Akita (AXT): the limousine bus waits for the flight
The Akita Chuo Kotsu bus timetable is built around arrivals and departures, so there is always one. A taxi is roughly six times the fare for the same half hour.
- The airport is about 30 to 40 minutes from central Akita.
- The Airport Limousine bus is run by Akita Chuo Kotsu and its timetable is synchronised with domestic flight arrivals and departures.
- The fare comes back two ways: 900 yen in one source, 1,200 in another. Budget for the higher figure.
- Children are half. No seat reservation is needed; you just board.
- It stops at Akita railway station, at the Akita Civic Center a few kilometres west of it, and at hotels near the Kawabata nightlife district.
- A taxi is around 6,000 yen for the same 30 minute trip.
- Sky Access, a shared taxi and minibus service, starts around 1,300 yen to the Akita station area.
- Car hire starts around 4,500 yen a day, with the international chains from about 7,000.
- JAL and ANA fly Haneda to Akita several times a day, about 70 minutes in the air.
- The Komachi shinkansen from Tokyo is about four hours and 18,500 yen, all seats reserved. That is the choice you are making by flying.
The bus
- Akita Chuo Kotsu runs the Airport Limousine, and the important detail is that the timetable is built around the flight schedule rather than a clock. If a domestic flight lands, there is a bus.
- No seat reservation. You board and pay.
- The stops are useful ones: Akita railway station, the Akita Civic Center a few kilometres west, and hotels in the Kawabata area, which is where the restaurants and bars are.
- The fare is quoted at 900 yen by one source and 1,200 by another, with children half. Both are otherwise reliable guides, so carry 1,200 and be pleased if it is less.
- Journey time is quoted at 30 and at 40 minutes for the same reason.
The alternatives
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Airport limousine bus | 900 to 1,200 JPY |
| Sky Access shared taxi or minibus | from about 1,300 JPY |
| Taxi | about 6,000 JPY |
| Car hire | from about 4,500 JPY a day |
- The shared taxi is worth a look if you are going somewhere the bus does not, because it is barely more than the bus.
- A taxi van to Oga Station is quoted at about 3,400 yen and 80 minutes, which is the route to the Namahage country on the peninsula.
Getting here at all
- JAL and ANA fly Haneda to Akita multiple times a day, about 70 minutes in the air.
- The alternative is the Komachi shinkansen, roughly four hours from Tokyo at about 18,500 yen, with every seat reserved.
- That is the real decision. The flight saves two and a half hours and lands you 30 minutes outside the city; the train puts you in the middle of it.
- Winter matters here. Akita is deep snow country and flights are more weather-affected than the shinkansen, which is one argument for the train in January.
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