Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru

メモリアル・シップ 八甲田丸

The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru, located in Mutsu Bay near Aomori Station in Aomori is Japan's first railroad ferry museum.

From 1966 until 1988 the Hakkoda Maru transported trains 113km from Aomori in Honshu to Hakodate in Hokkaido. The opening of the Seikan Tunnel linking the two towns made this journey redundant and the ship was transformed into a floating museum dedicated to the history of the historic crossing.

The Seikan Ferry crossing between Aomori and Hokkaido had been in operation since 1908, with the first train ferry going into service in 1924. In 1954, five ferries including the Toya Maru were sunk in the Tsugaru Strait by Typhoon Marie, with over 1,400 deaths.

On display are models of other Japanese ships, uniforms of the crew, historic documents and panel displays showing how the trains were loaded onto the ship.

The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru also offers a full bar and restaurant service and the rear of the ship serves as a beer garden in summer.

The Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru is a short walk from Aomori Station under Aomori Bay Bridge.

Other attractions in Aomori include the reproduction of Showa-era food stalls at Yatai Mura, the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum, the Aomori Contemporary Art Center, A-Factory, ASPAM, Wa-Rasse, Aomori Machinaka Baths and the fish market in the basement of the AUGA department store.

Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru (Official site in Japanese)
112-15 Yanagawa
Aomori
Tel: 017 735 8150
Hours: 9am-7pm; 9am-5pm November-March
Admission: 500 yen
Memorial Ship Hakkoda Maru map

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Aomori Contemporary Art Center

国際芸術センター青森（ACAC）

The Aomori Contemporary Art Center (ACAC) south of Aomori city is located on the grounds of Aomori Public College.

The Aomori Contemporary Art Center was designed by self-trained architect Tadao Ando, whose prolific CV includes the Suntory Museum in Osaka, Omotesando Hills in Tokyo and the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum on Naoshima Island in the Inland Sea.

The Aomori Contemporary Art Center's circular exhibition hall is surrounded by a graceful water feature and set in a pleasant natural environment. There are also various studios and workshops for woodwork, printing, AV and photography on site, plus a residential hall and lounge.

ACAC showcases both contemporary Japanese and foreign art and includes an Artist in Residence Program (AIR) for both Japanese and foreign artists.

2011's summer exhibition "Re-Modernologio" included works by Tomii Motohiro, Niwa Yoshinori, Asakai Yoko and Romanian visual artist Pal Peter.

The Aomori Contemporary Art Center can be reached in 40 minutes by a JR bus or Aomori city bus from Aomori Station.

Aomori Contemporary Art Center
152-6 Yamazaki Goshizawa
Aomori
Tel: 017 764 5200
Hours: 9am-7pm daily
Admission: Free
Aomori Contemporary Art Center map

Anamorphosis 3, the sculpture you walk on by Pal Peter

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Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum

青森県立郷土館

Prefectural museums in Japan are not always guaranteed to excite but the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum in Aomori is an exception and well worth a visit for its broad sweep of Tohoku culture from the Jomon Period to the present day.

The Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum is housed in a grand 1930s building that was previously a bank. The museum itself opened in 1973 and its several floors have exhibition rooms dedicated to a variety of subjects as well as occasional special exhibitions - such as the comic cut-outs of people sleeping off too much sake at cherry blossom time (see image below).

The Archeology Exhibit has some fantastic earthenware and clay figures from the Jomon Period sites around Sannai-Maruyama, just west of Aomori city and the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum is an important reference for anyone interested in this early period of Japanese history.

Aomori's nature is covered with dioramas and taxidermy exhibits and the nature Exhibit includes a model of the Aomori Elephant or Naumann Elephant, named after the fiery German geologist Heinrich Edmund Naumann (1854-1927), who spent a decade teaching and researching in Japan in the 1870s and 1880s.

The History Exhibit covers Aomori's history from the Nara Period onward including the history of the powerful Edo era Tsugaru and Nanbu clans, the Hakkoda-san Incident of 1902 and World War II. Original photographs, uniforms and newspapers help recreate 1940s Aomori, which was heavily bombed by the US air force.

The Folk Customs Exhibit displays agricultural implements, clothes and a number of oshira - pillar like household gods unique to the Tohoku area.

Other exhibits include an Apple Exhibit dedicated to Aomori's agricultural mainstay - apples, a Personal Experience Room, very much with school children in mind, where visitors can play with various exhibits, the Pioneers of Aomori Exhibit dedicated to such Aomori alumni as writer Osamu Dazai (1909-1948), Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer Kyouichi Sawada (1936-1970) and singer Noriko Awaya (1907-1999) and the "Refined" Collection Exhibit, over 11,000 pieces donated by a local doctor.

The Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum is one block south of Yatai Mura and about a 15 minute walk from Aomori Station.

Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum
Honmachi 2-8-14
Aomori
030-0802
Tel: 017 777 1585
Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum map

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Sanfuri Yokocho

さんふり横丁,青森

Aomori in the far north of Japan has a well-deserved reputation for the excellence of its local food.

Sanfuri Yokocho (Yataimura) in the east of the city is a recreation of intimate Showa-style food stalls offering a few seats (8-12) around a counter presided over by a mama. The 15 stalls are arranged in an alley covered with paper lanterns. Sanfuri Yokocho opened in 2005 and is open in the evenings.

Diners can try some of Aomori's excellent sashimi (raw fish), kaiyaki miso (pictured above), and oden washed down with a glass or two of local sake or beer.

Yatai Mura is north of Amenity Street, one block north of the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum.

Yatai Mura
Honmachi 3-8-3
Aomori
030-0802
Tel: 017 745 4242
Map of Yatai Mura

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