Aomori Day 1 – Autumn Fish and Apple Onsen
Green and red apples greeted us right outside the platform, marking that we were now in Aomori territory.
Minutes later, checked into the hotel room, I popped open the huge window and was greeted by tiny snowflakes falling outside. I’m glad I let Fafa choose the hotel. I looked around the room, ready to change into a yukata and soak in the onsen, but first…
“Let’s check out Aomori first,” Fafa suggested. Honestly, not a bad idea.
I thought maybe we could do a quick walk around town beforehand, but by the time we stepped outside, the snow had turned into miserable cold rain. We immediately pivoted to finding a place to eat instead.
Listen, I usually try to avoid chain restaurants when visiting a new place, but the freezing rain was enough to make me duck into Yoshinoya. No judgment, please.
I ordered the sukiyaki, which somehow became the accidental food theme of this trip (I can’t remember whether we even had sushi on this trip). Fafa ordered a seasonal autumn menu item from Yoshinoya, featuring sanma, a very classic Japanese autumn fish, which was really good.
Post-dinner, we wandered into what seemed to be the only souvenir shop still open, where I bought dried apples, Aomori apple tea, stickers, and a fridge magnet. Then, on the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the mall and got strawberry cheesecake, one each, and a bottle of Aomori wine.
Back in the hotel, I changed into my yukata and headed straight to the onsen.
The onsen was completely empty when I went in, and aside from the regular onsen, there was a small section filled with floating apples. It’s called a silky onsen, and I spent almost the entire time there. That bath alone made Aomori win in my book.
I came out feeling luxurious and radiant. Still wearing my yukata, I headed up to the lounge room and snacked on apple cake and apple candy while staring outside.
Life is too good.
Back in the room, Fufu had prepared tea, and we started with cheesecake and ended with munching on dried apples as heavy snow fell outside the window.
Eventually, I fell asleep to one of the most peaceful nights of sleep I’ve had in a long time.
Aomori Day 2 – Aomori Nokkedon, Stove Train and A-Factory
Day two in Aomori started with us braving the heavy snow to eat the freshest seafood over rice at the Aomori Nokkedon market. Belly full and fingers frozen, we headed to the station to catch the famous stove train.
By this point, the snow outside had gone wild, to the point I couldn’t tell whether it was a heavy snow or it had turned into a snowstorm.
The trip included two hours on the stove train and, somewhere in between, one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve had in my life. By the time we made it back to Aomori, it was already dusk.
Fafa and I couldn’t agree on dinner plans, so he went for gyutadon in the mall while I somehow ended up at the A-Factory, the Aomori Apple megamarket, once again buying and consuming far too many apple-related things. After another round of souvenir shopping (including two sachets of Aomofi Garlic Coffee), we returned to the hotel.
The onsen was empty again, and this time we properly made use of the lounge room before finally heading to bed.
Aomori Day 3 – Private Onsen and a repeat of Aomori Nokkedon
Our last day in Aomori started on an incredibly high note: a private onsen session booked through a language translation device that felt futuristic. We got the early slot, complete with sparkling apple cider and one of the most peaceful baths I’ve ever had.
Side note: I highly, highly recommend booking a private onsen if you can. Ever since I experienced the private onsens in Japan, I’ve become completely obsessed.
After that, we checked out of the hotel. Writing this now, I just realised we only spent two nights in Aomori, even though it somehow felt much longer. Before leaving, we wandered around a little more before boarding the five-hour train back to Tokyo.
I spent almost the entire train ride munching on the various apple snacks I bought from Aomori.
If there’s one thing I wish I had done more of while there, it would’ve been trying more local delicacies beyond just apples, especially Tsugaru soba and some of the regional seafood dishes.
But for now, I’ll carry Aomori in my memories the same way I remember its apples: impossibly sweet.
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