Yamano Hachimitsuya is a honey store located near the famous Lake Tazawako in Akita Prefecture. The store looks like a little beehive, and the exterior wall is decorated with lovely pieces of art called "KaBee," which are drawn by Akita University of Art students. Inside the store you can find various kinds of honey-related products, such as honey, aromatic goods, and skin-care products. Taste testing of their high-quality honey is also available.
The shop’s specialty is definitely worth a try: honey ice cream that is sweetened only with honey and mixed fruits, and decorated with a mini bee-shaped chocolate on the top. At checkout, you might have a chance to roll some dice, and if you roll an eight, the shopkeeper will put eight of the mini bee-shaped chocolates on your ice cream. (The words for "eight" and "bee" have the same pronunciation in Japanese: hachi.)
The owners also run a patisserie and pizza restaurant next door where you can enjoy their delicious stone oven-baked pizza while viewing the dynamic nature of Mt. Akita-komagatake.
The shop is easy to find: outside you’ll see a bright red double-decker bus.  You can’t miss it!