Aomori | Travel Guide | Nebuta Festival, Jomon Heritage and Hakkoda

Aomori sits at the northern tip of Honshu, on a bay facing Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait. For much of the year it is a quiet port city, known for apples, scallops and heavy snow. For six nights in early August, it explodes into life as giant illuminated floats of warriors, gods and demons roll through the streets, surrounded by thousands of dancers.

The Nebuta Festival is the city's signature, but there is much more. Just outside the centre lies Sannai-Maruyama, one of the largest prehistoric settlements in Japan. Next to it stands a striking white art museum with works by Yoshitomo Nara and Marc Chagall. On the waterfront, a museum displays full-size Nebuta floats all year.

Beyond the city, the Hakkoda mountains, Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada offer some of the finest scenery in northern Japan. This guide covers the city, its food, its festival and its surroundings. Prices and dates sit in our yearly Japan update post, so this page stays reliable.

Nebuta floats are paper sculptures lit from inside, paraded through the city in August.

Sannai-Maruyama was one of the largest Jomon settlements in Japan.

Why Aomori Matters

People have lived in the region for thousands of years. During the Jomon period, which lasted more than ten thousand years, hunter-gatherers built large villages here and made distinctive pottery and figurines. The northern Tohoku region holds some of the most important Jomon sites in Japan.

The cold seas and forests provided fish, shellfish, nuts and game. Settlements could stay in one place for centuries, which was unusual for hunter-gatherers.

In the Edo period, the area was ruled by the Tsugaru and Nanbu clans. The port of Aomori was developed in the seventeenth century and grew as a link between Honshu and Hokkaido.

Rivalry between the two clans shaped the region's culture, and differences in dialect and traditions remain between the western Tsugaru area and the eastern Nanbu area.

In 1871, Aomori became the capital of the new prefecture. Ferries to Hakodate, including train ferries, made it a gateway to Hokkaido for nearly a century. The Seikan Tunnel, opened in 1988, replaced the ferries for rail traffic.

The city was heavily bombed in 1945 and rebuilt afterwards. In 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen reached Shin-Aomori station, cutting travel time to Tokyo to about three hours. Today, about two hundred and seventy thousand people live in the city.

Wide streets and a modern centre replaced the old wooden town. The waterfront was later redeveloped with museums, shops and parks.

Aomori at a Glance

Getting There and Around

The Tohoku Shinkansen reaches Shin-Aomori station from Tokyo in about three hours on the fastest Hayabusa trains. From there, local trains reach the central station in about five minutes. The Japan Rail Pass and JR East passes cover the route.

The Shinkansen continues through the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaido. Ferries also cross to Hakodate from Aomori port in about four hours, carrying cars and passengers.

Aomori Airport, about forty minutes south of the city by bus, has flights from Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo and some international routes.

Buses also run from the airport to Hirosaki, making it easy to visit both cities.

The city centre around Aomori Station is walkable. The waterfront, the Nebuta Museum and the fish market are close to the station. Buses run to Sannai-Maruyama and the art museum. A loop bus runs between sights in some seasons.

A rental car or seasonal buses are needed for Hakkoda, Oirase and Lake Towada. JR buses run to the mountains in season.

The Nebuta Festival

The Aomori Nebuta Festival takes place from 2 to 7 August each year. It is one of the largest festivals in Japan, drawing millions of visitors.

Nebuta are huge floats made of washi paper stretched over wire frames and painted in bright colours. They depict warriors, gods, demons and figures from history and legend. Lit from inside, they glow against the night sky. Some are several metres high and wide.

Master builders called nebutashi design and build the floats over many months. Each float takes about three months to construct and is judged during the festival.

Each float is pulled through the streets by teams, while drummers, flute players and cymbal players create a pounding rhythm. Around the floats, dancers called haneto leap and shout. Anyone who wears the haneto costume can join the dancing, and costumes can be rented or bought in the city.

The chant of the dancers, rassera, rassera, fills the air. The energy is infectious, and spectators often end up joining in.

On the final day, the floats are paraded in the afternoon and some are taken onto boats in the bay, followed by a fireworks display.

The prize-winning floats sail on boats across the bay, lit up against the fireworks. It is a dramatic finale.

Accommodation fills up months in advance. Many visitors stay in nearby towns or in Hirosaki and travel in. Paid seating along the route is available.

Book as early as possible. Some visitors travel in from Hachinohe or Morioka by Shinkansen and return late at night.

Nebuta Museum WA RASSE

The Nebuta Museum WA RASSE, on the waterfront next to the station, displays several of the previous year's prize-winning floats. Visitors can walk among them and see the detail up close.

Its name comes from the haneto chant. The building is wrapped in red steel ribbons, inspired by the festival's energy.

Exhibits explain the history of the festival and how nebuta are made. Performances of festival music let visitors try the drums and dance.

Visitors can touch the paper of some floats and see the frames from inside. A workshop lets children make small nebuta.

The museum's striking red building is a landmark. Allow about an hour.

Sannai-Maruyama and the Jomon Heritage

Sannai-Maruyama is a Jomon settlement that was occupied from about 5,900 to 4,200 years ago. It is one of the largest Jomon sites in Japan. Excavations from the 1990s revealed large buildings, pit dwellings, burial areas and mounds of discarded pottery.

Archaeologists believe hundreds of people may have lived here at its peak. The size of the settlement changed understanding of Jomon society.

The most famous structure is a building supported by six huge chestnut wood pillars. A reconstruction stands on the site. Reconstructed houses and a long building show how people lived.

The original pillar holes were about two metres wide and the same depth, with parts of the wooden pillars preserved. The purpose of the structure is still debated, from a watchtower to a ceremonial site.

The Jomon Jiyukan museum displays pottery, figurines, tools and other finds. Some objects are designated Important Cultural Properties.

A large flat clay figurine, sometimes called the board-shaped dogu, is a highlight. Jomon pottery is decorated with rope patterns, which give the period its name.

In 2021, Sannai-Maruyama became part of the World Heritage listing for the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan. The listing includes seventeen sites across Hokkaido and northern Tohoku.

Admission to the outdoor site has been free, while the museum charges a fee. Allow at least two hours.

Volunteer guides offer free tours of the outdoor site, explaining each structure. Check whether English tours are available.

Aomori Museum of Art

The Aomori Museum of Art stands next to Sannai-Maruyama. Its white building, designed by Jun Aoki, is inspired by the excavation trenches of the site. Some galleries are dug into the ground.

The museum opened in 2006. Its white brick walls and the earth walls of the lower galleries create a strong contrast.

The museum's most famous work is Aomori-ken, a giant white dog sculpture by Yoshitomo Nara, who was born in Hirosaki. Several of Nara's works are in the collection.

The dog, about eight and a half metres tall, sits in a sunken courtyard and can be visited from a path outside the main galleries. Its gentle expression has made it a favourite.

The museum's central hall displays three huge backdrops painted by Marc Chagall for the ballet Aleko. A fourth backdrop is displayed in some periods. They fill the tall space with colour.

Chagall painted them in 1942 while in exile in Mexico. The prefecture acquired them, and the hall was designed to fit their size.

The museum also holds works by Munakata Shiko, a famous woodblock printmaker from the city.

His bold, expressive prints made him one of the most celebrated Japanese artists of the twentieth century. A separate memorial museum in the city is also dedicated to his work.

The Waterfront and Fish Market

The waterfront near the station has the Nebuta Museum, A-Factory, a market building selling cider and local products, and the Hakkoda Maru, a former train ferry turned museum.

A-Factory sells apple cider made on site, along with local food, sweets and crafts. Its glass-walled building looks out over the bay and the Aomori Bay Bridge.

The Hakkoda Maru carried passengers and railway carriages between Aomori and Hakodate. Visitors can explore its decks, cabins and the car deck where trains were loaded.

It served from 1964 until the Seikan Tunnel opened in 1988. The car deck still holds railway carriages, including a postal car.

The ASPAM building, a large triangle on the waterfront, has an observation deck and local product shops.

Furukawa Fish Market, near the station, offers Nokke-don, a seafood rice bowl you build yourself. Buy a set of tickets, buy a bowl of rice, then exchange tickets at stalls for toppings such as tuna, scallops, salmon and salmon roe.

The system makes it easy to try many kinds of seafood in small portions. Stalls are friendly, and staff help first-time visitors.

Aomori Food

Aomori produces over half of Japan's apples. Apple pies, juice, cider and sweets are everywhere. Autumn is apple harvest season, and orchards offer picking.

Most orchards are in the Tsugaru region around Hirosaki. Varieties include Fuji, Mutsu and Orin. Apples are often given as gifts in elegant boxes.

Scallops from Mutsu Bay are a speciality. They are grilled, served raw or cooked in miso on a scallop shell, a dish called kaiyaki miso.

Many izakaya serve scallops several ways in one meal, from sashimi to grilled and fried. Scallop-based snacks are sold as souvenirs.

The bay's calm, cold waters are ideal for scallop farming, and the industry is one of the largest in Japan.

Ginger miso oden, oden served with a ginger-flavoured miso sauce, is a local winter dish. It began as a way to warm ferry passengers.

Stalls and izakaya serve it in winter, and the sauce warms the body on cold nights.

Black garlic, aged until sweet, is produced in the prefecture. Tsugaru soba, made with soybean flour, is a local noodle.

It is soft rather than firm, with a gentle flavour, and is served in a light broth.

The prefecture grows most of Japan's garlic, and black garlic has become a popular health food and souvenir.

Sake from the prefecture is excellent, and craft cider has become popular.

Winter and Snow

Aomori is one of the snowiest cities in the world. Snowfall can total several metres in a season. Snow piles line the streets, and residents clear it constantly.

In some winters, more than eight metres of snow falls over the season. Yet the city keeps running, a testament to its snow-clearing systems and the resilience of its residents.

The city sits where cold winds from Siberia pick up moisture over the Sea of Japan and drop it as snow against the mountains.

Winter is beautiful but challenging. Wear boots with good grip and warm clothes. Transport can be disrupted.

Snow festivals, illuminations and hot springs make winter rewarding. The city's snow-clearing machines work through the night, and streets are usually passable.

Hakkoda Mountains

The Hakkoda mountains rise south of the city. A ropeway climbs to near the summit of Mount Tamoyachi, with views over the city and the bay.

The Hakkoda Ropeway runs year round, closing briefly for maintenance. In autumn, the cars rise above forests of red and gold.

The mountains are volcanic, with peaks over 1,500 metres. In summer, wetlands and alpine flowers cover the high plateaus.

In winter, trees on the slopes are coated in ice and snow, forming shapes called snow monsters. The mountains are famous for deep powder snow, and skiers come from around the world.

The snow monsters are at their best from January to early March. Guided snowshoe tours take visitors among them.

Sukayu Onsen, at the foot of the mountains, has a famous large bath called the Thousand-Person Bath. The wooden bathhouse has milky, acidic water.

The bath is traditionally mixed, but there are separate times and areas for women. Visitors should follow the posted rules and etiquette.

In 1902, an army training march in the Hakkoda mountains ended in tragedy when a blizzard struck. Most of the soldiers did not survive. A memorial and a museum tell the story.

The event became the subject of a famous novel and film. The memorial museum, near the mountain road, displays letters and equipment and explains the conditions the soldiers faced.

Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada

Oirase Gorge is a forested river valley with waterfalls and rapids. A walking trail of about fourteen kilometres follows the river from Nenokuchi on Lake Towada. Autumn colours are spectacular.

The trail is mostly flat and suitable for most walkers. Moss-covered rocks and clear water create a beautiful scene in every season.

Lake Towada is a large caldera lake surrounded by forest. Boat cruises cross the lake, and the Otome no Zo statue stands on its shore.

Its shoreline straddles Aomori and Akita prefectures. A lakeside town has hotels, restaurants and boat piers.

Buses run from Aomori to Lake Towada through the gorge in season.

The bus stops at several points along the gorge, so you can walk a section and catch the next bus.

A Day in the City

Start at Sannai-Maruyama in the morning, walking the site and visiting the museum. Then cross to the Aomori Museum of Art next door. Allow time for the Chagall hall and the Nara works.

Return to the centre by bus for lunch at Furukawa Fish Market, building your own seafood bowl. In the afternoon, visit the Nebuta Museum and the Hakkoda Maru on the waterfront.

End the day at the ASPAM observation deck or with a walk along the bay at sunset, followed by dinner of scallops and local sake.

Two Days and Beyond

On the second day, head into the mountains. Take the bus or drive to the Hakkoda Ropeway, then soak in the Thousand-Person Bath at Sukayu Onsen. In autumn, continue to Oirase Gorge for a riverside walk.

With three days, stay overnight at Lake Towada or in a mountain hot spring, then continue to Hirosaki for its castle and samurai district.

Other options include the Tsugaru Peninsula, Goshogawara's Tachineputa festival floats, and the hot spring town of Asamushi on the bay.

Hirosaki and the Tsugaru Region

Hirosaki, about forty-five minutes by train, is a castle town with one of the most beautiful cherry blossom displays in Japan. Its castle keep is original, and samurai houses and Western-style buildings line its streets.

Its Neputa festival, held at the same time as Nebuta, uses fan-shaped floats with paintings and a quieter, more solemn rhythm.

The Tsugaru region, west of the city, has its own dialect, music and crafts. Tsugaru shamisen, a powerful style of shamisen playing, comes from here. Live performances are held in restaurants in the city and in Hirosaki.

Goshogawara holds the Tachineputa festival, with towering floats over twenty metres tall. A museum displays them all year.

Osorezan and the Shimokita Peninsula

Osorezan, on the Shimokita Peninsula in the northeast of the prefecture, is a volcanic landscape sacred in Japanese Buddhism. It is considered one of Japan's three most sacred places. Barren grey rocks, sulphur vents and a bright blue lake create an otherworldly scene.

The temple at Osorezan is visited by people remembering the dead. Traditional mediums called itako hold sessions during festivals. Visitors should behave quietly and respectfully.

The peninsula is far from the city, about two to three hours by train or car. It is also known for wild monkeys, the northernmost in the world, and for its tuna fishing town of Oma.

Halal, Vegetarian and Dietary Needs

Seafood and apples are widely available. Muslim travellers should check sauces for mirin and stocks for pork. Vegetarian options include soba, apple dishes and vegetable tempura.

Shopping and Souvenirs

Apple products, from juice to sweets and cider, are the classic souvenirs. Nebuta-themed goods, Tsugaru lacquerware and kogin embroidery make good gifts.

Shops near the station sell apple pies from different bakeries, and many visitors buy several to compare.

Kogin is a traditional embroidery from the Tsugaru region, developed by farming families to strengthen and warm their clothing. Its geometric patterns are now used on bags, coasters and accessories.

Workshops in the city let visitors try kogin stitching and make small items to take home.

Seasons and Weather

Spring arrives late, with cherry blossoms in late April. Hirosaki's blossoms are the most famous in the region.

Summer is pleasant and mild, with the Nebuta Festival in early August. Mountain trails and Oirase Gorge are green and cool.

Daytime temperatures are comfortable, and humidity is lower than in southern Japan.

Autumn brings spectacular colours to Hakkoda, Oirase and Lake Towada, usually from October. Apple harvest runs through autumn.

Winter is long and very snowy, from December to March. Snow monsters form on Hakkoda, and hot springs are at their best.

Where to Stay

The station area is the most convenient base. Hot spring inns are found in Hakkoda and at Lake Towada.

Hotels near Aomori Station put the waterfront, the fish market and the Nebuta Museum within a few minutes' walk.

Safety

The city is safe. Check your government's advice for Japan.

Heavy snow and ice are the main hazards. Bears live in the mountains; follow local advice.