Aomori Apples Varieties & Tours
Aomori Apples: Aomori is known for its apples. These thrive in the cooler climate and extreme diurnal temperatures. 50% of Japan's apples grow here.
Aomori Apples 青森のりんご
As Hokkaido is famous for its potatoes and corn, Aomori, the northern most prefecture in Honshu, is known for its delicious apples. These thrive in the cooler climate and extreme diurnal temperatures. Aomori produces about half of all the apples grown in Japan.
Apple orchards can be seen throughout the prefecture. Hirosaki, though, is the town in the prefecture most associated with their production. Hirosaki Apple Park has over 1300 trees from over 60 different varieties. It's possible to go on organized apple picking tours in season. Also as well as the apples themselves, Aomori produces cider (cidre) and the pastry shops in the prefecture sell delicious apple pies. Most of the apples are for domestic consumption though a rising number are exported, mainly to Taiwan.
Varieties
There is an amazing variety of apples in Aomori Prefecture to chose from. Varieties include Akane, Akibae, Gold, Kiou, Miki, Mutsu, Santsugaru, Sekaiichi, Saika, Sansa, Sweet Melody, Toki, Tsugaru, Fuji, Wasefuji, Orin and Kinsei - the last two are green varieties.
The classic Aomori apple is oversized, very red and sweet, a meal in itself. Auga Department Store has a famous fresh fish market in its basement. However, you can also find Aomori's signature apples on sale here too.