Aomori

Etymology

The Hirosaki Domain first established a port settlement with the name Aomori (青森) in 1624. The name Aomori (青森) is composed of the components ao (青) "blue", "green", and mori (森) "forest", "woods", and can be literally translated as "green forest". The name most likely originates from a small forest on a hill that existed nearby, which is said to have been used by fishermen as a landmark.

History

Pre-Tokugawa Period

The area has been settled extensively since prehistoric times, and numerous Jōmon period sites have been found by archaeologists, the most famous being the Sannai-Maruyama Site located just southwest of the city center dating to 5500–4000 BC, and the Komakino Site slightly farther south dating to around 4000 BC. The large scale of these settlements revolutionized theories on Jōmon period civilization.

Later history

During the Heian period, the area was part of the holdings of the Northern Fujiwara clan, but remained inhabited by the Emishi people well into the historic period. After the fall of the Northern Fujiwara in the Kamakura period, the territory was part of the domain assigned to the Nambu clan, and into the Sengoku period, it came under the control of the rival Tsugaru clan, whose main castle was located in Namioka. After the start of the Edo period, what would become the core of present-day Aomori was a minor port settlement in the Hirosaki Domain called Utō (善知鳥村, Utō-mura).

The town was rebuilt in 1626 under orders of the daimyō, Tsugaru Nobuhira 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 of 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 feudal domains were abolished and replaced with prefectures, 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 began operations of a ferry service from Aomori to Hakodate in Hokkaido from 1872. In September 1891, Aomori was connected with Tokyo by rail with the opening of the Tōhoku Main Line. The Ōu Main Line running along the Sea of Japan 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, which officially opened in 1908. The 8th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army 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.

Geography

Aomori is located in central Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost prefecture of Honshu. It is located in the northeastern part of the Tsugaru region, which refers to the western half of the prefecture, and is centered on Aomori Plain, facing Aomori Bay, a branch bay of Mutsu Bay, to the north, and the Hakkōda and Higashidake Mountains, which are the northern end of the Ōu Mountains to the south to the east. Among other smaller rivers, the city has two large rivers flowing through it, the Komagome River and its tributary, the Arakawa River. Parts of the city in the southeast are within the borders of Towada-Hachimantai National Park and is a tourist destination throughout the four seasons. In the northeast is Asamushi-Natsudomari Prefectural Natural Park. There are many hot springs in the city, including Sukayu Onsen at the foot of Mt. Hakkōda and Asamushi Onsen on the coast.

Surrounding municipalities

Aomori Prefecture

Fujisaki

Goshogawara

Hirakawa

Hiranai

Itayanagi

Kuroishi

Shichinohe

Towada

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 (Köppen Dfa) closely bordering the humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) using the 0.0 °C (32.0 °F) isotherm with both January and February monthly averages being too cold to be of the latter, characterized by warm, short summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Aomori is 10.7 °C (51.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,285 mm (50.6 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.5 °C (74.3 °F), and lowest in January, at around −2.1 °C (28.2 °F).

Aomori and the surrounding areas are known for having the heaviest snowfall in the world. In 2016, AccuWeather ranked Aomori City as the snowiest city in the world. In February 1945, the city recorded a maximum snow cover of 209 cm (82 in), but the record low of −24.7 °C (−12 °F) was recorded 14 years earlier. In contrast, Sapporo's heaviest snowfall which occurred in 1939 was 164 cm (65 in), and Wakkanai 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 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 are often observed in mountainous areas in the summer. Due to this fog, flights to Aomori Airport 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.

Government

Aomori has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral 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 in the national Diet of Japan, which also includes the city of Mutsu, the Higashitsugaru District, the Shimokita District, and the northern half of the Kamikita District.

Economy

Aomori serves as the regional commercial center for central Aomori Prefecture. Agriculture and commercial fishing form only 4% of the city economy, with manufacturing forming 16.2% and the service sector forming 78.2%.

Education

Aomori is the only prefectural capital in Japan which has no 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.

Transportation

Airport

Aomori 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 Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo. There are also international flights to Seoul and Taipei.

Odate–Noshiro Airport - is located quite far from the city centre as it was located in Northern Akita Prefecture. It is solely used by All Nippon Airways service to Tokyo as the airline did not served the Tokyo-Aomori route.

Railways

Aomori Station has been the main station of the city since 1891. The two trunk lines of the Tōhoku region, the Tōhoku Main Line (now the Aoimori Railway) and the Ōu Main Line, terminated at Aomori Station and continued to Hakodate by the Seikan Ferry. 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 Shin-Aomori, Hachinohe, Morioka, Sendai and Tokyo.

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – Tōhoku Shinkansen

Shin-Aomori

JR East – Ōu Main Line

Aomori - Shin-Aomori - Tsugaru-Shinjō - Tsurugasaka - Daishaka - Namioka

JR East – Tsugaru Line

Aomori - Aburakawa - Tsugaru-Miyata - Okunai - Hidariseki - Ushirogata - Nakasawa

Aoimori Railway Line

Aomori - Higashi-Aomori - Koyanagi - Yadamae - Nonai - Asamushi-Onsen

Highways

Tōhoku Expressway – Namioka Interchange – Aomori Interchange

Aomori Expressway – Aomori Interchange – Aomori-chūō Interchange – Aomori-higashi Interchange

Michinoku Toll Road

Tsugaru Expressway – Namioka Interchange

National Route 4

National Route 7

Aomori Belt Highway

Aomori West Bypass

National Route 45 (unsigned)

National Route 101

National Route 103

National Route 280

National Route 394

Seaports

Port of Aomori – The Seikan Ferry and Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry operates ferries to Hakodate. 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.

Sports

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

Sports facilities

Aomori City Baseball Stadium, otherwise known as Gappo Park Stadium

Aomori Stadium

Aomori Velodrome

Sports teams

ReinMeer Aomori

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,Aoimori Central Park, and Nogiwa Park.

Local attractions

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is a famous 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. Besides this, major attractions of Aomori include ruins, museums, and mountains. The Hakkōda Mountains 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

Komakino Site, 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

Sannai-Maruyama Site, a Special National Historic Site

Seiryū-ji

Shinmachi Street

Sukayu Onsen

Takayashikidate Site, a National Historic Site

Uramachi Shinmeigū

Sister cities

Hakodate, 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

Noriko Awaya, singer

Takaharu Furukawa, archer

Takanori Hatakeyama, boxer

Yuji Hayami, science-fiction writer

Shigeru Izumiya, entertainer

Ibuki Kido, voice actress

Yaho Kitabatake, children's fiction writer

Ichirō Kojima, photographer

Daimaou Kosaka, comedian

Daisuke Matsuzaka, baseball player

Keizo Miura, skier

Yuichiro Miura, skier

Shiko Munakata, woodblock artist

Kodai Naraoka, badminton player

Ren Narita, wrestler

Hitoshi Saito, judoka

Kyoichi Sawada, photographer

Yoshie Shiratori, fugitive and four-time prison escapee

Akimitsu Takagi, crime fiction writer

Bushuyama Takashi, sumo wrestler

Kiyoshi Tanabe, professional boxer

Shūji Terayama, modern artist

Takanosato Toshihide, sumo wrestler