wood) into various crafts. There is a museum in the Samurai District of Kakunodate dedicated soley to this artwork. Another example of a unique craft from Akita the bento boxes (for lunches) that woodworkers make from cedar wood. These are just a few of my favorites!
One big challenge is definetly the winter season. It snows from Decemeber to March with an average of 12 1/3 feet per season! It is very defficult to get around with the snow. I could not go for long walks, and the train and bus schedules were adjusted because of it.
Because there is so much snow, Akita has a special festival known as the Kamakura Festival in a town called Yokote. People create packed snow houses similar to igloos all throughout the town. Some are big enough to hold large families while others are small enough to hold only candles. In the larger structures, people drink tea and eat a traditional rice sweet called mochi. I will not be able to attend this festival, unfortunately, as my program ended in late December and the fesitival is in February.
