I still don't understand how ASPAM is the shortcut for Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center. Either I failed to read the details when I was in the building, missing it, or I totally forgot. Aomori's A is the reason why ASPAM is built like this. From the hotel we stayed at for a few days, the triangular shaped building stood out and I'd always wondered what this building was about.
This building is 76 meters tall and has a 360-degree panoramic view of Aomori - and you can even see the mountains of nearby Hokkaido from here. That was our final destination for today before we ended our Aomori tour.
The building also has 3D shows about Aomori but we failed to watch it since we're short on time. I remembered there was a show every 30 minutes but we're always either too early or too late. On the first floor of the building were local shops selling souvenirs. I got myself apples there to bring home.
Reaching the 13th floor, we're greeted with a serene view from the observatory deck. The whole floor had the great views of Aomori! And yes, we're the only ones here at this time! It felt like we rented the place for ourselves.
 |  |
|---|
It was February of this year when we came to visit so it was still winter in Japan. That's why it's so snowy in Aomori City, as you can see in the photos. Lots of buildings can be seen here, and we even saw our hotel building! That's how close we were to ASPAM.
Do you think these buildings are hotels or residential? I think both. When I searched the area around Aomori Station, which is just a few minutes walking distance from ASPAM, I saw lots of hotels. But when we were walking, the buildings around here didn't seem like hotels - more like offices and residential buildings.
This bridge is the Aomori Bay Bridge, the longest in Aomori City, and the 2nd longest in Aomori Prefecture according to Wikipedia. We first saw this bridge when we went to A-Factory and the Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse. And yep, we walked from there to get here.
ASPAM is located near the shore, hence the sea and the port.
The island from afar is already Hokkaido. Well, that's what we thought. They say, on clear days, you can view Hokkaido from here.
Out of curiosity, we tried this zooming machine. We only had like a minute or 2 to make use of it but it was too complicated for us at first but we managed to overcome it. Later on, we saw images of the island on the farther shore. It was so satisfying to see something other than the sea.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
Aomori is best known for its Nebuta so we were not surprised to see them here in ASPAM's observation deck. They're paintings in glass though which is so beautiful and fascinating to see.
 |  |  |
|---|
There was a display of different ships on the walls but oops, I didn't take a good photo of it.
It was almost sunset and our bullet train would leave Aomori around 6 PM so we had to end our viewing and our trip to this cold city in the north of Japan's main island. These were the last photos I took from the observatory. How do you like them?
See that yellow and white ship from a distance? In my next post about Aomori, I will be talking about it so stay tuned!
It started snowing/raining so we had to hurry to go back down. We didn't have an umbrella at that time, so it would be bad if we're soaked in snow when we still had to go back to the hotel to get our luggage and go to the train station.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
If you like to read my Aomori travel series, here's for you!
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.