An Akita dog, a unique and endearing symbol of Akita, will notice it is time to go through the security checkpoint at Akita Airport. This month, a distinctive icon of an Akita dog has been displayed on an electronic bulletin board in the departure lobby on the airport’s second floor.
When the boarding area for each flight is ready, the displayed Akita dog icon will flash to guide passengers to pass through the security checkpoint. The icon was designed based on the ‘Akita Dog Stuffed Toy’ jointly developed and sold by the Akita and Odate-Noshiro Airport terminal buildings.
When Akita Airport was to update the bulletin board system, the company that manages the system proposed the idea. The company has its bulletin boards in operation at other airports. For instance, ‘Kumamon,’ Kumamoto Prefecture’s highly popular character, is displayed at Kumamoto Airport. Miyagi Prefecture’s local character ‘Musubi Maru’ is displayed at Sendai Airport, Yamagata Prefecture’s character ‘Kitekero-kun’ is displayed at Yamagata Airport, ‘Gegege no Kitaro’ is displayed at Yonago Kitaro Airport (Tottori Prefecture), and Tottori Airport has adopted ‘Detective Conan’ as its icon.
