Art Hotel Aomori アートホテル青森

On day 1 & 2 of this trip to Aomori, we stayed at Art Hotel Aomori.

Website: https://www.art-aomori.com/

The hotel is pretty grand for Aomori were most of the buildings around it is short.

The entrance, look at all these Nebuta.

A closer look at the designs.

They always have a fierce looking deity on it.

And there is always an animal.

This time we were placed on the 12th floor.

The inside looks like this, with a big open space in the middle, which makes it look very spacious.

Our room!

Our hotel room!

We booked one with a massage chair, which I enjoyed every night after showering.

The standard unit bath.

Some amenities.

We only requested for breakfast on our 2nd day and the spread is pretty decent. They served a combination of Japanese and Western. They also served some sashimi don and grilled hotate, which was nice.

Hakko Maru Aomori & Galetteria Da Sasino

After visiting the , we came to the nearby Hakkoda Maru Aomori 

aka Seikan Train Ferry Memorial Ship Hakkōda-maru( 青函連絡船メモリアルシップ八甲田丸).

It operated as a railway ferry between Aomori and Hakodate until 1988.

Now, it is a museum that describes the people and culture of Aomori. 

Lots of apple stores on display as Aomori is famous for apples.

Lol, trying to stay warm with the locals.

This little A here is very busy with all the controls on this ship.

Of course, as it is a ship, the lower decks and engine rooms are still preserved and we can explore them on our own.

After that, it was time to rest and to recharge!

We went to Galetteria Da Sasino at A-Factory for some dessert.

This place seems to be famous for their basque burnt cheese cake and parfatis.

While waiting for them to open, I also noticed that they have some interesting tasting vending machines outside for alcohols. Put in a coin and you can get a tasting glass for these alcohols.

As usual, J ordered a coffee.

We ordered a galette to share. This was really good btw. I had forgotten how good galettes can be.

We also ordered a sweet potato parfait to share. This was also very yummy. I love that they have different kinds of sweet potato in this parfait. All of them were super delicious. I highly recommend coming here for their galette and parfaits. 

 

Golden week trip to Aomori

J and I went on a golden week trip to Northern part of Japan with T&I's family.

We bought the JR pass which was opened to foreigners residing in Japan due to the pandemic. Before, it was only available to tourists who are visiting Japan.

I highly recommend the JR pass because it allows you to cover more ground at a cheaper price. Especially when you want to travel across prefectures.

We bought the JR East Pass (Tohoku Area) which costs 20,000 JPY. A one way trip would've easily cost more than that but this pass here can used for 5 days.

Transferring at Shin-Aomori station.

The station is very new. It looks like it has just been newly renovated and I was surprised to see a group of people there distributing apple pies to all who came out of the Shinkansen gate area. Maybe it was one of the methods that they use to promote apple pies from Aomori.

There we transferred to a local train to Aomori. This was also covered on out JR pass.

A very fancy looking train that also looks pretty new or it was just very well maintained.

First stop, Osanai Shokudō お食事処 おさない for lunch. I picked this place as I saw that it has a rating of 4.2 on Goggle Map.

The place was pretty busy when we arrived and we had to wait a bit to get seats.

I ordered this hotate miso yaki for 1,100 JPY.

This must be one of the popular items as I saw many people ordering it. It was nice, filled with umami and goes well with rice as it is watery.

Meanwhile, J ordered this special hotate sashimi and grilled hotate set for 2,470 JPY.

I especially enjoyed the grilled one, it was super yummy.

After lunch, we walked to the nearby Nebuta Museum WA RASSE (ねぶたの家 ワ・ラッセ). Right next to it is the A-FACTORY, a souvenir shop.

The grand exterior of the Nebuta Museum WA RASSE.

Website: http://www.nebuta.jp/warasse/

Inside, you can learn about the history of Nebuta.

There are also displays of past Nebuta.

It was nice to get to see them up close and to be able to enjoy the details on them.

They all have deities on them.

Look at how stunning each of them are. It would be nice to be able to join an actual festival but I am sure that there will be many people.

When we were there, there was also a small performance, where they played some traditional instruments and taught a dance to the audience.

The inside of the nebuta.

Overall, it is an interesting place to visit, especially for when you are in the area. It is sad that the festival has been cancelled 2 years in a row now. When the festivals are back, I am sure it will be a lot nice to see the real thing and feel the actual atmosphere.