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'Aomori' (; ''Aomori-shi'') is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture (青森県; ''Aomori-ken''), the north end of Honshū. The city faces Mutsu Bay connecting Tsugaru Channel and the Hakkoda Mountains lie in the southern part of Aomori. It has the biggest seaport in the prefecture. Before Seikan Tunnel opened, Port Aomori served the city with train ferry to Hakodate in Hokkaidō, and therefore the main entrance of Honshū for passengers and cargo to and from Hokkaidō.
The city was officially founded on April 1, 1898. The town and port was however settled in 1626, in the early Edo period. Recently, the city merged with the former town of Namioka on April 1, 2005 to form the new city of Aomori.
''Aomori'' literally means blue (or green) woods. The name is generally considered to refer to a small forest which existed near the town, used by fishermen as a landmark. A different theory suggests the name might have been derived from the Ainu language.

Contents

History

Climate

Transportation

Sightseeing

Sport

Education

Sister cities

External links

History

The area has plenty of Jōmon period ruins, the most famous among them being Sannai Maruyama ruins located in the southwest of the city center, where the remains of a large wooden building was unearthed and revolutionalized Japanese archeology.
Before the early Edo period, Aomori was a small fishing village called Utō (善知鳥村; Utō-mura). It was settled as a seaport in 1612 by Moriyama Yashichirō, the Port Development Officer of Tsugaru han in the order of daimyō Tsugaru Nobuhira. The town name Aomori was given in that day. During the Edo period, the most important place in that area was Hirosaki, the capital of the Tsugaru han and Aomori served this area as a local seaport and trade center.
During the Meiji Restoration the han system was abolished and the prefecture system was established in July, 1871. Aomori became a part of Hirosaki prefecture, succeeding the area covered by the Tsugaru han. Due to a merger on September of that year, Hirosaki prefecture (encompassing the same area as present-day Aomori prefecture) was founded. The prefectural capital however, was moved from Hirosaki to Aomori soon after the merger and the prefecture was renamed to Aomori prefecture. Soon the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Imperial Army, and later in 1896 the 8th Division of the Japanese Imperial Army were stationed in Aomori.

In the winter of 1902, more than 200 soldiers died while trying to cross the Hakkoda Mountains during a military exercise. This exercise was a part of preparation for Russo-Japanese War and experiment of activities in severe winter environment. Today it is pointed out this failure was due to poor prepration and organisation and confusion of leadership; another party of exercise departed from Hirosaki and marched around Hakkoda Mountain counterclockwise successed in a similar exercise.
The development of the modern Aomori was due to its prefectural capital status and Seikan ferry which was run by the Ministry of Trains at the beginning and later Japanese National Railways as connection between Port Aomori and Port Hakodate in Hokkaidō, hence the main transport between Honshū and Hokkaidō from 1908 till 1988. Between Tokyo and Aomori, two trains lines were built: Ou Main Line connecting to Akita and Yamagata and Tohoku Main Line connecting to Morioka, Sendai and Fukushima. On the contrary Hirosaki has kept its cultural significance. Aomori is the sole prefectural capital which has no national university in Japan; in Aomori prefecture Hirosaki became the site for this educational facility.
In 1945 the city was bombed by United States Forces.

Climate

Snow and cold weather characterize the winter climate in Aomori. The city and surrounding area are renowned for heavy snowfall, which is said to be the heaviest among Japanese cities. For example, the city recorded a maximum snow cover of 196 cm in 1981. The current record for Sapporo is 164 cm, recorded in 1939. The particularly heavy snow is caused by several winds that collide around the city. This makes the air rise and cool, resulting in cloud formation and precipitation.
In summer, a cool wind called Yamase frequently blows from the east, which sometimes results in extremely cool weather and poor harvests. Additionally, thick fogs are often observed in mountainous areas in the summer. Due to this fog, flights to Aomori Airport are often canceled.

Transportation

Aomori International Airport (established 1964, international flights beginning 1995) is about a 30 minute drive from the city, with bus service available. There are flights to Tokyo, Itami (near Osaka), Chūbu International Airport (near Nagoya), Sapporo, Fukuoka and Seoul, South Korea (through Korean Air). In summer, flights to Russia (through Dalavia Far East Airways) are also available.
Aomori Station is located at the downtown, near the Aomori Port. The station is served by JR East as the northern terminus of the Tohoku and Ōu Main Lines. The Hokkaidō Railway Company also runs trains on the Tohoku Main Line track to Hachinohe, and owns the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line to the north which runs through the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaidō.
Seikan Ferry operates ferries to Hakodate. It takes about four hours to go by ferry from Aomori to Hakodate.

Sightseeing

Aomori Nebuta is a famous festival performed from August 2 to August 7 every year. Besides this, major attractions of Aomori include ruins, museums, and mountains. Hakkoda Mountains are good locations for trekking with hot spas. Aomori is also home to several hot spas (onsen), such as Asamushi and Sukayu.

★ Asupamu

★ Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art

★ Aomori City Forestry Museum

★ Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum

★ Aomori City History and Folk Arts Museum

★ Nebuta-no-sato Museum

Sport

Aomori has hosted two international curling events, both in 2003, and the local women's "Team Aomori" was selected to represent Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy ^[1]. From March 17 - 25, 2007, it will host the World Women's Curling Championships^[2].

Education

★ Aomori Akenohoshi Junior College

Sister cities

★ Hakodate, Hokkaidō Prefecture

★ Kecskemét, Hungary

★ Pyeongtaek, South Korea

External links

★ Official website in Japanese

★ Official website in English

★ The 5th Winter Asian Games AOMORI 2003

★ Sannai-Maruyama Site official website

★ Pictures of Aomori, Japan ( Aomori city, Aomori Bay Bridge )