Aomori Prefecture is home to tourist attractions such as the Shirakami Mountains, Mount Osorezan, and Oshima Island; sightseeing events such as the Aomori Nebuta Festival, Hirosaki Sakura Festival, and Hachinohe Sanja Grand Festival; and local gourmet specialties such as apple pie, Nakayoshi, and French cuisine.
Many people may have only the strongest image of Aomori Prefecture as a snowy and apple-producing region. However, Aomori Prefecture is rich in nature, hosting the Shirakami Mountains, which have been designated a World Natural Heritage site, and is a land where spring, summer, fall, and winter can be enjoyed.
Aomori is home to ski resorts such as Yaketsuyama Ski Resort, Shichinohe Ski Resort, and Owani Onsen Ski Resort, where you can enjoy both skiing and hot springs. There are also famous festivals, and the festivals held at Lake Towada, Hirosaki Castle, and Hachinohe are considered the three major winter festivals in Aomori Prefecture. The Snow Lantern Festival at Hirosaki Castle, where the castle tower and old pine trees are lit up to create a fantastic scene, will be held 38 times in 2014. The festival at Lake Towada is a popular festival where visitors can enjoy winter fireworks and scenery covered in snow and ice. Hachinohe Enburi in Hachinohe is one of the five major snow festivals in Michinoku, where visitors can enjoy folk entertainment.
Aomori is also home to many hot springs, such as Aoni Onsen, Asamushi Onsenkyo, Sangayu Onsen, Towadako Onsenkyo, Onyu Onsen, Shimoburo Onsenkyo, Michinoku Fukasawa Onsen, Itadome Onsen, and Momosawa Onsen, where you can enjoy hot springs in the winter scenery.
Winter is not the only season for sightseeing in Aomori Prefecture. Hirosaki Castle, where the Snow Lantern Festival is held in winter, is also famous for its cherry blossoms and attracts many tourists during the cherry blossom season. Summer in northern Japan may not seem like the most popular time to visit, but Hirosaki City Apple Park offers a variety of events where visitors can enjoy the experience of apple harvesting. Aomori also has beaches such as Ajigasawa Beach, where you can enjoy the northern summer to the fullest.
Aomori Prefecture is also known for its food. Aomori's abundant marine products can be enjoyed raw, and typical Aomori winter dishes that warm the body from the inside out, such as jappa-jiru (cod stewed with vegetables and seasoned with salt and miso), and keno-jiru, a local Tsugaru dish of vegetables such as radish, carrot, burdock, deep-fried tofu, and frozen tofu stewed in miso, are also a pleasure to enjoy on a trip to Aomori Prefecture. Aomori Prefecture is also famous for its B-class gourmet food. Aomori is also rich in B-class gourmet foods, such as Hachinohe Towada bara-yaki (bara-yaki), scallops with miso paste, and more.
After Hirosaki Castle was abandoned, the ruins of the castle were opened as a park in 1895.Cherry trees have been planted there since 1903, and today, with approximately 2,600 cherry trees, Hirosaki Park is famous for its flowers. Because of its location in the northern Tohoku region, the cherry blossom season is relatively late, and the best time to view the blossoms generally coincides with Gol...»
The Shirakami Sanchi is the collective name for the mountains stretching from Akita to Aomori Prefectures. This natural treasure trove was registered as Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site (Natural Heritage) in 1993, along with Yakushima Island. The pristine natural beech forests, untouched by humans, are among the largest in the world. The beech forest was formed around 8,000 years ago dur...»
Hirosaki Castle is a flat mountain castle located 50 meters above sea level in the Tsugaru Plain.During the Edo period (1603-1867), the castle was the seat of the Tsugaru clan of the Hirosaki domain, which held 47,000 koku of land, making it the political and economic center of the Tsugaru region. The entire castle, including moats, stonewalls, and earthen mounds, remains in its original form as ...»
Aoike is one of the "Twelve Lakes," a group of lakes and marshes of various sizes in the Shirakami Mountains, and is surrounded by mountains over 1,000 meters high. The surface of the water shines a brilliant cobalt blue, reflecting the surrounding trees like a mirror, creating a fantastic atmosphere. The pond, with a surface area of 975 square meters and a depth of 9 meters, is formed by a mixt...»
Located in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, the Oirase Keiryu is the only river (Oirase River) that flows out of Lake Towada. The 14-km stretch from Lake Towada's Konoro to Yakeyama is known as the Oirase Keiryu and is a scenic spot throughout the four seasons with its beauty of ever-changing streams. There is a walking trail along the stream, and a number of waterfalls are scattered along the s...»
According to temple legend, Ennin, a priest of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, visited this area and built a temple and enshrined Jizoson in 862. Osorezan is famous as one of the three most sacred places in Japan, along with Mount Hieizan and Mount Koya.Osorezan is believed to be a place where the spirits of the dead gather. During the Osorezan Grand Festival, a shrine maiden called an itako (a kin...»
The wooden triple-tiered drum bridges, which are designed to resemble dancing cranes, connect the two shores of Lake Tsugaru-Fujimi. The reflection of Tsugaru Fuji on the lake surface and the arched bridges are beautiful....»
The Twelve Lakes is the collective name for a group of 33 lakes and marshes located in the Shirakami Mountains, which are also included in the Tsugaru National Park. The Shirakami Sanchi is a region of mountains over 1,000 meters high, and is home to a variety of lakes and marshes, large and small. The area is home to a pristine natural beech forest that has been largely untouched by humans, and...»
Mount Osorezan is the collective name for the mountains surrounding Lake Uzori, a caldera lake, and Mount Kamagari, an 878-meter-high active volcano. The Osorezan Bodaiji Temple is located on the shores of Lake Uzoriyama and is believed to be a place where the souls of the dead gather. The area around the "hell" of Osorezan is filled with volcanic gas (sulfurous acid gas), which emits a sulfurou...»
Hakkoda, which rises to the south of Aomori City, consists of 10 mountains and is characterized by a series of six peaks called Minami-Hakkoda, including Kushigamine. Rivers, beautiful valleys, and waterfalls spread out in all directions, and wetlands and alpine flora can also be enjoyed. Hakkouda, which shows its charming seasonal expressions from June with its fresh green foliage, October with...»
This summer festival held in Aomori City is known as one of the three major festivals in the Tohoku region. The festival has a long history and is designated as a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset. The festival is held from August 2 to 7 and attracts more than 2 million tourists every year. The festival begins with the Asamushi Onsen Fireworks Festival on the 1st and the eve of th...»
Strange white-green rocks and huge rocks stand like Buddha along the coast for more than 2 km.Each of the odd-shaped rocks is named after the image of the Pure Land, such as "Buddha's Head," "Five Hundred Arhats," "Gokuraku Beach," etc. The rocks were erupted from an undersea volcano 15 million years ago. They were formed 15 million years ago when volcanic ash erupted from an undersea volcano, wh...»
Located in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, Lake Towada is the core of Towada tourism.It is a double caldera lake with a surface elevation of 400 meters. It is believed to have been formed by the eruption and sinking of the Towada Volcano.It is 327 m deep at its deepest point, 44 km in circumference, and 61.02 km2 in area. The geological strata created by crustal movement form cliffs surroundin...»
Kabu-shima Shrine is located at the top of Kabu-shima Island, which is designated as a national natural monument as a breeding ground for petrels. The shrine is dedicated to Benzaiten, a god of prosperity and fishing safety, and has long been worshipped by the local people.The shrine was completely destroyed by fire in 2015. It was rebuilt in 2020 after about 5 years of construction. In mid-May,...»
Omazaki is the northernmost cape in Honshu. On a clear day, the coast of Hokkaido from Mt. Hakodate to Cape Keizan stretches out before one's eyes across the Tsugaru Straits. A stone monument stands on the cape, which reads "This is the northernmost point of Honshu." The area has been extensively developed as a park, and is lined with souvenir stores and restaurants....»
Osorezan Onsen is a sacred spring that springs within the precincts of Entsuji Temple.The spring erupted during the excavation of the Osorezan Mine (sulfur mine) that existed from the Meiji Period to the early Showa Period. Osorezan is an active volcano, and the precincts of Entsuji Temple are a famous geothermal and fumarolic area.The area is filled with volcanic gases and emits a sulfuric odor....»
Hakkoda is a sightseeing spot where visitors can enjoy various seasonal attractions such as alpine wetlands, alpine flora, trekking, autumn leaf peeping, skiing, and tree ice-watching. Hakkoda (Hakkoda mountain range) offers a panoramic view of beautiful natural scenery, including fresh greenery in spring, alpine flora in summer, autumn leaves in fall, and tree ice in winter. Weather permitting,...»
The Asamushi Aquarium is the northernmost large-scale aquarium in Honshu, and houses and exhibits 8,000 aquatic organisms of about 300 species. Within walking distance from Asamushi Onsen Station, the aquarium is popular mainly among onsen guests. Take a powerful undersea walk in the undersea tunnel! The 15-meter-long undersea tunnel is a powerful sight! The tunnel represents the "sea of Mutsu ...»
The building, with its white exterior walls and uneven architecture, towers over a vast expanse of land. The modern and delicate design reflects the inspiration of the neighboring "Sannai-Maruyama Ruins. The ground is geometrically incised in a unique fusion of Jomon period and modernity. The entrance is lined with trees emitting blue light, symbolizing Aomori. The meticulous attention to detail ...»
The Sannai-Maruyama Site is one of the largest Jomon settlements in Japan and has been designated as a Special Historic Site by the national government. excavations since 1992 have uncovered a series of traces of life in the area, including the remains of pit houses, graves, and storage pits from that period, and nearly 2,000 items have been designated as Important Cultural Properties. The ruins ...»
As a symbol of Aomori, the city of the sea, the Hakkouda Maru marks 80 years of history of the Seikan Liaison Ship. The yellow hull of the ship evokes memories of the days when the ship connected Honshu and Hokkaido by sea, even after the opening of the Seikan Tunnel. The Hakkouda Maru, which carried many passengers and cargo from 1908 to 1988, was preserved and became a monument after the disco...»
Seibien was created by Seito Morimi in the Meiji era (1868-1912), and is highly regarded as one of the best gardens of the Oishi Bugaku school, with a pond and dry landscape garden. The garden, which spreads over a vast area of 3,600 tsubo (1.2 hectares), was created over a period of nine years starting in 1902. Designated as a national place of scenic beauty, it is known as one of the three bes...»