The sixth place we visited on our trip was Aomori city. This city is located at the very top of Japan’s largest island, Honshu. The centre of the city has a large port, and of course that means seafood is very popular from this area. However, the most famous food of Aomori is the apple. We ate Aomori apples for breakfast and drank local apple juice during our visit, in order to really sample the produce. I enjoyed this more than average I’d say as it’s one of the only local specialties in Japan that I can eat (in comparison to Sendai’s delicacy, Zunda -crushed soy beans- which Sam sampled in the form of whippy ice cream and I just had to observe). The Aomori apples were super delicious, I will miss them for sure now we’re back in Tokyo.
Whilst in Aomori, we also visited the Jomon historical site. This period of time dates back from around 9000BC to 3000BC, so to say the site is old, feels like a major understatement. We enjoyed learning more about the era, seeing and smelling (because the natural fibres, like our bodies, were really baking in the heat,) the huts as well as exploring the area.
After the Jomon site we went to the Nebuta museum. Nebuta is a summer festival hosted in Aomori at the start of August every year. During the festival there are many drums and musicians that perform as large floats are paraded around the town. In the museum, we could see some of the floats from previous years, as well as watch musicians play and learn the traditional dances. When we closed our eyes, it really felt like we were stood in the middle of the festival already. It was magical.
That evening there was a music festival, to mark the weekend before the start of Nebuta. There were many popular singers that performed, and lots of food stalls in typical Japanese fashion. I’m some of the buildings surrounding the festival, there were some of the floats from this year’s festival being showcased. It was so exciting to get a sneak peak!
Later that night, once the singing performances were over, we had a late night walk down the coast, looking at the illuminated ships and watching the water lap up on the city’s beach. A peaceful end to a busy part of the holiday.
