aomori in 4 days

aomori in 4 days

Today we're heading north to Aomori with Japan Airlines If you plan to go to the further parts of Japan like Hokkaido or Okinawa, You can consider flying there to save time It takes 4 hours by train vs. 1.5 hours by plane We got through check-in and security quickly so we got a konbini snack! Boarding pass is a QR code for a smooth journey There's a plate of candy for passengers to take 😂 It's a full flight! See you later, Tokyo! Fall is finally landing in Japan, starting with Hokkaido and Aomori (Ps. There is free wifi for all passengers on JAL's domestic flights) Since it's a short flight, only beverages will be served I barely drank my soup and we're already descending 😂 That's how quick the flight is! First stop is to get our car! Tip: skip renting the ETC card in Aomori- we never ended up using it It's a lot cooler here than in Tokyo: How many apples do you see in this vlog? Contemplating if I should take one for the team and sit on the wet apple Can't wait to explore Aomori! The weather is quite temperamental It's blue sky but it's also raining at the same time Right now we're going to grab a few apple snacks and we're going
to hit the road and head to our hotel! A huge warehouse right across the Nebuta museum It's an apple-themed souvenir market Towels wrapped in the shape of an apple Apple jams Apple tea! Look! They have an apple Rubik's cube! Only the discerning eye: you have to know your apples There is an endless amount of apple juices, ciders and wines Even apple pizza Apple chips and apple sweets Going to pick up a couple of mini pies! How many apple pies will Sam eat on this trip? Stay tuned to find out! It'll take us a little over an hour to get to the hotel Got my first apple pie and my Tully's coffee! Got my Aomori apple juice! Large apple chunks! This one doesn't have much jelly as like the American ones do What is this road sign… Oh… This feels like the intro of a zombie apocalypse movie 😂 Actually quite nice! The autumn forecast for Aomori was supposed to be early November So I thought I would be able to take a nap all the way to the hotel- But I guess not anymore! Made a quick pitstop to enjoy the view Timelapsing since he can't take any pictures while driving Let's just do an "Aomori Driving 4K" vlog What the heck… Wa! The hotel is hidden deep inside a gorge This is the only hotel that's located right next to Oirase Gorge Let's check-in! Moss is a big theme at this hotel Mini magnifying glasses for you to use The lobby is definitely a showstopper The fireplace has a design of forest fairies, birds and mushrooms Designed by Taro Okamoto By the time this vlog comes out, all the leaves should've turned red and yellow! The weather is a little warmer at the hotel so the leaves haven't changed yet Pick-your-own-amenities This is the Superior Room A complimentary mini bar with nuts, drip coffee and chocolate And a fridge stocked with apple cider and tea Moving on to the bathroom: We have a view of the forest from the room: There's a big souvenir shop inside the hotel for gifts There's a second lounge called Keiryu-BASE And a children's play area Let's explore the gorge while it's still bright If you want to hike this whole thing, it takes 6 hours Nah We drove to the Ishigedo Rest Area There's a small snack and souvenir shop selling udon, ice cream and trinkets You can follow the river along the path The Oirase Gorge is a 14km stretch of river The gorge is a designated natural monument There are over 300 types of moss here! Look at the moss on the bridge! It's starting to get dark so we'll head back to the hotel (We'll explore more of the gorge another day!) There is complimentary apple wine and juice in the lounge Tonight is a buffet dinner at the Aomori Ringo Kitchen There are only 2 apples here that are real Can you spot them? Handblown "apples" hang from the ceiling The entire buffet is apple-themed 3 different types of apple juice Always checking out the dessert section first haha There's even an apple pie and soft cream station! Sake is served in Aomori traditional glassware Let's eat! Build your own seafood rice bowl The pies are served right out of the oven I couldn't get a perfect swirl, So I just garnished it with a slice of apple This guy got another serving of apple pie and ice cream Breakfast time at the Keiryu Terrace! This morning we're having breakfast outdoors! It sits on the Oirase Gorge A coffee and juice drink station Starting off with apple juice of course And coffee haha The breakfast comes in this cute picnic box Having breakfast facing the river is so nice! This is going to turn red soon! (Would recommend making a reservation) Can I retire here? We booked a workshop at 10am We're going to be making our own gourd lamp! The gourds are home-grown You can also purchase a pre-made one! Deciding which shape I want Use the awl tool to punch different size holes into the dried gourd The gourd is quite resilient but you can't punch too close to the top and bottom Check your pattern on the light stand Choose a pattern: Start off with the large holes first This is oddly relaxing- just like a colouring book I just did all the big holes Now we're going to do the small and medium ones! 1.25 hours later, we have a new lamp for the home! For locals, there is also a kokodama/moss ball making workshop Leaf jewelry workshop using resin While the onsen is closed for cleaning, let's take a look inside! The outdoor onsen will look stunning covered in snow! It's time to get out and explore Aomori! I don't trust the leaf forecast anymore 😂 It's suddenly snowing! And we both don't have any winter gear on us! The weather forecast said that it was going to be sunny every day But as you can see it is snowing We were originally going to go do the ropeway cable car But since there is low visibility, I think we're going to skip it and do 2 museums instead! This fog is pretty epic This arch bridge offers a scenic view of the mountains and national park This is more like a pitstop! We're super hungry: driving to the city for Aomori style ramen! Aomori style ramen is a rich and creamy broth It's a miso milk ramen with a cube of butter added to the top 🤪 This ramen shop reminds me of a cozy cottage in Canada Let's try Aomori style ramen! Let that butter melt into the soup It's better than expected- it's a great combination of flavours and is very comforting A few outdoor works are free to access The entry fee is quite affordable (700 yen per person) Nara Yoshimoto was born in Aomori At the art museum you can see a lot of his works on display Including "Aomori Dog" (If you are only visiting Aomori Ken, it is free) Currently there's an exhibition of Marc Chagall's works This is kind of creepy haha We're going to explore Aomori coffee shops! MonotoCoto. is a cafe and select shop Will browse the shop after placing our coffee order A small selection of accessories, APFR fragrances and clothes I love how unusual the cup is! Didn't expect to find a nice plaid shirt here! Here's a few photos we've taken so far! We decided to do the second museum another day as it's getting dark quickly We'll grab dinner at the konbini and have it back at our hotel It's almost 5pm and it's already dark It'll take us an hour to get back Turning on a podcast to stay awake We're a little nervous about driving back to the gorge in the dark We made it. It wasn't too bad! Our gourmet meal for tonight: Going to edit and sleep We're having breakfast at the buffet restaurant! Whole apples are freshly squeezed into juice French toast station Add stewed apples, whipped cream and syrup to the French toast 🤤 It's finally sunny! We saw a few cars parked here so we decided to stop by #couplegoals The marsh below reflects the mountain perfectly As we drive, there are many quick photo spots for autumn leaves It feels like we're experiencing 3 seasons all at once Passing through Jogakura Bridge again It was definitely nicer yesterday Even the fence is apple themed! This drive-thru McDonald's reminds me of Canada 😂 I'm surprised there's an apple farm in the middle of the city I like how hard they go on the apple theme 😂 Hirosaki is an apple orchard where you can pick your own apples They have around 80 types of apples Mini apples! This is a picture of me hauling my gachapon! Too many capsule toys! Besides the orchard, there are photo spots, a cafe and souvenir shop If it was clear today, you can see the mountain through an apple! Apples ready for purchase This apple print baby dress is so cute I love the commitment here: they've printed an apple pie guide It introduces all the apple pies sold in Hirosaki cafes and shops Apple pie gachapon There are guided tours for apple picking "Cute apple" It costs 100 yen per 100g They offer samples of the apple that can be picked today Let's try a free sample first! Bought our tickets and now we're following the tour guide to the apple farm Apple picking in Japan is very different from Canada In Canada you would pick loads of apples and there's very few rules Here we are limited to a single variety of apple Staff: and how to pick up apple? Don't pull it! Don't twist it! Hold bottom side and touch this part And move to the left side So it will separate! I wonder what our tour guide would think about how we pick apples in Canada 😂 It's apple o' clock! I feel like I have to choose very intentionally here We're going get 2 apples! Today we're picking Shinano Sweet apples- very sweet and low acidity Mount Iwaki is peeking out! Paying for our apples We'll also grab lunch at the cafe Let me get that apple ramen Apple zaru ramen There's whole chunks of apple inside the pork! The apple isn't really strong in the ramen But I enjoyed the apple pork cutlet! Even their water glasses are branded She's chunky Taste test A very firm pie that's loaded with apples But it came straight from the fridge I don't like how dense and cold the pie is I prefer this lattice crust one Even though it's not heated up, the flaky crust gives the feeling of warmth More apple farms along the journey! A large tori gate emerges at the entrance of the shrine "May the gods find me a good but rich husband" An orange cutout seal for the autumn season The torii gates are tucked all the way in the back Leg day! This is why we ate so much apple pie: for the energy! The Takayama Inari Shrine is located on the west coast of Aomori Walk through a tunnel of 200 vermillion torii Unlike Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Taisha, the gates snake around the forest and pond "May peace prevail on Earth" To get here by public transportation you need to take a bus and walk 45 minutes By car, it takes an hour just to get back to the city centre Today was a day trip all the way west The first stop was Hirosaki Apple Park And then made our way to the Takayama Inari Shrine If you went straight from the hotel to the shrine, It's about a 2 hour drive so it's quite far We recommend you to have a car if you plan to do the shrine But we really, really think it's worth going to because it is absolutely stunning And there's not a lot of people! Now we're heading back to the city, It's getting dark already; it's only-like- 4pm But we're going to go to the Nebuta Museum And then head back to the hotel for dinner! Omg the clouds are so dreamy!!! I wish we could stop for a stroll but it's getting late! This museum is very close to the airport and can be done within an hour You can consider going before heading to the airport The Nebuta Matsuri is a festival that takes place every summer They come to see giant handmade lanterns on the streets This museum has some on display I wanted to go to the festival this year but the dates didn't align But I'm glad we can see the lanterns here! Images of past lanterns Lantern from 1984 The lanterns are swung close to the audience so you can feel the energy! It's incredible what can be made from wire and washi paper This guy's angry This guy's angry These guys are all angry Many of the lantern making skills were passed down generations You can see they even put a wire frame just for the fingernail And then they painted it on top Performing the music and dance moves at the festival Back in time for dinner buffet And of course, one more round of apple pie a la mode We're exhausted from the long day of driving Today we're checking out! I'm going to miss this French toast We're going to drive along the gorge and make pitstops There's a lot of traffic in the afternoon We suggest starting at Lake Towada and go backwards There are many waterfalls and picturesque spots One of the larger waterfalls at the gorge In our opinion, this part is nicer than Ishigedo Rapids A cute bubbling waterfall As you get closer to Ishigedo Rapids, the crowds start to get thicker See you later, Oirase Gorge! We're going to check out one last cafe before heading to the airport It's a 1 hour drive Puffy Ghibli clouds today! One last coffee before we head to the airport back to Tokyo! A cute coffee shop located in a residential neighbourhood Americana style interiors "Get more out of life with coffee" The checkered coaster! The tiny sauce plate! Here's a few photos from Aomori! You can view the mountain range from the airport observation deck Last ramen before we fly! We hope you loved exploring Aomori in the fall with us! We'll see you next week!

thank you japan airlines for flying us out to aomori!

0:00 day 1 (tokyo to aomori 青森 with japan airlines, hotel room tour, apple shop)
12:40 day 2 (river breakfast, lamp workshop, aomori art museum)
24:30 day 3 (hirosaki apple farm, takayama inari shrine, nebuta museum)
41:14 day 4 (oirase keiryu gorge, aomori coffee)

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