Aomori abounds with tourism resources—Japan’s summer fire festival, or “Nebuta”; the largest scale of Jomon period archaeological site at “Sannai-maruyama” remains; the drastic and varied seasonal changes of Mt. Hakkōda and Lake Towada. Additionally, Aomori Port is adjacent to central Aomori city, within walking distance to Aomori station. Aomori can easily be enjoyed on foot or by car, shopping and strolling through the city or taking a daytrip outside of it.
Hirosaki Castle—the capital of the Tsugaru domain in the feudal era—is now familiar as one of the best parks in Japan for cherry blossom viewing. Approximately 2,600 cherry blossom trees bloom in all their glory, filling the whole park in a shade of pink and white. The harmony of cherry blossoms in contrast with the castle’s keep, gates, and moat raise a certain affective beauty which is quite special.
The representative of Japanese summer fire festivals. Using Chinese and Japanese stories and Kabuki plays as fodder, artists create enormous wax-paper, lantern floats by molding wood and wire into the figure of people and creatures such as horses and tigers, fitting and pasting the paper over the model. After lighting the lamps inside, drums and flute play valiantly as the lantern floats are paraded throughout the city. Around 2,000 people called haneto dance wildly in competition around each Nebuta float. Once the sweat starts to pour from the fierce movement, even spectators get carried away and pulled into the ring of excitement.
Aomori is known around Japan as its apple cultivation capital. You can relish many fresh varieties depending on the season, including Fuji, world-renowned Golden Delicious, Tsugaru Gala, and Sekai-ichi (World’s Best)—a hybrid between red and golden delicious. In addition to the distinguishing sweetness and juiciness, apple-inspired sweets are also very popular.
Scallops raised in Mutsu Bay are characterized by their thickness, tantalizing sweetness, and rich body of flavor. They are the king of Aomori’s seafood and match well with Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine.
During the later years of the Edo period, Tsugaru farmers invented kogin-sashi　as a way to fortify coarse hemp to make it warmer and more durable. From these humble beginnings, kogin embroidery has been widely used in recent years to make bookmarks, wallets, bags, and many other cloth items. The characteristic diamond shapes form the basis of kogin embroidery, a beautiful expression of geometry.
An object is coated in lacquer, dried, and whetted repeatedly. The result is a durable and beautifully refined lacquerware formerly called “Japan ware”. These products have been designated national traditional crafts. The most common products are bowls, chopsticks, and other daily wares. Hirosaki city is the main area of production.