Tohoku – Autumnal Beginnings – Aomori, Hakkoda Ropeway, Jogakura Bridge, Tsutanuma Pond
5-6Nov 2024. We embark on our Tohoku journey starting from Aomori. At A-Factory, we got to try local apple specialties such as apple pastries and apple cidre (the equivalent of alcoholic apple cider in UK and Aus, as “cider” in Japan is more commonly associated to the zesty/lemonade-ish carbonated soft drink such as Matsuya Cider). At the Aomori Tourist Info Centre ASPAM, we got to enjoy the observation deck and also browse local omiyage at the ground floor shops. If you’re reading this – lucky you – we highly recommend the apple pastry from Apple PamPam at the GF of ASPAM. It was the best apple pastry we had in the entire Tohoku region (better than the ones at Hirosaki Apple Park!). We also learn that the Nebuta is famed in Aomori but sadly didn’t get the time to venture into the Nebuta Museum. We’ll definitely cover that off in a future trip to Aomori! Thankfully our hotel (Dormy Inn Aomori) had a few exhibits for guests like us to enjoy.
Hakkoda Ropeway was our next destination and at the top of the ropeway we took the short return loop hike (approx 1h) which gave us lovely autumn views of the snow capped Mt Akakuradake, Mt Idodake and Mt Odake. On the way back down we were blessed with great visibility of the valleys and Aomori city at the bottom of it all.
We quickly swung by Jogakura Bridge which was 10-15mins drive away from the base of Hakkoda Ropeway Station and were able to get the final bits of autumn colour. Parking is extremely easy here and is available for free on both sides of the bridge. The trees surrounding the bridge would’ve been fuller with reds and orange 1 week before but predicting the peak autumn dates across Japan is proving more challenging with each passing year and global warming.
We finally end our exploration for the day at Tsutanuma pond which had its last bits of autumn colours as well. The stroll from the parking area to the pond was about a 1h return trip.
#Aomori #Japan #Travel #Nature #Autumn #Hakkoda #Jogakura #Tsutanuma #Cinematic #Chill #ExploreJapan #Tohoku