Olivia and I took a weekend trip to Aomori out of curiosity and spontaneity. Living up to our stereotype as teachers, we mostly went for the apples. Early Saturday morning, we caught a Shinkansen north and ended up in Aomori about two hours later. Olivia rented a car and we headed to A-Factory which reminded me of an indoor farmer’s market with hundreds of apple products (lower-case a) and drinks. We bought some dried apples, apple sauce, matching chicken pins (don’t ask me why), apple cider, apple postcards, and apple gifts for our friends back in Sendai.
We drove to the heart of Aomori to see the Hirosaki castle and cherry blossoms. By the time we parked the car, it was lunch time. We were very excited to have lunch at a previously Googled tea house, but tragically arrived to a full and closed reservation list. Wandering through the parks and bustling streets, we finally found a small cafe known for its apple pie. Sadly, I would rate it a 4/10 because it was served cold and was just okay… But, it was enough to tide us over until dinner. We also ate small sandwiches and tea. As we waited in line for a ticket to the Hirosaki castle, we bumped into some JET teachers who lived in the area. After chatting for a bit, they invited us to join their group for dinner at a shabu-shabu restaurant. New delicious discovery: kinako on soft serve ice cream.
The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed to a town called Takko, also known as one of Japan’s most famous garlic growing areas. We even saw garlic-headed scarecrows on the way into the town. There’s a popular lunch set at the garlic center restaurant but we were unfortunately one person too late. The guy ahead of us got the last set of the day.* So, we sat down to a menu full of garlicky things and decided on ramen. Out of curiousity, we also ordered garlic lemonade. It surprisingly wasn’t horrible, but I wouldn’t drink it again haha. Thankfully, they offered complimentary breath mints at the cash register. We picked up a few garlic souvenirs and hopped on the bus to the train station. Goodbye Aomori; see you when it’s actually apple season.
*remember this guy for future reference