Amazing AOMORI

“Hachinohe Art Museum” in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, renewed and opened November 3, 2021. The Museum locates in the city center, and it has a grand square in front of the building where the citizens feel free to stop by.

The visitor will meet the artist’s work relating to the area or introduce the Hachinohe’s culture at the Museum. Furthermore, it will hold an exhibition or project that incorporates the town project or learning for visitors to participate in and enjoy.

Accompany with reopening the Hachinohe Art Museum, a project, “Aomori 5 Art Museum Network,” has been initiated to spread the charms of Aomori’s art at home and abroad with collaborating of five-public-museum in the prefecture.
It is rare to have five public art facilities in one prefecture. So, Aomori gathers attention as the “prefecture of art.”

These ramen noodles have been a popular food among residents of Hachinohe City since the earlier half of the twentieth century. The noodles are thin and curly, while the broth is soy-sauce-based and incorporates the extracts of local sardines, chicken bones, and pork bones for a light but full-bodied flavor.

At the Hachinohe Portal Museum “hacchi”, over 200 of “Yawata-uma”, a traditional craft made by the prefectural traditional craftsman, Nojiro Okubo will welcome you at the entrance. The facility has exhibition booths in the form of yatai (stall) for local foods, festival, history and culture, and also morning markets and yokocho (alleyway off the main street, usually there are shops and dining, etc.). Visitors can find Hachinohe’s attraction through the year.
Furthermore, there are café, shops selling original items, exhibition and shop of local arts and crafts. It is the place to feel the heart of northern region, Hachinohe, through the communication with locals.

Miroku Yokocho is located in the city center of Hachinohe. It is a little part of town with around 26 food stalls. Each shop serves a local menu such as fresh seafood from the Hachinohe port and Senbei-jiru (a traditional hot pot in which locally made crackers are cooked along with vegetables and meats) as well as typical Japanese bar (izakaya) food and ramen. The food stalls have an open atmosphere and are a popular spot for tourists. 

How to Enjoy Miroku Yokocho

On both sides of a narrow retro street, small stalls accommodating around eight people each are lined up tightly next to one another. One of the exciting things about Miroku Yokocho is meeting and chatting with strangers at the stalls. While enjoying one stall thoroughly is fun, stall-hopping is a great way to take advantage of the diverse styles of cooking in Miroku Yokocho.

Arts Towada is a project with the concept of transforming the outdoor space of Kanchogai-dori Avenue, along which the Towada Art Center is located, into an art museum, with a variety of artworks adorning the entirety of the avenue. Delightful public art and street furniture are interspersed along the avenue, which is Towada City’s most emblematic street. The appeal of Arts Towada lies in how the artworks are integrated into everyday life, such as sculptures that can be used as benches.

As part of the art project, the exhibition spaces at the art center have wide glass openings. This configuration creates a sense that the artworks are being exhibited to the city outside as well. Artworks are placed not only in the center’s exhibition rooms but also in various locations throughout the premises including the courtyard, rooftop, and stairwells.

The permanent collection of the Towada Art Center contains works by such world-renowned artists as Yayoi Kusama and Ron Mueck. Visitors can also relax and enjoy the artworks in the Art Square located across from it. Since many of the works in the permanent collection are permitted to be photographed, appreciating them through photographs in addition to closely appreciating them in person may provide new means of enjoyment.

Towada Barayaki is a dish of cow ribs with many sliced onions seasoned with sweet & spicy soy sauce grilled on a hot plate. It is said to be started among Korean immigrants to Misawa-City, shortly after the war they came up with this recipe to make a delicious dish from cheap cow ribs sold off from the US military. Barayaki born in Misawa is definitely a soul food of locals around Towada area.