A grassy field with traditional wooden huts. The foreground features a conical hut made of wooden logs and thatch, set along a dirt path. More huts can be seen in the background under a clear blue sky with a few white clouds. The setting is serene and rural.
Gail Schulz

Sannai Maruyama

We're now in the rhythm of getting into downtown Aomori by train.  The trick is, you want to not miss the commuter train window, because the frequency of trains drops away badly after the morning rush.

The second trick we learned about the Aomori public transport system is that each of the bus stops outside the train station serves multiple routes.  If you don't pay attention to the bus numbers you could end up doing a loop through the city and back to the station.  Not that experienced travellers like ourselves would make a rookie mistake like that.  Oh well.. the upside was we got to taste the exceptional dutch chocolate soft serve while we waited for our correct bus.  Seriously, that ice cream was on another level.

Eat

The restaurant (Gosen-Nen no Hoshi) at the Sannai Maruyama museum was more than serviceable.  The Jomon chicken curry was tasty with the chicken served grilled on the bones. There was an aspiration to try the chestnut soft serve, but after finishing our meal with the marron whipped coffee, it felt like a bridge too far.

See and Do

Our primary goal for the day was the Sannai Maruyama Site. The site was occupied for more than a thousand years in the early and middle Jomon Period (3,900 to 2,200 BCE).  Although known since the Edo Period, a modern archeological study of the site commenced in 1992.  On completion of the excavation in 1995, the site was opened to the public including the cultural centre and museum housing a collection of the finds.   The reconstructions of the dwellings and other structures breathe life into the site and the cultural centre is world class.  Well worth the ¥410 admission price.

We also checked out the nearby Aomori Museum of Art.  The building operates at a massive scale with the collection consciously displayed sparsely to enhance the effect of space.  Not much of the collection was to our taste and the admission is the highest we've paid on this trip, so overall we weren't impressed.  The massive outdoor sculpture "Aomori Ken" was the saving grace for us.

A hand holds a waffle cone with chocolate soft-serve ice cream, garnished with a piece of sesame-covered cracker. The background features a city street with a bright red building, other tall structures, and a cloudy sky.
A tall wooden structure with horizontal beams stands on the left, resembling a watchtower. To the right are traditional thatched-roof buildings on a grassy field. The sky above is cloudy with patches of blue.
A close-up view of a tall, rustic wooden structure with a lattice of logs tied together with rope. The structure stands against a backdrop of a vibrant blue sky with scattered white clouds.
Close-up of a thatched roof supported by bamboo poles, with more traditional thatched structures visible in the background. The scene is set in a grassy, open field under a partly cloudy sky, suggesting a rural or outdoor cultural setting.
A view of two traditional thatched-roof huts elevated on wooden stilts, set against a backdrop of green grass, leafy trees, and a partly cloudy sky. The huts appear to be in an open, park-like area.
A person stands with arms raised, posing in front of a large, white sculpture of a dog with closed eyes and floppy ears. The sculpture is positioned between tall concrete walls under a partially cloudy sky.