From sea to mountains, nature in Akita Prefecture is spectacular. Riding through the gales of late fall, we meet farmers preparing pickles and preserves to see them through the coming long snowy winter, and are introduced to the region's seafood, which is at its finest in this season. Among the rice paddies we find men crafting a huge straw guardian deity, and in a remote village we learn the wisdom of the mountains from a man living the ancient way, seeing everything in life as a gift from the nature gods.