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, the Higashitsugaru District, the Shimokita District, and the northern half of the 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

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

and

. There are also international flights to Seoul–Incheon and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

Railways

Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The station has been operating since September 1891, though the most recent station building, which consists of three island platforms connected to the station building by a ...

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

(now the

Aoimori Railway The is a regional rail line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan that is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company. It connects the terminal station of the Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Metoki Station, in the town of Sannohe to Aomori Station, the terminus ...

) and the

, terminated at Aomori Station and continued to Hakodate by the

. In 1988,

Seikan Tunnel The Seikan Tunnel ( ja, 青函トンネル, or , ), is a dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern isla ...

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 The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main is ...

opened in 2010 with a new terminal at

Shin-Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Lines Shin-Aomori Station is the northern terminus of the Ōu Main Li ...

. The Shinkansen provides high-speed service between , , , and . * JR logo (east)

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) –

(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 The is a regional rail line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan that is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company. It connects the terminal station of the Iwate Galaxy Railway Line, Metoki Station, in the town of Sannohe to Aomori Station, the termi ...

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

Highways

* – Namioka Interchange –

Aomori Interchange The is the northern terminus of the Tōhoku Expressway as well as the western terminus of the Aomori Expressway, a two-lane national expressway in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. The ...

* –

–

Aomori-chūō Interchange The is a tolled single-point urban interchange along the Aomori Expressway in Aomori, Japan. It is the closest expressway interchange to the center of that city. The interchange is owned, tolled, and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. ...

–

Aomori-higashi Interchange The is the eastern terminus of the Aomori Expressway, a two-lane national expressway in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. There is no toll gate at the interchange; drivers pay to use the ...

* * – Namioka Interchange * * **

Aomori Belt Highway The Aomori Belt Highway (青森環状道路 ''Aomori Kanjō-dōro'') is a major highway located entirely in the city of Aomori in northern Japan. Signed as National Route 7, it is a bypass that travels to the south of the central district of the ...

Aomori West Bypass The Aomori West Bypass (青森西バイパス Aomori Nishi Bypass) is a major highway located entirely in the city of Aomori in northern Japan. The highway main function is to link the western part of the city to its center. Signed as National Ro ...

* (unsigned) * * * *

Seaports

Port of Aomori A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

– The

and

Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry The is a privately owned ferry service crossing the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Hokkaido from Honshu. The ferries run two routes: Hakodate to Aomori and Hakodate to Ōma. Routes Hakodate—Aomori This route links the Port of Hakodate i ...

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 , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

and the northern island of Hokkaido. In March 1988, the

opened up, traveling under the

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles (1 ...

, 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

national university A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

, 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 is a public university in the city of Aomori, Aomori, Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The school was established in 1993 as Aomori Public College. The English name for the university has changed since 2013. Faculty Faculty of Management an ...

* Aomori University of Health and Welfare *

Aomori University is a private university located in the city of Aomori, 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 ...

Aomori Chuo Gakuin University is a private university in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1946 as a junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educat ...

* Aomori Akenohoshi Junior College *

Aomori Chuo Junior College is a private junior college located in the city of Aomori, Japan. Originally a women's college, it became coeducational in April 1974. Departments * Department of Food Nutrition * Department of Early Education * Department Nursing * Department ...

High schools

Aomori Prefectural Aomori High School is a high school in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Originally a junior high school named , the school was established on September 11, 1900. Aomori Prefectural First Junior High School in Hirosaki and Aomori Prefectural Second Ju ...

*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 Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

events, two in 2003 (including the

Asian Winter Games The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter v ...

), and the local women's "

Team Aomori The Aomori Curling Club is a curling club in Aomori, Japan. It is best known as being the home of , a women's curling team that won six Japanese Curling Championships (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010) and represented Japan at four World Curli ...

" was selected to represent Japan at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy
/sup> and at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada. From 17 to 25 March 2007, Aomori hosted the World Women's Curling Championships
/sup>.

Sports facilities

Aomori City Baseball Stadium is a stadium in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The stadium holds 10,010 people. The stadium was built in 1950 and was repaired in 2000. On June 28, 1950, Hideo Fujimoto pitched a perfect game at the stadium. The stadium is not regularly use ...

, otherwise known as Gappo Park Stadium *

Aomori Stadium was an athletic stadium in Aomori, Aomori, 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 Jap ...

Aomori Velodrome , also known as Jomon Bank Aomori Velodrome, is a velodrome located in Aomori City that conducts pari-mutuel Keirin racing - one of Japan's four authorized where gambling is permitted. Its Keirin identification number for betting purposes is 12# ...

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 Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes also house waterfowl, or orn ...

, various ornamental trees, and the

. Other parks in the city include the centrally-located

Aoimori Park is a urban park in the central district of Aomori Prefecture's capital city, Aomori in northern Japan. Acting as an urban green space in the city's dense administrative district, it features various themed landscapes. It has been maintained by t ...

and Aoimori Central Park.

Local attractions

A float from Aomori's Nebuta Festival The Memorial Statue of the Hakkoda Death March portrays Fusanosuke Gotō

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri The is a Japanese summer festival that takes place in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan in early August. The festival attracts the most tourists of any of the country's nebuta festivals, and is counted among the three largest festivals in the Tōh ...

is a famous

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

performed from 2–7 August annually and is listed as one of the

100 Soundscapes of Japan In 1996, as part of its efforts to combat noise pollution and to protect and promote protection of the environment, the Ministry of the Environment designated the . There were 738 submissions received from all over the country and the 100 "best" we ...

by the Japanese 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 In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

''), such as

Sukayu Onsen is an ''onsen'' (hot spring) in the Hakkōda Mountains in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture in Japan. It is known for its "Sen-nin-buro" or "1,000-person bath", a large mixed gender public bath. Climate Sukayu Onsen is the snowiest inhabit ...

. *

Aomori Bay Bridge The is a cable-stayed bridge in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It was constructed in order to alleviate cargo ship traffic. It is a very notable part of Aomori's skyline. Details The Aomori Bay Bridge is the longest bridge in the city ...

* Aomori City Forestry Museum *

Aomori City History and Folk Arts Museum is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

Aomori Museum of Art The is a museum in Aomori, Japan, opened in July 2006. It is located near Sannai-Maruyama Site, which the museum's design takes inspiration from in its partially-buried structure. The museum houses more than 120 works from drawings to three-dimen ...

Aomori Prefectural Museum The is a museum located in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The museum has a collection of artifacts from the Jōmon Period, as well as exhibits detailing Aomori's culture and history. The museum opened in 1973. See also *List of Important Ta ...

Asamushi Aquarium also called Aquarium Asamushi, is an aquarium in the Asamushi area of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Overlooking Mutsu Bay, it is the northernmost aquarium in Honshū. It is also the largest general aquarium in the Tōhoku region. It kee ...

Asamushi Onsen is the site of a hot spring, on the eastern edge of the city of Aomori (city), Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It was developed as the downtown beside the onsen town and is sometimes known as "Atami in Tohoku" after the famous Atami Onsen in ...

, a National Historic Site *

Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art The is a museum 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 island, ...

Namioka Castle was a Muromachi period Japanese castle located in what is now the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. The ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1940 by the Japanese government. Situation N ...

ruins, A National Historic Site *

Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse The is a city-owned museum near Aomori Station in the city of Aomori in northern Japan. It displays a revolving exhibit of four Nebuta floats from the most recent Aomori Nebuta Matsuri summer festival, alongside media related to the festiva ...

* Ōmori Katsuyama Site, a National Historic Site *

, a Special National Historic Site * Seiryū-ji *

Shinmachi Street is the main shōtengai, or shopping street in central Aomori, Japan. Along the street are local department stores Lovina (adjacent to Aomori Station), Nakasan, and Sakurano as well as many smaller shops and restaurants. The street is one of many ...

* Takayashikidate Site, a National Historic Site *

Uramachi Shinmeigū Uramachi Shinmeigū (浦町神明宮, ''Uramachi Shinmeigū'') is a Shinto shrine located in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It enshrines three major kami: Amaterasu (天照大神), Omiyanome no kami (大宮能賣神), and Sarutahiko Ōkami (� ...

Sister city relations

* –

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

– since 1989. Aomori and Hakodate share a "

twin cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

" relationship referred to as the "Seikan Economic and Cultural Area". * –

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third ...

Bács-Kiskun County Bács-Kiskun ( hu, Bács-Kiskun megye, ) is a county (''megye'' in Hungarian) located in southern Hungary. It was created as a result of World War II, merging the prewar Bács-Bodrog and the southern parts of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun counties. Wit ...

, Hungary – since August 1994 * –

Pyeongtaek Pyeongtaek () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 940, during the Goryeo dynasty. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, South Korea – since 1995 * –

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, People's Republic of China – since December 2004 * –

Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, where ...

, Taiwan – friendship city since October 2014

Notable people from Aomori

Noriko Awaya was a Japanese female soprano chanteuse and popular music (''ryūkōka'') singer. She was dubbed the "Queen of Blues" in Japan. Life and career Awaya was born as in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. She was the oldest daughter of a wealthy ...

, singer *

Takaharu Furukawa is an archery athlete from Japan, competing in both individual and team archery events. He competed in the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the 2006 All-Japan National Champion, Archery career Furukawa began his archery car ...

, archer *

Takanori Hatakeyama is a former Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2001. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA super-featherweight title from 1998 to 1999 and the WBA lightweight title from 2001 and 2001. Pe ...

, professional boxer *

Yuji Hayami is a Japanese science fiction and fantasy writer.Saki Fukuda stars in "Maid Deka" drama
2009, access ...

, science-fiction writer *

Shigeru Izumiya Shigeru Izumiya (泉谷しげる ''Izumiya Shigeru'', born May 11, 1948 in Aomori, raised in Meguro, Tokyo) is a Japanese poet, folk singer, actor, tarento. He established the record company For Life Records with Takuro Yoshida, Yosui Inoue, and ...

, entertainer *

Yaho Kitabatake was a poet and children's literature writer in Shōwa period Japan. Early life Kitabatake Yao was born in Aomori city, Aomori Prefecture as the sixth of ten children. She began writing in high school and won a number of awards for short articles ...

, 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