7 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
Held late April to early May, the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival is consistently voted Japan's best hanami destination, with over 2,600 cherry trees of 52 varieties encircling the moats and ramparts of historic Hirosaki Castle. A carpet of fallen petals floats on the castle moat in a phenomenon locals call the 'flower raft,' creating one of Japan's most photographed spring scenes. Evening illuminations transform the blossoms into a glowing pink canopy.
Japan's most celebrated cherry blossom site โ 2,600 cherry trees surround the only surviving Edo-period castle in Tohoku. In late April and early May, the castle moat fills with fallen petals creating a legendary 'hanaikada' (flower raft) phenomenon. The keep itself is one of only 12 original castle towers remaining in all of Japan.
Japan's most otherworldly sacred site โ a volcanic caldera on the Shimokita Peninsula where sulfurous fumes, grey pumice fields, and eerie-coloured lakes create a landscape believed by Buddhists to be the actual entrance to the afterlife. Blind shamanesses (itako) who commune with the dead gather at the Grand Festivals in July and October.
Home to five of the giant illuminated Nebuta warrior floats, WA RASSE brings Aomori's greatest festival to life year-round. The towering paper-and-wire sculptures โ some 9 metres tall and 20 metres wide โ pulse with recorded taiko drumming, giving visitors a visceral sense of the August spectacle even outside festival season.
One of Japan's most significant archaeological sites โ a 5,500-year-old Jomon settlement occupied for 1,500 years, covering 35 hectares and sheltering the remains of pit dwellings, burial grounds, and the iconic six-pillared watchtower. Added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2021 as part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites designation.
Home to Yoshitomo Nara's colossal 8.5-metre 'Aomori Dog' sculpture โ the iconic white dog that has become Aomori's modern symbol. The museum, designed by Jun Aoki with half-buried white volumes referencing archaeological excavation, holds an extensive collection of Nara's fierce-eyed children alongside Marc Chagall's set designs for Aleko.
A world-class contemporary art museum with a free outdoor sculpture park in central Towada City โ featuring permanent works by Ron Mueck, Yayoi Kusama collaborator Yuko Sasaki, and dozens of international artists. The indoor collection is small but exceptional; the outdoor installations transform an ordinary city street into an open-air gallery.
Found spots you love? Build a full day-by-day itinerary with the Plan Builder.
๐บ๏ธ Open Plan Builder โ