The Annual Oirase Salmon Festival

In the third weekend of November, I went to the 8th Annual Oirase Salmon Festival (おいらせ鮭まつり). I heard all about it so I just had to check it out for myself. Oirase is a small town in southeastern Aomori Prefecture, near Misawa and Shichinohe. The family-friendly, salmon-themed event features the usual things like food vendors (especially salmon cuisine), live music, and festival games for children. These are great but the best activity is definitely the salmon catch.

Salmon Festival Grounds

The salmon catch is a fun activity which challenges people to catch feisty salmon with their bare hands, and then keep their catch and bring it home. It’s set up at a shallow pool filled with large adult salmon, and takes place a few times throughout the day. Anyone can join, regardless of age, by purchasing tickets for one of the time slots (In 2013, tickets costs 1000 yen each, or about $10). Buying one ticket allows you to catch and keep one salmon, two tickets allows for two salmon, and so on. A single individual may buy multiple tickets for him/herself if desired. Besides the tickets, boots and gloves rentals are available for a cheap price and necessary unless you bring your own.

They have no idea what's coming

In regards to the actual salmon catch, it lasts just five minutes. Needless to say, the goal is to successfully catch a salmon for yourself before time expires, but there are also extra rewards for catching the largest fish, smallest fish, and catching with the most style. Once the five minutes is up, participants must exit the pool whether they were able to get a fish or not. However, unsuccessful participants can later exchange their ticket for a salmon, just the same. Lastly, fish cleaning is available (again for a small fee) and recommended unless you really want to do it yourself.

Running out into the pool at the starting bell

On the day I went, I bought a single ticket and walked over to the pool area. I was lead over to one side of the pool and waited for the catch to begin with the other participants. On the opposite side, spectators watched in anticipation. The starting bell rang and I hopped into the pool. Most of the poor salmon went into panic mood and frantically swam around looking for and escape. I’ll admit that I felt a little bad about the whole thing as it doesn’t seem very humane, but at least they aren’t getting a sharp hook through the mouth. On the flip side, it’s pretty entraining to see many of the participants screaming and prancing around as they try to catch a salmon.

Man catching three salmon

For the first few minutes I was looking for the biggest fish possible, but then decided just to grab whatever I saw because I didn’t want to be left empty-handed. Personally, I didn’t find this to be difficult, despite what others had said. The pool is shallow enough and the salmon are plentiful, so it was just a matter of quickly grabbing one as they swam by. I ended up with a relatively-small salmon, but I was thrilled with the catch and it was such an interesting experience when all was said and done.

Here's my catch!

Apparently, Oirase has an Annual Baby Salmon Release every March. During this event, people release baby salmon into the river so they can breed and return as adults in autumn, when they can then be caught for the Salmon Festival. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find much about the origins of the festival. Nevertheless, it was a unique experience!

The Brilliant Colors of Autumn in Aomori

Autumn is a special time of the year in Japan. The season of kōyō (紅葉), or changing colors of the leaves, provides one of the best opportunities to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the country. A colorful complement to the white landscape of sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) in the spring, kōyō gives people a chance to experience all of the bold yellows, oranges, and reds of fall. Furthermore, I think living in Aomori where the viewing period is so brief tends to emphasize the importance of cherishing such a pretty season.

Fall Colors around Aomori Prefecture

The changing colors start in mid-September on the northernmost parts of Japan and arrive in the lower regions of the country by late November. In Aomori Prefecture, it starts in late October and finishes in mid-November. Although Kōyō can be seen throughout much of Japan, I feel fortunate to be living in Aomori Prefecture where a great number of excellent viewing spots exist. And even though I've only had the opportunity to see a handful of the best spots in the region, I think I've been able to see a nice variety.

Aomori City - 青森市

A quiet street in the middle of Aomori City (青森市)

The most convenient place for me to see the Fall colors is right in the city where I live. Throughout the year I often cruise around town on my bicycle, and Autumn is no exception.

Mount Hakkoda - 八甲田山

Spectacular views from Mt. Hakkoda

One of the most popular destinations is Mount Hakkoda (八甲田さん) in central Aomori Prefecture. The Hakkoda Ropeway is available to take passengers to the summit for some truly spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and thousands of trees spread throughout. In the winter, the same ropeway is used to take skiers and snowboarders to the top (I'll be sure to write about my own snowboarding experiences later in the year). Public transportation is available from Aomori Station to the Hakkoda Ropeway via JR Bus.

Oirase Gorge - 奥入瀬渓流

Feeling refreshed at Oirase Gorge, just days before the leaves changed

Southeast of Mount Hakkoda is the Towada-Hachimantai National Park (十和田八幡平国立公園). One of the most scenic parts of this is Oirase Gorge (奥入瀬渓流), where a beautiful stretch of river characterized by crisp rapids and various waterfalls flows. Not surprising, it's designated as a National Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. Following the river leads to Lake Towada (十和田湖), a large caldera lake on the border of both Aomori and Akita Prefectures. It's another very nice area to explore. It's worth noting that a main road and walking trails exist alongside the stream; the road makes it very easy to get there but can be potentially distracting while trying to appreciate the natural scenery. Personally, I've never found this to be a huge issue since the sounds of the river and falls do a pretty good job of overpowering traffic noises. To get there by public transit, ride the JR bus bound for Lake Towada from Hachinohe Station or Aomori Station and get off at the Yakeyama stop.

Shirakami Mountain Area (白神山地)

Shirakami mountain area / forest in Fukaura 

Shirakami-sanchi (白神山地, lit. White God Mountain Area) is another special place to visit during the fall--or any other time of the year, for that matter. It's a large area stretching across southwestern Aomori Prefecture and into Akita Prefecture. The central core of the region is comprised of the last virgin beech forests in all of Japan, and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This protected region is not typically visited by tourists as it requires a permit to enter, but there is plenty of beautiful areas to explore outside of this section. One of the unique features I saw on my recent trip was Aoike (青池, or "Blue Pond"). It's one of many small ponds/lakes in an area of Shirakami called Juniko (十二湖, or "Twelve Lakes"). The pond is famous for it's naturally deep-blue color; I've included a picture  below but it's one of those things you just have to see in person to fully appreciate.

Blue Pond, part of Juniko in Shirakami Sanchi

There are some really impressive views to see in the Shirakami forest area as well. One such view is overlooking the Nihon Canyon (日本キャニオン, "Japan Canyon"), which is said to be like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon in the USA. In the picture below, part the canyon can be seen on the right side and in the distance.

Looking out towards the Nihon Canyon

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山)

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山) in Kuroishi City 

The last place I'll talk about here is Nakano Momiji Yama (中野紅葉山), located in eastern Kuroishi. It's another amazing place to see the Fall colors, with hundreds of varieties of Japanese maple trees (もみじ) spread around a small temple and winding river. I had the opportunity to go there at night when the whole area was illuminated by various colored lights. I definitely recommend trying to see kōyō from this perspective (at night) if you get the  chance, as it just "feels" a lot different and the atmosphere is really cool. Unfortunately I haven't been to Nakano-Momiji during the day, but I've heard it's incredible so I'm sure that's worth checking out as well.

Get out there

The more I explore Aomori, the more I realize what a beautiful place it is. Whether it's during the Fall or any other season, traveling around to see all to wonderful spots has become a bit of a growing addiction for me. I hope my photos can showcase some of the beautiful places in Aomori, but I hope it also inspires you to get out and explore wherever you are living too.

Final note
I realize that one of the places I should have included in this post is Hirosaki, since it's right next to Aomori and also has some amazing autumn colors. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go this year. But still I might update this post later with at least a brief description about it.