Aomori, Japan: Nebuta Lantern Floats, Apple Country, and Towada's Caldera

Warasse Nebuta Museum, directly adjacent to the cruise port, houses several full-size Nebuta floats year-round. The floats are papier-mâché constructions over wire frames, painted in bold primary colors and backlit from within — they represent heroes from Japanese mythology, folk stories, and history, and the largest ones are ten meters long and six meters tall. The museum explains the construction process and the cultural context of the festival. If you arrive in August during the festival period, the streets outside the museum come alive for several nights; ships calling during festival week are extremely popular.

Towada-Hachimantai National Park, about one hundred kilometers from Aomori, contains Lake Towada — a caldera lake at 400 meters elevation, surrounded by beech forest. The lake is large enough that the far shore disappears in haze; the water is clear and cold. Oirase Gorge, downstream from the lake, is a 14-km walk through a beech forest alongside a clear mountain stream with multiple waterfalls. The autumn foliage here in October is among the most photographed in northern Japan.

Aomori produces roughly half of Japan's apple crop, and the range in local markets goes well beyond what most visitors expect. Over a hundred varieties are grown in the prefecture; the shop adjacent to the Nebuta Museum sells the local specialty apples as well as apple juice, apple vinegar, and apple pastries. The A-Factory, a market and cidery near the cruise terminal, is the most convenient stop for local food products.

The Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site, located between the port and central Aomori, is the largest known Jomon period settlement in Japan — a 35-hectare site occupied continuously from around 3900 to 2200 BCE. The reconstructed longhouses and tower structures are on open ground; the museum houses the thousands of artifacts excavated here, including clay figurines and lacquered combs. This is underrated as a historical site: the Jomon people were here for two thousand years, and the evidence of their culture is extensive.

Fresh seafood in Aomori centers on the local hotate (scallops), which come from the cold, clean waters of Mutsu Bay. The morning market (Furukawa Ichiba) near the station sells them grilled on the half shell from 5:00 AM.