Akeno (明野町; -machi) was a town located in Makabe District, Ibaraki, Japan.
On March 28, 2005 Akeno was merged with the towns of Kyōwa and Sekijō, all from Makabe District, and the old city of Shimodate, to form the new city of Chikusei. Akeno no longer exists as an independent municipality.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 17,377 and a density of 359.40 persons per km². The total area was 48.35 km².
The area previously known as Akeno has five Elementary schools (Murata, Omura, Nagasa, Toba and Ueno), one Junior high school and one High School. Points of interest include the local Genkikan, a flower park, and nearby Mount Tsukuba.