Aomori Prefecture Specialty Products, Souvenirs, Shrines and Temples, and Sightseeing | 47 Prefectures Guide

Aomori is one of the few prefectures with both a World Natural Heritage site and a World Cultural Heritage site and in food, one fruit accounts for 60% of Japan’s total.

Specialties

Apple harvest volume ranks first in Japan. About 60% of the national total comes from Aomori. Fuji, Orin, Tsugaru, Jonagold. The wide range of varieties also helps stagger harvest times for year-round shipping.

Why Aomori? Apples are said to color well in cool places with a large temperature difference between day and night A climate that does not become too hot in summer became the condition for a production region.

In the early Meiji period, saplings introduced by the government were distributed to various regions, but they took root in cold areas. A climate that seemed disadvantageous became an industry in itself.

Garlic is also among the top in Japan. In Mutsu Bay, scallops are known for suspended aquaculture.

Souvenirs

It is natural that apple processed products are central. They are heavy to transport fresh, but lighter once processed. Souvenirs are usually made according to this logic.

Nanbu senbei are simple sweets made by baking wheat flour in round molds. Originally a preserved food, they are still found in the form of senbei-jiru soup where the crackers are broken into soup.

Shrines and Temples

Osorezan Bodaiji Temple (Mutsu City) is counted as one of Japan’s three great sacred sites, alongside Mount Hiei and Mount Koya among them.

What makes Mount Osore special is that it has been regarded as “a mountain where the souls of the dead gather” this. Rocky ground venting sulfur sits beside the quiet Lake Usori. It is a place where people tried to see hell and paradise within a single landscape. It is also known for the itako spirit mediums who call up the dead, but this is not a temple event; it is a form of folk belief that gathers around the time of the grand festival.

Iwakiyama Shrine (Hirosaki City) is A shrine that worships Mount Iwaki and has its inner sanctuary on the summit This is a form we have seen many times in this series: the mountain itself as the object of worship. The annual “Oyama Sankei” pilgrimage is a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Sightseeing

Shirakami-Sanchi was In 1993, it was one of the first places in Japan to be registered as a World Natural Heritage site. It is. What was recognized was not the scenery, but the fact that vast areas of nearly untouched primeval beech forest remain.

Sannai Maruyama Site was registered as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2021 as part of the “Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan.” the remains of a large settlement that continued for about 1,700 years from around 5,900 years ago in total.

The Aomori Nebuta Festival is held every year in early August. It is a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The best season for Oirase Gorge is autumn.

Traditional Crafts

Aomori Prefecture has Tsugaru-nuri lacquerware of only 1 item. However, the process includes more than forty steps, and completion takes several months.

For details, see 【VILLAGE Report vol.46】Only 1 Item, Yet 48 Steps

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References: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries "Crop Statistics Survey," Aomori Prefecture, Ministry of the Environment, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Osorezan Bodaiji Temple, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village Editorial Team