Aomori

I will start off by saying that I am feeling much better.

I started to get sick in my last few days of in Sapporo and subsequently due to that and the horrible weather, I spent my two days in Hakodate lying in bed and wondering when this thing known as the ‘common cold’ would finally kill me.

Turns out colds don’t kill; they just severely ruin travel plans. So I rested in Hakodate, got some Japanese pills, brought a pack of face masks and spent two nights in bed watching, twilight?? Right!? I must have been dying.. And then I got my sorry butt out of bed and caught the Shinkansen under the water through the Seikan Tunnel to Aomori, located at the Northern tip of Honshu Island.

But of course, because something always has to be going on, my left wisdom tooth has decided to start coming through once again, so that’s fun..

It’s windy here, and it’s snowing and the two don’t really go well together. And the snow has gone from something magical to, where the fuck is the sun!? but I suppose I am still enjoying myself.

I’ve never realised how much I need good old fashion conversation, until I don’t have it. The last two places I’ve stayed (being Hakodate and Aomori) have been in hotels and that certainly limits one’s ability to meet people… Consequently I’ve been keeping up with the Australian news on youtube every day, just so I can have something familiar around me. Which in its self is a little depressing, but it helps.

Aomori it’s self seems old, very much like Hakodate in the sense that it is vastly different to Sapporo. Of course Aomori has a population of around 290,000 people and Hakodate has a population of around 270,000 people, they dwindle in comparison to Sapporo’s 1.9million population. And while Neither Hakodate or Aomori are huge places, I have found that some popular attractions are hard to get to, needing a car which I do not have.

So yesterday I woke up at 8:30am after a pretty decent night sleep (my hotel room in Hakodate was wayyyyy too bright) But it had a nice view and a deep bath, my Aomori hotel has no view and a smaller but just as deep bath. And I waited until the snow once again stopped and took a stroll outside. Aomori doesn’t have big malls or underground walk ways like Sapporo, so when it snows, you’re in it. And when it rains, you’re in it. When it’s sunny… well it’s never sunny.

So I trudged my way down the street, Aomori’s main shopping street is ‘Shinmanchi Street’. Pedestrian street lined with antique shops, restaurants and souvenirs. This is the street I constantly walked down to get from my hotel to the station. Great for window shopping, but for me, nothing I wanted to buy.

Next to the train station is the Nebuta Warasee, a museum dedicated to the, Nebuta Matsuri which is a type of Tanabata related Summer Festival that is held in Aomori from the 2nd-7th of August ever year. This is a festival where giant floats are made out of painted Washi paper which is arranged over wire frames. These usually take about a year to complete.

Five of the floats from the festival the year before are kept on display in the museum for visitors to look at. It is paid entry into the actual exhibition space, something which I did not do. But you are free to walk upstairs and have a look around without paying.

Next I went to the A-FACTORY, which is right across the street from the museum. This is a great place for visitors to sample local produce, mostly centred on apples. Everything from dried apples, to gelato is ready for the tasting, as well as a glass wall which allows visitors to see into the cinder factory.

There are also a few cafes, one of which I tried. Ocean’s Diner, where I got a burger and fries and the tiniest amount of tomato sauce they could manage. Which I think was a good thing, because, it didn’t taste like the tomato sauce I know, way too sweet…

I made my way to Asamushi Aquarium, after missing my first train. Unlike in Sapporo, trains don’t come so often here and I had to wait over an hour for the next one. But all was fine as I got myself a slice of pizza and sat down to wait. I made it onto the next train.. just.. and took the twenty minute train ride to Asamushi. It was a ten minute walk from the station to the aquarium and it was along a snowed over road. On one side were the train tracks and on the other it seemed to be a highway. I had to end up crossing the tracks as I followed tire marks up a hill and alas I was here.

The aquarium it’s self is quite small, though I was expecting nothing grand. The lady at the front desk was nice and gave me a brochure in English which is always appreciated, and I was on my way.

The aquarium had, penguins, three types of seals and two types of dolphins. Plus other underwater animals. I managed to catch a penguin feeding, where they seemed less interested in the fish and more in the person talking. And a dolphin show, which is always interesting to watch. Made me think of Tilikum though.. hmm. Over all it was a good visit, except for the turtles, I think that seven large turtles should not be put in a tank together.

I caught the train back to Aomori, along with all the high school kids, which was an experience and then grabbed a sandwich and some apple cream cheese bun (because when in Aomori) and headed back to my hotel.

(No photos of aquarium or surrounds at the moment as my phone's being stupid..)

I’m off to Sendai tomorrow, so you’ll hear from me soon.

Until Next Time,

ごきげんよう!