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AKITA FESTIVAL sparkles experience of ‘Japanese Unseen’ destination among Thai people

Thanakorn ‘Au’ Poshyananda becomes Thailand’s first Akita Sightseeing Ambassador.

Bangkok, (June 26, 2016) – Akita Prefecture Tourism opened AKITA FESTIVAL today to open up a ‘Japanese Unseen’ experience that Akita Prefecture has to offer to Thai visitors. In addition to its portrayal of beautiful natural attractions, cultural shows, local foods and unique way of life of this fascinating Japanese prefecture, the event also witnessed official appointment of renowned actor Thanakorn ‘Au’ Poshyananda as Thailand’s first Akita Sightseeing Ambassador.

Mr. Hisao Kikuchi, Special Advisor of Akita Prefecture for Thailand, said, “Akita Prefecture is located in the northeast of Honshu. It is blessed by a beautiful marriage between its abundance in natural attractions and the cultural charm of old Japanese ways of life and traditions that have been well-preserved and passed down by Akita residents from generation to generation. To familiarize more Thai tourists with this lovely destination, Akita Prefecture Tourism is holding the first AKITA FESTIVAL in Thailand at The Paseo Park Kanchanapisek. We wish to broaden tourists’ perception of Japan beyond the high-tech and modern destinations they’ve already known, introducing to them one of the most abundant nature and cultural tourism destinations in Japan. Akita Prefecture is an ideal destination for people planning a leisure travel time or in search of an alternative experience in Japan, no matter they are frequent visitors to Japan, groups of friends, love couples, families, or even nature travelers who prefer a farm stay experience because Akita offers the greatest number of farm stay accommodations in Japan.”


AKITA FESTIVAL is themed ‘Fascinating Akita’. The event venue is filled with an ambience of Akita’s magnificent attractions and cultures, being decorated with replicas that allude to the prefecture’s beautiful ‘sakura’ archway in springtime, the arched entrance of Kakunodate village that was once a samurai district in the Edo period, the Kanto Lantern Festival in which people decorate bamboo poles measuring more than 10 meters long with lanterns to pray for good harvests in the summer, and the ‘kamakura’ snow huts that Akita people build in the winter to honor their water deity. The festival is eventful with a samurai sword dance and a demonic ‘namahage’ masked dance based on the belief that mountain gods would come down to rid children of threats on the last night of the year, as well as stalls selling Akita’s local food products and farm produce such as Akita beef, ‘udon’ noodles and local fruits.
As part of this festival, Mr. Norihisa Satake, Governor of Akita Prefecture, also appointed Thai actor Thanakorn ‘Au’ Poshyananda as Thailand’s first Akita Sightseeing Ambassador. In his new role, Au Thanakorn will make Akita Prefecture more recognizable to Thai tourists and invite more of them to appreciate attractions of Akita and experience unique cultures of its people.
Au Thanakorn, the new Akita Sightseeing Ambassador, said, “I personally enjoy nature and cultural tourism, so I feel especially honored to represent the people of Akita, being entrusted as their sightseeing ambassador to invite Thai people to their hometown. Akita Prefecture is home to a multitude of spellbinding natural attractions. This prefecture is also fascinating for its local culture and the old Japanese ways of life and traditions that you won’t see elsewhere. I encourage Thai people, whether or not you’ve been to Japan before, to go to Akita Prefecture once. I’m sure that you’ll be impressed and fall in love with Akita Prefecture like I do.”
To introduce its attractions and cultures to more Thai tourists, Akita Prefecture Tourism has also produced an online film series titled ‘I LOVE AKITA’ starring Thailand’s Akita Sightseeing Ambassador, Au Thanakorn. The series is directed by Thailand’s renowned filmmaker Haeman Chatemee. It tells the love and relationship between a man and a woman in an embrace of scenic locations in Akita Prefecture with many beautiful scenes that also show unique cultures and beautiful ways of life of local people. The series can be seen on Facebook and Youtube around the end of this year.
For more information about Akita’s tourism attractions, visit www.facebook.com/sugoiakitaTH, www.wendytour-th.com, or www.facebook.com/wendytour.th.
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About Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture is located in the northern region of Honshu. In addition to visitors’ highlights such as Senshu Park, Kubota Castle and a 17th century Samurai Town, this Japanese prefecture is also home to many natural attractions, including Lake Tazawa, the blue water lake that boasts the deepest water of any lake in Japan, and Mount Hachimantai, a picturesque peak that stands 1614-meter high. In the winter, visitors will see silver frost-covered trees formed by condensed water vapor on Aomori Todomatsu firs all over the places. Its summertime highlights Kanto Festival that spreads waves of candle-lit lanterns to light up the nights in a very festive mood. Moreover, Akita Prefecture is the homeland of Akita Inu, Japan’s famous dog breed that was named after this prefecture as its native land. Akita Prefecture creates its different charms in each season. Visitors can experience the unique nature and cultural tourism of Akita all year long whether spring, summer, autumn and winter.