Aomori

After checking out of my hotel I left my bags and went for a last little walk around before it was time to start catching trains. I just wandered around the side of town I hadn’t ventured to so far. I had about an hour so it was nice to go for a bit of morning stroll.

I arrived in Aomori and checked into my hotel and did my usual walk around. It was snowing but the street was a covered shopping strip and the area has quite a few Dogū up and down the street. I picked up some room snacks and headed back to my hotel for the rest of the day. I caught up on some work and chilled out a bit. I had booked myself into Aomori for the next 5 nights so that I could take my time exploring, have a bit of a rest, and just catch up on work.

The next day was mostly a work day but I took a break and headed over to the Nebuta Museum WA RASSE. This museum is a history of the Aomori Nebuta Festival which happens in August. There are floats on display that you can admire closely and I happened to time my visit perfectly well to get to join in on the music and dance festivities. I was introduced to the Hayashi music and also learnt and joined in on some of the Haneto dance moves. It was fun and I’m glad my timing worked out so well.

Afterwards I just went back to work at my hotel and had a chilled day as I had decided to do a day trip the next day. I had flagged Hirosaki Castle as somewhere I wanted to visit in Aomori prefecture. So I took myself there on Friday to check it out. There was so much snow and even the scenery on the train on the way there was great. Getting to see the Castle grounds all white was stunning. I am sure you’re starting to get sick of me gushing about the snow.

Walking through the Sakura Lane which was beautiful bare covered in snow, I could only imagine how magnificent it would be looking in a few months once the trees blossom. There is the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival that takes place at the end of April start of May. These grounds would be just a different type of magic to see in other seasons.

When I was done exploring the castle area I went and found somewhere to eat. The first place I went to had run out of lunch but were super friendly and helpful. They let me know about another vegan food joint, which I had also noticed on my maps but decided on this one first. Oh well. One woman who was friends of the no more food place spoke english and even offered to drive me to the other place. I declined and said I would walk, no worries. For one, she had a sleeping baby in her arms I didn’t need disturbed. The owner here did call the other place to check and let her know that I was coming in, which was lovely of her to do. I did pick up some biscuits from here though before I headed off to to grab some lunch.

After eating, I made my way back to the train station and returned to Aomori. For the rest of my time in Aomori I just worked and chilled out. On Saturday I went for a walk, checked out some shops and went out for food. Sunday I went and visited the Hirota-jinja Shrine. Then on Monday it was time for me to catch a bunch of trains and head to Yamanouchi.

I really enjoyed my few days in Aomori and just slowing down and catching up on work and bits.