Aomori City
A Summer Spent Exploring Aomori
Aomori Prefecture is part of the Tohoku Region, and lies at the highest tip of Japan before Hokkaido. Aomori literally translates to “blue forest" though it can also be known as the ‘green forest’, and with the abundance of nature in the prefecture, it is aptly named.
Relatively less popular with international tourists than Hokkaido, Aomori Prefecture is an absolute gem if you want to travel a bit off the beaten path, and stay away from the crowds. It has it all, stunning nature, beauty in all seasons from vivid greenery to a Narnia winter wonderland, amazing seafood, numerous onsens scattered throughout for a lot cheaper than Hokkaido.
Hubby and I decided to visit Aomori over the summer and we knew that most people would either be travelling to Hokkaido or Okinawa to escape the Tokyo summer and we wanted to escape any semblance of crowds. We fell in love with Aomori especially Oirase Gorge, Towada-ko & Hakkoda Mountains, that we ended up returning in winter to further explore Hirosaki and the amazing Aoni Onsen.
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How We Spent 3N/4D in Aomori City
Three nights is a good amount of time to explore this city especially when one has to consider travel time like catching the shinkansen (roughly 4 hours door to door for us). We chose to take the shinkansen (though you can fly) as we do enjoy a good shinkansen adventure especially with eki-ben choices for lunch. Generally, we like to spend 3 nights minimum in any city we visit to leisurely explore, and just feel more of a local vibe.
However, you could easily do the sights of Aomori City in 1 night and 2 days, or even a day trip if you want to hustle and head off elsewhere in the prefecture. It was a blessing in disguise that we had the extra nights, as hubby sprained his back and so moving leisurely worked perfectly for us, also allowing us to really enjoy the local cuisine.
The Craftmanship of Nebuta
Inside the Nebuta Musuem Wa Rasse are various headpieces from throughout the years by various famed Nebuta artists.
The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, is one of the most famous summer festivals in Japan, and one of the biggest in the Tohoku region. Traditionally it’s held annually every August 2nd - 7th.
Nebuta refers to the giant floats featuring brave-warrior like figures and other characters from Japanese mythology, folklore and history. The floats are carried throughout the city by a multitude of people holding them aloft.
What to Expect Within the Nebuta Musuem Wa Rasse
The museum is a small, intimate affair; dimly lit to showcase the colors of the Nebuta craft vividly. Admittance for an adult costs 600JPY each. The gallery starts with a walk down a dark tunnel which displays the history of Nebuta and how it’s evolved over the years which leads down onto a rampway to the main room with the huge floats on display.. There’s also a digital installation which allows you to craft your own Nebuta head mask.
Hirota Shrine - the Goldfish Shrine
During the summer, there are many sights of Nebuta craftmanship decorating Aomori City. With the festival cancelled, we were delighted to discover this local shrine decorated with gorgeous koi paper lanterns.
What I love about living in Japan, is that you can be surrounded by skyscrapers, shopping complexes, and various other modern monoliths only to find an ancient shrine with a Japanese garden right next door. Aomori City is rather grey, a juxtaposition of old vs new, you can see remnants of Japan’s former bubble era. The design of the main shopping street drew memories of Kyoto’s shopping streets with its curved rooftops over pedestrian path, however devoid of the crowds of Kyoto.
A short 10-15min walk from where we were staying, crossing Aomori Park is the gorgeous Hirota Shrine. I visited it both during the day and at night to see the goldfish lanterns alit.
Aomori Food Specialties
Aomori is famed for its apples, which means cider production is done well! You can enjoy cider tasting at the A-factory which is your one stop shop for all things apple related!
Due to its proximity to the ocean, seafood is an absolute must in Aomori! and we indeed stuffed our faces!
Travelling is something that I don’t think I will ever stop loving, equally as much as I adore discovering unknown places, finding hole in the wall delights… one of the most important aspects when I travel is how many meals am I going to be able to have, how many lunches, dinners and snacks (not a big breakfast person unless I’m at a ryokan, generally some fruit is fine for me!) we can fit in. Due to our leisurely exploration of Aomori City, hubby and I managed to discover some real gems.
Have a Fresh Seafood Rice Bowl (Kaiseki Don) at Aomori Nokke Don
An unassuming building in central Aomori City (especially if you can’t read Japanese), which you may be forgiven as mistaking for a storage space or market — this delightful centre allows you to buy a reel of tickets which enable you to go around to the local fisherman and their produce, swap your tickets for whatever they have on offer and create the ultimate chirashi-don of your choice! (Sashimi on rice).
For a person like me who absolutely loves her sashimi and chirashi don, yet hates it when she gets ika (squid) and tako (octopus) included, this is a dream come true! Walking around the little market, visiting the sellers and choosing all delicious white fish that I love, huge juicy hotate (scallop), giant ebi (prawn) - let’s just say hubby and I were spoilt for choice.
Slurp Tasty Ramen at Ajino Sapporo Oonishi
Generally I’m not a huge ramen fan, I will always choose sushi over ramen, however hubby adores it. Whilst we were in Aomori, he really wanted to have curry ramen which this particular restaurant is famed for. The bowls were huge!!! and the soup very tasty. Though I’m not a ramen connoisseur at all, this meal was especially satisfying in the colder weather.
Delicious Sankyu Sushi
A play on the kanji of 3 - san and 9 - kyu… SANKYU ie THANK YOU sushi is a gorgeous little gem hidden away in the backstreets away from the main shopping area. They are particularly known for their maki rolls which are rolled absolutely STUFFED with fresh seafood and a thin layer of rice.
Take a look at the photos below to see the stuffed maki rolls… all that uni and ikura… *drooling * Honestly I could have eaten here every night!
Blowtorched Tempura Dons at Tenjun
A twist on the typical tempura, this local restaurant delivers some delicious tempura, and then halfway through your meal, the staff will come and aburi (blowtorch!) your remaining tempura, and the taste, texture utterly changes, a tad crisper with this hint of smokiness! We loved it!
Apple Pies at Sweets Factory Pam Pam
One cannot visit Aomori without eating some fresh apple pie, and perhaps the best one in Aomori City is actually located in the Aomori Tourist Center where you can choose apple pie and other variations! We had a traditional one and a black tea apple pie. A perfect afternoon snack
Visit the Aomori Tourist Center
Located at Aomori Bay is this giant triangle monolith, (not technically a pyramid-no square base) which you can easily spot from the city streets. It apparently has an impressive viewing deck on the top but we didn’t go, as there is a fee. However it’s a good place to purchase omiyage, try the apple pies and see local groups hosting activities.
Behind it lies a lovely wide boardwalk promenade, perfect to view sunset and have an early evening walk which we did one night.
OTHER PLACES TO STAY / THINGS TO DO
Hakkoda Mountains - hike this picturesque mountain with winding duckboard paths and stunning views
Hirosaki City - meander slowly in this charming city with its historic castle and famed apple pies
Oirase Gorge & Lake Towada- immerse yourself in nature through this lush gorge & wide lake.
Sukayu Onsen - soak in this historic onsen, beloved for its senninburo (1000 people onsen bath)
Aoni Onsen - travel off the grid into a deep mountain valley to bathe in some restorative onsen waters
Nonahana Yakeyamaso - rest a night in this charming family onsen ryokan near Oirase Gorge with traditional tatami rooms & delicious regional kaiseki
TRAVEL FURTHER
Akita Prefecture - love beautiful rotenburo onsen in nature, make time to visit Akita
Iwate Prefecture - known as the last frontier of a wild Japan
Fukushima Prefecture - the 3rd largest prefecture in Japan has many onsen to enjoy
Yamagata Prefecture- spend a couple nights exploring the beloved Ginzan Onsen
