Akita City Port Tower Selion

Storm chasers & Spycatchers

Bonson Lam Apr 19, 2013 - 1 min read

From Akita Selion Port Tower Looking North West over the sea and on a clear day you can almost imagine seeing Russia on the other side

Akita's Selion Port Tower is even more moody on a windy day in fall

Grab a window seat with super dry beer at the Akita Selion Port Tower

From Akita Selion Port Tower Looking East over the rail yards where freight trains bring in the bountiful rice harvests towards the mountains

Looking South from Akita Selion Port Tower over the warehouse district made famous in the movie Iris

No trip to Akita Port Selion Tower is complete without a bite at Akadamas for some hata hata burger and a super dry beer

The gritty silos and warehouses on the wrong side of the tracks from the Akitas Selion Port Tower is like a scene straight out of a spy movie like Iris

The gritty silos and warehouses on the wrong side of the tracks from the Akitas Selion Port Tower is like a scene straight out of a spy movie

The Akita City Port Tower Selion is a bit of a mystery. A sleek glass tower rising 141 meters above a freight port in a desolate looking part of the city, the contrast between slick and decrepit could not be greater. The warehouse district and rail yards to the east look like a scene from a spy movie, and many people come here to re-enact the scenes from Iris, a TV series with an espionage theme. Likewise the tower has a sense of abandonment, which means you can fully take in panoramic views from Mount Chokai to the seas heading to Siberia. The atmosphere is charged with emotion when a storm is brewing. It is the feelings welling up inside you from the dramatic scenery that does it for me.

Bonson Lam @bonson.lam

I knew my future was destined to be with Japan the moment I flew from Sydney to experience the atmospheric laneways of Kyoto last century. I am humbled to have met many distinguished people during this time, especially the national living treasures of Japan, such as the doll maker to the Imperia...