What are some of the best things to do in Aomori Prefecture? Located at the northern tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, Aomori is surrounded by beautiful seas on three sides and covered in large swathes of forests. The changing scenery as the seasons come and go makes the area an especially inviting tourist destination.
As one of the largest producers of agricultural products and seafood in Japan, there's plenty of gourmet choices within the prefecture too. On top of that, there are historically rich castles and towns, and traditional festivals dating back to the Nara period from over a thousand years ago; there's just so much waiting to be discovered in Aomori.
With scenery, food, and culture to enjoy, we'll be introducing the ten best things to do in Aomori as recommended by locals.
In Aomori Prefecture, the food and scenery are shaped by the seasons
When speaking of Aomori, images of frosty winters and heavy snow probably come to mind. There’s more than just winter though; the transition between Aomori’s seasons can be clearly felt, from the cherry blossoms in spring, lush greenery in summer, red foliage in autumn, and of course, snow in winter, allowing you to feel the beauty of nature right by your side.
With such a considerable variation in temperature throughout the seasons, many crops and seafood produced from Aomori are especially sweet and tasty as they store fat and sugars to survive the harsh conditions, resulting in exceptionally high-quality food products.
From foods that you’ll never get to taste anywhere else, to scenery that you’ll miss in the blink of an eye, new adventures, discoveries, and other things to do in Aomori are waiting for you.
1. See Japan’s world-famous cherry blossoms at Hirosaki
Hirosaki Park is one of the three top cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan, and visitors flock here from all over the world to see them.
It boasts a vast number of flowers, as the pruning from apple trees, which are cultivated in Aomori, are used as part of the specially formulated fertilizer for the cherry blossoms.
It is, of course, a given that you have to see the fluffy and voluminous flowers, but be sure not to miss the sight of the flower petals flowing down the moat too, a view known as "hanaikada" or "flower rug," as it blankets the water surface in a carpet of pink.
Besides these, you can see weeping cherry blossoms around Hirosaki Castle, along with Japan's oldest Yoshino cherry tree, the sakura tunnel along the west of the moat, and even a cherry blossom light-up. With so many sights to…
