is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

, in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of . Aomori is one of Japan's 60

core cities The Core Cities Group (also Core Cities UK) is a self-selected and self-financed collaborative advocacy group of large regional cities in the United Kingdom outside Greater London. The group was formed in 1995 and serves as a partnership of el ...

and the core of the Aomori metropolitan area.

History

''Aomori'' literally means blue forest, although it could possibly be translated as "

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

forest". The name is generally considered to refer to a small forest on a hill which existed near the town. This forest was often used by fishermen as a landmark. A different theory suggests the name might have been derived from the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu, is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isolate ...

. The area has been settled extensively since prehistoric times, and numerous

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

sites have been found by archaeologists, the most famous being the

Sannai-Maruyama Site The is an archaeological site and museum located in the Maruyama and Yasuta neighborhoods to the southwest of central Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan, containing the ruins of a very large Jōmon period settlement. The ruins of a s ...

located just southwest of the city center dating to 5500–4000 BC, and the

Komakino Site The is an archaeological site located in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan containing the ruins of a late Jōmon period (approx. 2000 – 1500 BC) settlement. The remains were designated a National H ...

slightly farther south dating to around 4000 BC. The large scale of these settlements revolutionized theories on Jōmon period civilization. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, the area was part of the holdings of the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

clan, but remained inhabited by the

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

people well into the historic period. After the fall of the Northern Fujiwara in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, the territory was part of the domain assigned to the

Nambu clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai P ...

, and into the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, it came under the control of the rival

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, Ku ...

, whose main castle was located in Namioka. After the start of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, what would become the core of present-day Aomori was a minor port settlement in the

Hirosaki Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū ...

called . The town was rebuilt in 1626 under orders of the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'',

Tsugaru Nobuhira was the second ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, Japan (modern-day Aomori Prefecture). His courtesy title was '' Etchū-no-kami,'' and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. Biography Tsugaru ...

and renamed "Aomori", but this name did not come into common use until after 1783; however, the historical accuracy of this claim is debated since there is no written material from the time to definitively connect Utō to Aomori. Some evidence even claims that Aomori and Utō co-existed in different parts the city in its current state. It was not until 1909 that a local scholar claimed that the village of Utō became Aomori. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the feudal domains were abolished and replaced with

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, of which a total of six were initially created in the territory of modern Aomori Prefecture. These were merged into the short-lived Hirosaki Prefecture in July 1871. However, due to the historic enmity between the former Tsugaru territories in the west and the former Nambu territories in the east, the prefectural capital was relocated from Hirosaki to the more centrally-located Aomori immediately after the merger and the prefecture was renamed Aomori Prefecture on 23 September 1871. However, the municipality of Aomori was not given town status within Higashitsugaru District until 1 April 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was later designated as a city on 1 April 1898. The

Hokkaidō Colonization Office is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

began operations of a ferry service from Aomori to

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

in Hokkaido from 1872. In September 1891, Aomori was connected with

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

by rail with the opening of the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

. The

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1992, the Fukushima–Yamag ...

running along the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

coast opened in December 1894. The development of modern Aomori was primarily due to its prefectural capital status and the singular importance as the terminus of these rail lines and the

Seikan Ferry The is a privately owned ferry service crossing the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. The company, , was founded in 1973 and runs between the cities of Aomori on the northern tip of Honshu and Hakoda ...

, which officially opened in 1908. The

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

were stationed in Aomori from 1896. In the winter of 1902, 199 of 210 soldiers on a military cold-weather readiness exercise perished while attempting to cross the Hakkōda Mountains from Aomori to Towada in what was later called the

Hakkōda Mountains incident The occurred on January 23, 1902, when a group of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers became lost in a blizzard on the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori Prefecture in northern Honshu, Japan, en route to Tashiro Hot Spring located in the Hakkōda Mountain ...

. Much of the town burned down in a large fire on 3 May 1910. The port facilities were expanded in 1924, and the city received its first

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

services in 1926.

Japan Air Transport was the national airline of the Empire of Japan from 1928 to 1938. History Commercial aviation began in Japan with the privately held Japan Air Transport Institute, which pioneered passenger service between Sakai, Osaka and Tokushima on Shikok ...

began scheduled air services from 1937. Towards the final stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, on the night of 28–29 July 1945, Aomori was subject to an air raid as part of the

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

campaign waged by the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign. The 28–29 July bombing claimed 1,767 lives and destroyed 88% of the city. In the post-war period, Aomori was rebuilt as the local political and commercial center. The

Tsugaru Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aomori Station and Minmaya Station on the Tsugaru Peninsula in western Aomori Prefecture. The section of the line between Aomori Station and Naka-Oguni Stat ...

railway opened between Aomori Station and Kanita Station in 1951.

Aomori Airport is an international airport located south southwest of Aomori Station in Aomori, the capital city of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. The airport has international service within East Asia in addition to several domestic routes and serve ...

was opened in 1964 in nearby Namioka. The city was connected to Tokyo by highway in 1979 with the opening of the

Tōhoku Expressway The is a south-north national expressway, and the longest expressway in Japan at . Its southern terminus is in Kawaguchi, Saitama in the Greater Tokyo Area, at the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Kawaguchi Route near Araijuku Station, and its no ...

. Construction began on a new airport within the city of Aomori in 1982. Aomori's landmark pyramidal

Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center The is a skyscraper located in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main i ...

opened in 1986. The new airport was completed on 19 July 1987. On 1 October 2002, Aomori was proclaimed a

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

, granting it an increased level of local autonomy. On 1 April 2005, Aomori absorbed the town of Namioka to create the new and expanded city of Aomori; but lost a portion of Namioka to the town of Fujisaki (from Minamitsugaru District) on 1 September 2007.

Etymology

The original name of the Aomori was Utō, named for the , a seabird that is closely related to the

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

. In 1626 the name was presumed to have been changed to , though this change was not fully embraced until 1783.

Geography

Aomori is located in central Aomori Prefecture, on a plain between the southern end of

Aomori Bay The is a bay located north of the island of Honshu, in Japan. It is considered to be part of the larger Mutsu Bay. Geography Aomori Bay is an inner bay located to the west of Natsudomari Peninsula that protrudes in the center of the southern coa ...

, which it faces to the north and the

Hakkōda Mountains The are an active volcanic complex in south-central Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Often called or simply , the mountains are collectively listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Its highest peak, ...

to the south. Among other smaller rivers, the city has two large rivers flowing through it, the

Komagome River is a river in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It begins in the northern Hakkōda Mountains and flows into Aomori Bay at Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,9 ...

and its tributary, the Arakawa River.

Surrounding municipalities

** Fujisaki **

Goshogawara is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 53,576 in 25,568 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Goshogawara occupies two discontinuo ...

** Hirakawa **

Hiranai ( ain, ピラナィ, piranay) is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 10,460 in 4,860 households, and a population density of 48 persons per km². It i ...

** Itayanagi ** Kuroishi **

Shichinohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,286, and a population density of 45 persons per km2, in 6,797 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Shichinohe is in central Aomori Pref ...

Towada is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...

** Yomogita

Climate

Like most of the Tōhoku region, Aomori has a humid temperate climate with warm summers, and cold, though not extreme, winters. The city has a cold,

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Dfa'') characterized by warm, short summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Aomori is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Aomori and its surrounding area are renowned for heavy snowfall, the heaviest among all Japanese cities, and, in fact, among the heaviest in the world. In February 1945, the city recorded a maximum snow cover of , but the extreme low of was recorded 14 years earlier. In contrast,

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

's heaviest snowfall which occurred in 1939 was , and

Wakkanai ' meaning "cold water river" is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen. As of ...

which is located further north has recorded similar maxima. The particularly heavy snow is caused by several winds that collide around the city and make the air rise and cool, resulting in quick, thick cloud formation followed by intense

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. In summer, a cool wind called "Yamase" often blows from the east, which sometimes results in abnormally cool weather and poor harvests. Additionally, thick fogs from the

Oyashio Current , also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean an ...

are often observed in mountainous areas in the summer. Due to this fog, flights to

are often cancelled.

Demographics

A person living in or from Aomori is referred to as an Aomorian. Per Japanese census data, the population of Aomori has remained relatively steady over the past 40 years.

Economy

Aomori serves as the regional commercial center for central Aomori Prefecture. Agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

form only 4% of the city economy, with

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

forming 16.2% and the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

forming 78.2%.

Government

Aomori has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 35 members. The city also contributes 10 members of the 48 member Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city falls within the Aomori 1st district, a single-member constituency of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the national

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

, which also includes the city of Mutsu, Aomori, Mutsu, the Higashitsugaru District, the Shimokita District, Aomori, Shimokita District, and the northern half of the Kamikita District, Aomori, Kamikita District.

Transportation

Airport

- (established in 1964 with international flights from 1995) is about a 35-minute drive from the city center, with a bus service available. There are daily flights to Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Itami Airport, Osaka, Nagoya Airfield, Nagoya and New Chitose Airport, Sapporo. There are also international flights to Incheon Airport, Seoul–Incheon and Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Tianjin.

Railways

Aomori Station has been the main station of the city since 1891. The two trunk lines of the Tōhoku region, the

(now the Aoimori Railway) and the

, terminated at Aomori Station and continued to Hakodate by the

. In 1988, Seikan Tunnel replaced the ferry's role as the connector of Honshu and Hokkaido's rail networks, but the station still functioned as the connecting point between main line trains and trains for the Aomori-Hakodate section. The Tōhoku Shinkansen opened in 2010 with a new terminal at Shin-Aomori Station. The Shinkansen provides high-speed service between , , , and . * JR logo (east)

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – Tōhoku Shinkansen (opened 4 December 2010) ** Station in the city: * JR logo (east)

JR East –

** Stations in the city: , , , , , * JR logo (east)

JR East –

** Stations in the city: Aomori, , , , , , * Aoimori Logo

Aoimori Railway Line ** Stations in the city: Aomori, , , , ,

Highways

* – Namioka Interchange – Aomori Interchange * – Aomori Interchange – Aomori-chūō Interchange – Aomori-higashi Interchange * * – Namioka Interchange * * ** Aomori Belt Highway ** Aomori West Bypass * (unsigned) * * * *

Seaports

*Port of Aomori – The

and Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry operates ferries to

. It takes about four hours to go by ferry from Aomori to Hakodate. From 1908 to 1988 the ferry served as the primary transport between the island of Honshū and the northern island of Hokkaido. In March 1988, the Seikan Tunnel opened up, traveling under the Tsugaru Strait, this quickly replaced the slow-moving ferry as the primary transportation between the two islands.

Education

Aomori is the only prefectural capital in Japan which has no List of national universities in Japan, national university, instead, nearby Hirosaki became the site for the prefecture's highest educational facility. The city has 45 public elementary schools and 19 public junior high schools operated by the city government, as well as two private junior high schools. The city has 10 public high schools operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education and three private high schools. The prefecture also operates eight special education schools for the handicapped.

Universities and colleges

*Aomori Public University *Aomori University of Health and Welfare *Aomori University *Aomori Chuo Gakuin University *Aomori Akenohoshi Junior College *Aomori Chuo Junior College

High schools

*Aomori Prefectural Aomori High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Chūō High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Higashi High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Kita High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Hokuto High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Kōgyō High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Minami High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Nishi High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Shōgyō High School *Aomori Prefectural Aomori Toyama High School *Aomori Akenohoshi High School *Aomori Yamada High School *Tōō Gakuen High School

Junior high schools

*Aburakawa Junior High School *Arakawa Junior High School *Asamushi Junior High School *Furukawa Junior High School *Higashi Junior High School *Kita Junior High School *Koda Junior High School *Minami junior High School *Namioka Junior High School *Namiuchi Junior High School *Nishi Junior High School *Okidate Junior High School *Sannai Junior High School *Shinjo Junior High School *Takada Junior High School *Toyama Junior High School *Tsukuda Junior High School *Tsukurimichi Junior High School *Tsutsui Junior High School *Uramachi Junior High School *Yokouchi Junior High School

Sports

Aomori has hosted several international curling events, two in 2003 (including the 2003 Asian Winter Games, Asian Winter Games), and the local women's "Team Aomori" was selected to represent Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy
/sup> and at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From 17 to 25 March 2007, Aomori hosted the World Women's Curling Championships
/sup>.

Sports facilities

*Aomori City Baseball Stadium, otherwise known as Gappo Park Stadium *Aomori Stadium *Aomori Velodrome

Parks and recreation

Gappo Park is Aomori's oldest public park and its most iconic green space. Located to the east of the center of the city, it contains a public beach, water gardens, various ornamental trees, and the Aomori City Baseball Stadium. Other parks in the city include the centrally-located Aoimori Park and Aoimori Central Park.

Local attractions

file:Tohoku epco n1.jpg, A float from Aomori's Nebuta Festival file:HakkodaStatue2.jpg, The Memorial Statue of the Hakkoda Death March portrays Fusanosuke Gotō Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is a famous Japanese festivals, festival performed from 2–7 August annually and is listed as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment (Japan), Ministry of the Environment. Besides this, major attractions of Aomori include ruins, museums, and mountains. The

have good locations for trekking with hot spas (''onsen''), such as Sukayu Onsen. * Aomori Bay Bridge * Aomori City Forestry Museum * Aomori City History and Folk Arts Museum * Aomori Museum of Art * Aomori Prefectural Museum * Asamushi Aquarium * Asamushi Onsen *

, a National Historic Site * Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art * Namioka Castle ruins, A National Historic Site * Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse * Ōmori Katsuyama Site, a National Historic Site *

, a Special National Historic Site * Seiryū-ji * Shinmachi Street * Sukayu Onsen * Takayashikidate Site, a National Historic Site * Uramachi Shinmeigū

Sister city relations

* –

, Hokkaido – since 1989. Aomori and Hakodate share a "twin cities" relationship referred to as the "Seikan Economic and Cultural Area". * – Kecskemét, Bács-Kiskun County, Hungary – since August 1994 * – Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea – since 1995 * – Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China – since December 2004 * – Hsinchu County, Taiwan – friendship city since October 2014

Notable people from Aomori

*Noriko Awaya, singer *Takaharu Furukawa, archer *Takanori Hatakeyama, professional boxer *Yuji Hayami, science-fiction writer *Shigeru Izumiya, entertainer *Yaho Kitabatake, children's fiction writer *Ichirō Kojima, photographer *Ibuki Kido, voice actress *Daimaou Kosaka, comedian *Daisuke Matsuzaka, Baseball player *Keizo Miura, skier *Yuichiro Miura, skier *Shiko Munakata, woodblock artist *Ren Narita, professional wrestler *Hitoshi Saito, judoka *Kyoichi Sawada, photographer *Akimitsu Takagi, crime fiction writer *Bushūyama Takashi, Bushuyama Takashi, sumo wrestler *Kiyoshi Tanabe, professional boxer *Shūji Terayama, modern artist *Takanosato Toshihide, sumo wrestler *Daigo Umehara, professional fighting game player *Ryushi Yanagisawa, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist *Akiko Yano, singer-songwriter

References

External links

* {{Authority control Aomori (city), Cities in Aomori Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Aomori metropolitan area 1898 establishments in Japan