Daisen

From Akita Wiki
Daisen City
大仙市
Daisen
Daisen in Akita
Location in Akita
Location
CountryJapan
RegionTōhoku
PrefectureAkita
Physical characteristics
Area866.67 km²
Population76,277 (as of 2023-02-28)
Symbols
TreeZelkova (けやき)
FlowerCosmos  (コスモス )
BirdCommon Kingfisher (カワセミ)
City emblem
City Hall
Address1-1 Hanazono-chō,
Daisen, Akita 014-8601
(〒014-8601 秋田県
大仙市大曲花園町1番1号)
Telephone☎ 0187-63-1111
WebsiteHomepage

Daisen (大仙市; -shi) is a city located in eastern Akita Prefecture, Japan. On March 22, 2005, the towns of Ōmagari, Kamioka, Kyōwa, Nakasen, Nishisenboku, Ōta and Semboku; and also the village of Nangai (all from Senboku District), merged to create the city of Daisen.

Festivals & Events

The Omagari Fireworks competition draws between 700,000-800,000 people each year. If you go in a group, it's best to send a person out early in the morning to save enough room for everyone. Use tarps with stakes in the ground to stake your claim on that land. Bring your own cooler and stock it with ice, beer, juice, water, and snacks. It is also convenient to set yourself up somewhere close to a portable toilet or you will be walking forever to find one. You will find plenty of food stands lining the place, so not to worry. The daytime fireworks competition starts at 5pm, and the nighttime competition starts at 7pm, but all the fun time is hanging out with people before hand. Getting out of town after the competition is somewhat of a hassle due to the high volume of people. Stay at a local ALT's apartment if possible.
  • Giant Tug of War Festival (刈和野の大綱引き), Feb 10th on Omachi Dori in Kariwano.
This 500 year old tradition happens on the same night as the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Nishiki. It is said that if the top end of town wins the bout then the price of rice will rise and if downtown wins then it is said to bring a plentiful harvest that year. There are two ropes used: the male rope measures approximately 64m in length and the female approximately 50m in length. The weight combined is approximately 10 tons and is the largest of its type in Japan.
Festival starts at 7pm, rope pulling begins at 9.
  • River Crossing Bonden (川を渡るぼんでん) Feb 11th in Omagari. 9:30-11 in the morning.

Sightseeing & Activities

Mansaido (万SAI堂, formerly known as Manga Souko) - This store is a gamer's paradise. With a wide variety of old school game systems and games, Manga Souko provides the inner nerd in all of us the satisfaction it has always wanted. This store has everything: games, manga, clothes, music, DVDs, capsule games, slots, musical instruments, various electronics, fishing gear, and everything else that is needed for a good soul. It is beautiful enough to make me cry.

This location as of late is the better Mansaido to visit if you're looking for merch from older anime series or figures from 10+ years ago (they also have a great selection of model kits and Transformers). Next door is an outlet location as well where they sell recent UFO catcher prizes for very cheap. Stop in to browse until you are ready to pass out and then take a break on the free console displays.

Jiyuu-kan - New karaoke place across from the train station - west exit. Next to Rush Bar.

Aeon Mall - On Route 13 on the Southern edge of Omagari. 2 stories of whatever you could possibly want. Clothes, housewares, pet store, cds, movies, electronics, bikes, you name it. Plus, a bookstore, an arcade, and a movie theater! The theater as 8 screens and is usually showing at least one Western movie that hasn't been dubbed into Japanese. The last showings are usually around 8 pm, and the later the showing the cheaper it is. You can get movie listings here, though of course it's in Japanese only. Movie titles of foreign movies will be in katakana. Movies that are in their original language and are subtitled in Japanese will have 【字幕】 next to them. Dubs will have 【吹替】 next to their titles. Most kids movies will be only available dubbed into Japanese.

Onsen

  • Kamioka Onsen Dake no Yu (かみおか温泉「嶽の湯」) Homepage
  • Nukumori Onsen Yumeria (ぬく森温泉「ユメリア」) Homepage
  • Yatome Onsen Sakura Sō (八乙女温泉「さくら荘」)
  • Kyōwa Onsen Shiki no Yu (協和温泉「四季の湯」) Homepage
  • Matsukida Onsen Nandai Furusato Kan (松木田温泉「なんがいふるさと館」)
  • Shiseki no Sato Kōryū Plaza Saku no Yu (史跡の里交流プラザ「柵の湯」) Homepage
  • Nakasato Onsen (中里温泉) Homepage

Shopping

  • Yamaya Speciality beer and foreign food store.
  • Gyomu Super Store (業務スーパー) - Sells all kinds of food, domestic and foreign for usually much cheaper than places like Kaldi's and Jupiter. Stock changes often. No membership needed. HUGE frozen food selection.
  • MUJI 無印良品 Muji is minimalist Japanese retailer with a wide range of generic products, including apparel & home goods. They are famous for being "no brand" (無印良品 means No-Brand Quality Goods) Has similar clothing options to Uniqlo as well as a ton of prepacked food products. It is located in the East Mall Shopping Center near Mansaido.

Restaurants and Bars

See below for local restaurants and Chain Restaurants

Sanpei (三平) Local Izakaya near the station. They have a wide list of finger foods, the best being the Yakitori-やきとり, as well as dishes like Onkake Don, Sashimi, and lots of other seafood options.

Rushbar is a bar directly in front and slightly north of the Omagari train station. Very friendly staff, huge menu of drinks, food, including pizza and seriously addictive french fries! Probably the only place in Daisen City with PBR on tap.

Milk House Cafe - Along HanabiDori. Lovely cosy atmosphere and great value lunch set meals at 800yen which includes a main, dessert and excellent coffee. I had the Vienna coffee as part of the set meal the last time I was there. Best coffee I had in Japan so far! Cafe closes at 7pm.

Sakou (さこう) Kaitenzukshi restaurant. Only open for lunch from 11am-2pm It is on Route 36 just a little west of 13 (the one that goes through Omagari, not the one that runs by the East side of Omagari), on the north side of the road. It is smaller and their menu is more limited than Kappazushi, but everything they serve is really really delicious. In addition to sushi they usually have fried prawns and fried oysters that are highly recommended.

Menkoina(めんこいな) - on Route 36. It is a small shop on the north side of the street with a yellow sign, right next to a Lawson's. They specialize in Onigiri (rice balls), and have about 30 different fillings to choose from. (I recommend sake-mayo, salmon with mayonnaise). They also have an Onigiri teishokku (onigiri set meal) that comes with 2 onigiri, miso soup, pickles, and a side that changes from day to day, for only 550 yen. The tonkatsu (pork) teishokku is also good.

Daichan Ramen (大ちゃんラーメン) - 大仙市大曲田町20 Excellent negi (spring onion) miso ramen. Near Katsura Park and not visible from the main road, but easily identifiable because of the chicken on it's sign.

Feir - 大仙市戸蒔字大槻63-2 Located behind the Workman store near the shopping center with the Yamaya and Mos Burger, near the bridge going over the railroad track and set back a little from the street. Fairly authentic Italian, with frequently changing specials and a nice atmosphere.

Spicy Curry House DIYO (スパイスカリーハウス) - 10 minute walk from Omagari Station West Exit. Delicious Indian food and large drink selection. Vegetarian options available.

Pazzo Darts Bar - Hole in the wall dart bar with two electronic dart boards, reasonably priced drinks, and one billiards table upstairs.

Chains

Kappa-zushi - North side of Omagari on 13, near the train station. A chain of kaiten (revolving) sushi. Very delicious! You can make special orders through a computer screen at your table, and a mini-Shinkansen train will bring it out for you.

Hama-zushi - Located on the north side of Omagari off Route 13. Another kaitenzushi restaruant. Lots of 100 yen options!

Gustos ガスト 大曲店 - A chain restaurant worth keeping in mind as a safety on your list of eateries. Located on Route 13, in northeast Omagari. Same parking lot as the Tsukiya, Hamazushi, Bazaar and Tsutaya.

Coco's - Originally an American chain, imported to Japan as a Gusto/Big Boy like Japanized Western family restaurant. Their menu is a bit more varied than Gusto, so in addition to standards like hamburg steak and doria, they have items like taco salad, french onion soup, quesadillas, and at one point even had poutine. A solid choice for home sickness.

Mos Burger - in the East Mall area with a bunch of DVD shops and shoe stores and home appliance stores off Route 13 . A Japanese burger chain - a little more expensive than McDonalds but in my opinion way better. Their standard Mos Burger comes with a thick slice of tomato and a tasty meat sauce. They also have some unusual specials from time to time, like avocado shrimp burgers or 'tacos' on nan bread.

Gyukaku (牛角) - Located across the street from East Mall / Mansaido area, attached to Coco Curry Ichiban. Yakiniku chain found all over Japan. Pricey, but good selection.

Coco Curry Ichiban(ココ壱番屋) - Located across the street from East Mall / Mansaido area, attached to Gyukaku. Japanese curry chain with lots of different items to eat curry with. You can customize your rice portion and spiciness for a fee.

Mr. Donut - in Aeon mall on Route 13

KFC - In Aeon mall

McDonalds - In Aeon mall

Baskin Robbins - In Aeon mall

Schools

High Schools

Junior High Schools

Elementary Schools

External links

Akita Prefecture
Northern Akita Fujisato • Happō • Kamikoani • Kazuno • Kitaakita • Kosaka • Mitane • Noshiro • Ōdate
Central Akita Akita City • Gojōme • Hachirōgata • Ikawa • Katagami • Oga  • Ōgata  • Semboku
Southern Akita Daisen • Higashinaruse • Misato • Nikaho • Ugo • Yokote • Yurihonjō • Yuzawa