Aomori and Around: Jomon Villages, Beech Forests and the Tip of Honshu
At the northern end of Honshu, Aomori holds a Jomon-era settlement, the world's largest virgin beech forest, a sacred volcanic peninsula and a slow-moving local railway.
Aomori sits at the northern tip of Honshu, the last mainland stop on the bullet train before Hokkaido, and was once the main port for ferries to Hakodate. The Japan National Tourism Organization describes it as one of the most comfortable cities in Japan, facing both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific, with mountains, valleys, lakes and coastline that allow outdoor activities all year: snow for alpine sports in winter, trekking and cycling in warmer months.
In the city, the Aomori Museum of Art holds modern work by local and international artists, including pieces by Marc Chagall and Paul Klee, and is built mostly underground to echo the archaeological trenches next to it. Those trenches belong to the Sannai-Maruyama Site, a settlement of the Jomon period, which JNTO places roughly between 15,000 and 2,400 years ago. Its restored structures include a building with pillars sunk into the ground, a large pit dwelling and a warehouse with a raised floor. The Aomori Museum of History displays a collection of 67 traditional wooden fishing boats, and the Nebuta House Wa Rasse museum, open all year, covers the history of the festival.
Food is simple and seafood-led. The Aomori Gyosai Center, also known as the Furukawa Fish Market, is the city’s best-known seafood market, on Mutsu Bay, and nokkedon, a rice bowl topped with seafood of your choice, is the dish JNTO recommends.
Further afield, the Shirakami Mountains are a World Heritage site covering the world’s largest virgin beech forest, with the Juniko Lakes, including the cobalt-blue pond Aoike, as well as Nihon Canyon and Anmon Falls. The Sanriku Fukko National Park stretches about 220 kilometres from Hachinohe to Kessennuma in Miyagi, known for jagged rocks, bays and cliffs.
The Shimokita Peninsula, shaped like an axe head, includes Mount Osore, a sulphur-scented, desolate site that JNTO calls one of the three most sacred places in Japan, with the pebble-filled riverbed of Sai no Kawara and the vivid caldera lake of Gokurakuhama. The Tsugaru Peninsula is the birthplace of the Tsugaru shamisen, with Cape Tappizaki at its windy northern tip and Mount Iwaki, the Fuji of Tsugaru, for hikers. The slow Tsugaru Railway crosses its southern part, with wind bells in summer, baskets of bell crickets in autumn and stoves in winter.
The JR Tohoku Shinkansen runs from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori, and Japan Airlines flies between Haneda and Aomori Airport. Check the official sites for current timetables and opening times.
Sources
Japan National Tourism Organization, Aomori City and Around.
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