Akita Nairiku Line

The Akita Nairiku Line runs ninety-four kilometres north to south through the middle of the prefecture, from Takanosu to Kakunodate, on a single track that was never finished as a national railway and was completed by a third-sector company in 1989. It goes through country that has almost nothing else in it — the Ani valley, which is matagi country, home to the hunting culture of the northern mountains, with stations named after it.

The stretch between Hitachinai and Oku-Ani crosses the Ani river gorge on a bridge, and in autumn the train slows on it so passengers can look. Three services a day run as the Moriyoshi express with an attendant giving commentary and selling food, and observation cars run at weekends. A supplementary express fare of ¥160 or ¥320 applies. It is one of the last railways of its kind and it is not certain how long it lasts.