A winter wonderland!
Must-visit attractions in Aomori during the snowy season

Snow Sports Park Aoimori (Aomori City)
Located on the sprawling grounds of New Aomori Sports Park, this winter-only activity park boasts a wide variety of attractions centered around snowmobiling. The activities include “snow rafting” in an inflatable raft pulled by a snowmobile, for a thrilling experience like whitewater rafting over snowbanks, as well as being pulled by a snowmobile in a sled or an inflatable “banana boat.” You can also ride directly on the back of a snowmobile or take a snowmobile lesson yourself. Children can enjoy snowtubing down a forty-meter sledding hill (included in the park’s 300-yen admission; the other activities require a separate fee). With all this fun for the whole family, you can easily spend a whole day here!
Oirase Snow Park (Towada City)
Take the ski lift to the top of the first slope at Oirase Gorge Onsen Ski Area to find this winter activity zone (round-trip lift tickets included in admission). Visitors can enjoy sledding and snowtubing as well as “cruising” in an inflatable boat pulled by a snowmobile on a special course. This is also the only place in Aomori where you can try riding a “snow scooter,” a device that looks sort of like a cross between a snowboard and a bike. Apparently even professional BMX riders and snowboarders have started getting into using these to perform stunts in the snow, but you don’t need to be a daredevil to get in on the fun! Staff at Oirase Snow Park will teach you the basics like how to turn and stop. It’s a brand-new way to enjoy the snow!
Magical winter scenery around Hirosaki Castle (Hirosaki City)
While Hirosaki Park surrounding Hirosaki Castle is perhaps most well-known as a place to view thousands of cherry trees blossoming in spring, it offers enchanting scenery in winter as well. Throughout the months of December, January, and February, nighttime “cherry-blossom illuminations” recreate the beauty of cherry trees in full bloom by shining pink spotlights onto the snow-covered branches of the trees lining the castle’s outer moat. The illuminations take place for several hours after sunset each night, and depending on the weather, visitors can even enjoy “cherry-blossom blizzards” dancing through the air when it snows or “drifting fallen petals” on the surface of the water when the moat is frozen. These uniquely fantastical sights can’t be experienced anywhere else.
Also, for five days in February (February 7–11 in 2025), the Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival transforms Hirosaki Park into a world of winter fantasy, with about 200 hand-crafted lanterns and snow sculptures as well as about 300 candlelit miniature snow huts. The castle and surrounding pine trees are lit up at night, adding to the magical scenery. Projection mapping displayed on the snow sculptures to the accompaniment of music is also impressive. Beautiful paintings from the floats paraded in the summer Neputa Festival are exhibited in the snow, and the event also features massive snow structures modeled after Hirosaki’s historic architecture. It’s definitely not to be missed.
“Snow monsters” and hot springs of the Hakkoda Mountains (Aomori City)
The Hakkoda Mountains are known for their excellent deep powder snow, attracting skiers and snowboarders from all over the world. But that’s not the only highlight of the area in winter. At Hakkoda Ski Area, natural sculptures known as “snow monsters” form when water droplets carried by the strong icy winds clash with the evergreen trees and freeze in place, creating unique shapes. Skiing or snowboarding through these is an exhilarating experience. They can also be viewed from above while riding the Hakkoda Ropeway gondola. The ski season in the Hakkoda Mountains usually runs from around mid-December to mid-May, and the “snow monsters” are typically at their best from January to the end of February.
One of the greatest pleasures of winter in Japan is soaking in a hot-spring spa that warms you from the inside out, so why not go for a dip at Sukayu Onsen, known as the snowiest inhabited place on Earth? Located in the Hakkoda Mountains, this hot-spring spa is popular with skiers and snowboarders in winter. It is famous for its “Bath of One-Thousand Bathers,” a mixed-gender bath in an enormous beech-wood tub. Separate male-only and female-only baths are available as well, all of them natural hot springs flowing directly from the source. Soaking in a hot bath enveloped in the white steam that emerges from contact with the chilly air is a quintessential Japanese winter experience that you can enjoy to the fullest in Aomori.
As you can see, Aomori transforms into a snowy wonderland in the winter, and while some visitors might be daunted by the cold, there are plenty of amazing activities that can’t be enjoyed at any other time of the year. If you make the trip to Aomori in the winter, you’re sure to have an unforgettable experience.