Ninohe ( 二戸市 , Ninohe-shi ) is a city located in Iwate Prefecture , Japan . As of 31 March 2020, the city had an estimated population of 26,344, and a population density of 63 persons per km in 11,803 households. The total area of the city is 420.42 square kilometres (162.33 sq mi).
147-718: Ninohe is located in far north-center Iwate Prefecture, bordered by Aomori Prefecture to the north. The northern end of the Kitakami Mountains , the 852.2 meter Mount Oritsume is in Ninohe. Approximately 70% of the city area is mountainous and forested. The upper reaches of the Mabechi River flows through the city. A portion of the city is within the borders of the Oritsume Basenkyō Prefectural Natural Park . Aomori Prefecture Iwate Prefecture Ninohe has
294-533: A humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb ) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ninohe is 9.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1248 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.4 °C. Per Japanese census data,
441-578: A blizzard in the Hakkōda Mountains incident . On 3 May 1910, a fire broke out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents. It destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. On 23 March 1945, a mudslide destroyed a section of the town of Ajigasawa , killing 87 of its inhabitants. At 10:30 p.m. on 28 July 1945,
588-631: A central lagoon . Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Modern humans first reached the western Pacific in the Paleolithic , at around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Originating from a southern coastal human migration out of Africa, they reached East Asia , Mainland Southeast Asia , the Philippines, New Guinea , and then Australia by making the sea crossing of at least 80 kilometres (50 mi) between Sundaland and Sahul . It
735-516: A growing sector of Aomori Prefecture's economy. It was among the top five prefectures of Japan in terms of growth in foreign tourists between 2012 and 2017. This influx of foreign tourists has led to the construction of more hotels in Aomori. Major draws to the prefecture are its historic sites , museums, and national parks. Several of the prefecture's Jōmon period historic sites were nominated in January 2009 to become World Heritage Sites . If approved,
882-532: A member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. However, for reasons yet unclear, the Tsugaru backed out of the alliance and re-joined the imperial cause after a few months. The Nanbu and Tsugaru clans resumed their old rivalry and fought at the Battle of Noheji . As a result of the minor skirmish, the Tsugaru clan was able to prove its defection from the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei and loyalty to the imperial cause. Tsugaru forces later joined
1029-546: A sea urchin roe and abalone soup in which the sea urchin roe looks like strawberries, known as ichigo in Japanese, from the town of Hashikami ; hittsumi a roux with chicken and vegetables from the Nanbu area; Hachinohe senbei soup a hearty soup with Nanbu senbei loaded with vegetables and chicken; jappa-jiru a vegetable soup with cod roe from Aomori; and keiran a red bean dumpling soy sauce soup served during special occasions on
1176-509: A squadron of American B-29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city of Aomori . The estimated civilian impact of the air raid on the city was the death of 1,767 people and the destruction of 18,045 homes. Infrastructure was destroyed across the prefecture including the Seikan Ferry , naval facilities in Mutsu and Misawa, Hachinohe Airfield , and the ports and railways of Aomori and Hachinohe. During
1323-607: A town in 1889 and then a city in 1898. On 30 October 1889, an American merchant ship, the Cheseborough wrecked off the prefecture's west coast near the village Shariki , many of the ship's crew were saved by the villagers. The Nippon Railway , a private company, completed the Tōhoku Main Line in 1891, linking Aomori to Ueno Station in Tokyo . During a military exercise on 23 January 1902, 199 soldiers died after getting lost during
1470-517: A year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic . The prefecture has produced some professional athletes. Yoshisada Yonezuka from the town of Nakadomari was a martial arts instructor for USA Judo . He coached the team in the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics . The Aomori Curling Club was a curling club of the Japan Curling Association from the city of Aomori that represented Japan in
1617-546: Is The Tōō Nippō Press with a daily readership of 245,000, 56% of the total share of the newspaper market in the prefecture. The newspaper also runs a radio news station which is broadcast by the Aomori Broadcasting Corporation (RAB). Other local newspapers are Hachinohe's The Daily Tōhoku Shimbun , Hirosaki's Mutsu Shimpo , and Kuroishi's Tsugaru Shinpō . Pacific Ocean Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Pacific Ocean
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#17328549291321764-838: Is Hirosaki University , which was formed by the combination of several colleges and higher education schools in 1949 in accordance with the National School Establishment Law of 1949. The prefecture has two other public universities, Aomori Public University and the Aomori University of Health and Welfare . Several private universities are also located in Aomori Prefecture. Among them are Aomori University , Hachinohe Gakuin University , Hachinohe Institute of Technology , Hirosaki Gakuin University , Hirosaki University of Health and Welfare , Tohoku Women's College , and
1911-528: Is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km (170,000,000 cu mi). Due to the effects of plate tectonics , the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size. Along
2058-523: Is a leading agricultural region in Japan. It is Japan's largest producer of apples, accounting for 59 percent of Japan's total apple production in 2018. The cultivation of apples in the prefecture began in 1875 when the prefecture was given three varieties of western origin to grow. The apples are consumed within Japan and exported to the United States, China, Taiwan, and Thailand. Aomori is also ranked highly in
2205-508: Is also a prefectural vocational school, and a special education school for the handicapped operated by the prefectural government. [REDACTED] East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Tōhoku Shinkansen [REDACTED] Iwate Ginga Railway Line Aomori Prefecture Aomori Prefecture ( 青森県 , Aomori-ken ) ( [a̠o̞mo̞ɾʲikẽ̞ɴ] ) is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region . The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake
2352-474: Is also home to the inactive Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant that is owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited , a company headquartered in the village of Rokkasho that is involved in the production of nuclear fuel , as well as the reprocessing , storage, and disposal of nuclear waste . The city of Hachinohe is home to the Pacific Metals Company , a manufacturer of ferronickel products. Aomori Prefecture
2499-486: Is centered around the cultivation and harvesting of hiba , a cypress tree utilized in construction of wooden structures across the country. In 2015, its economy had a GDP of 4,541.2 billion yen which made up about 0.83 percent of Japan's economy. Aomori Prefecture generates the largest amount of wind energy out of the prefectures of Japan, with large wind farms located on the Shimokita Peninsula. The peninsula
2646-404: Is centered on snow festivals where attendees can view ice sculptures and enjoy local cuisine inside an ice hut. Aomori Prefecture has produced several writers and artists. Osamu Dazai , the writer of Japan's second most popular novel No Longer Human , is one of the prefecture's best-known writers. Shunsuke Kikuchi , a composer for series such as Dragon Ball and Doraemon , was born in
2793-569: Is home to over 87 species of birds. Mount Iwaki, a stratovolcano and the prefecture's highest point lies to northeast of the Shirakami Mountains. The lands to the east and northeast of Mount Iwaki are an expansive floodplain that is drained by the Iwaki River . Hirosaki , the former capital of the Tsugaru clan , sits on the banks of the river. As of 31 March 2019, 12% of the total land area of
2940-491: Is not known with any certainty what level of maritime technology was used by these groups – the presumption is that they used large bamboo rafts which may have been equipped with some sort of sail. The reduction in favourable winds for a crossing to Sahul after 58,000 B.P. fits with the dating of the settlement of Australia, with no later migrations in the prehistoric period. The seafaring abilities of pre-Austronesian residents of Island South-east Asia are confirmed by
3087-482: Is relatively cool for the most part. It has four distinct seasons with an average temperature of 10 °C (50 °F). Variations in climate exist between the eastern (Pacific Ocean side) and the western (Sea of Japan side) parts of the prefecture. This is in part due to the Ōu Mountains that run north to south in the middle of the prefecture, dividing the two regions. The western side is subject to heavy monsoons and little sunshine which results in heavy snowfall during
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#17328549291323234-586: Is the city of Aomori . Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan 's main island, Honshu , and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Iwate Prefecture to the southeast, Akita Prefecture to the southwest, the Sea of Japan to the west, and Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait to the north. Aomori Prefecture is the 8th-largest prefecture , with an area of 9,645.64 km (3,724.20 sq mi), and
3381-598: Is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of
3528-570: Is the prefecture's highest point, at almost 1,624.7 m (5,330 ft). Humans have inhabited the prefecture for at least 15,000 years, and the oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was discovered at the Jōmon period Odai Yamamoto I site . After centuries of rule by the Nanbu and Tsugaru clans , the prefecture was formed out of the northern part of Mutsu Province during the Meiji Restoration . Though
3675-460: The 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics and several World Curling Championships . The club was disbanded in 2013. Aomori Prefecture has 20,606.8 km (12,804.5 mi) of roads, highways, and streets, along with 227 km (141 mi) of expressways . Four major expressways pass through the prefecture: the Tōhoku Expressway , which runs south–north through center of
3822-401: The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to pay respect towards the damaged communities along the prefecture's southeastern coast. Since 1961, the prefectural symbol of Aomori is a green stylized map of the prefecture on a white background, showing the crown of Honshū : the Tsugaru , Natsudomari and Shimokita Peninsulas . The green is representative of development while the white symbolizes
3969-556: The 31st-most populous prefecture , with more than 1.18 million people. Approximately 45 percent of Aomori Prefecture's residents live in its two core cities , Aomori and Hachinohe , which lie on coastal plains. The majority of the prefecture is covered in forested mountain ranges, with population centers occupying valleys and plains. Aomori is the third-most populous prefecture in the Tōhoku region, after Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture . Mount Iwaki , an active stratovolcano ,
4116-620: The Americas , although evidence for this remains inconclusive. The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão , via the Lesser Sunda Islands , to the Maluku Islands , in 1512, and with Jorge Álvares 's expedition to southern China in 1513, both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca . The eastern side of
4263-424: The Americas , more than 25,000 islands, large and small, rise above the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Multiple islands were the shells of former active volcanoes that have lain dormant for thousands of years. Close to the equator, without vast areas of blue ocean, are a dot of atolls that have over intervals of time been formed by seamounts as a result of tiny coral islands strung in a ring within surroundings of
4410-456: The Asia League . Aomori Prefecture hosted the 2003 Asian Winter Games from 1 February to 8 February 2003. Approximately 1,200 athletes from 29 Asian countries participated in the games. Five venues across the prefecture held 51 different events. Aomori Prefecture is also slated to host the 80th National Sports Festival of Japan in 2025, though it is likely the event will be postponed for
4557-472: The Battle of Ishibashiyama and the conquest of the Northern Fujiwara. Nanbu Mitsuyuki built Shōjujidate Castle in what is now Nanbu, Aomori . The eastern area of the current prefecture was dominated by horse ranches, and the Nanbu grew powerful and wealthy on the supply of warhorses . These horse ranches were fortified stockades, numbered one through nine (Ichinohe through Kunohe), and were awarded to
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4704-510: The Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica 's Ross Sea ), the Pacific reaches its greatest east–west width at about 5°N latitude , where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia – halfway around the world, and more than five times
4851-483: The Japan Self-Defense Forces . The JSDF maintains bases across the prefecture including, JMSDF Ōminato Base , JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base , and JGSDF Camp Aomori [ ja ] . The Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture is the birthplace of the traditional Tsugaru-jamisen , a virtuosic style of playing shamisen that is deeply entwined with the region's identity and history. A notable player of
4998-541: The Kamikita Expressway , and the Michinoku Toll Road . Several national highways pass through the prefecture. National routes 4 , 7 , and 45 are primary routes that link the prefectural capital to the capitals of other prefectures across Japan. Additional national routes in Aomori Prefecture include routes 101 , 102 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 279 , 280 , 282 , 338 , 339 , 340 , 394 , and 454 . Two of
5145-579: The Occupation of Japan , Aomori's military bases were controlled by the US military. Hachinohe Airfield was occupied until 1950, and was called Camp Haugen. Misawa Air Base was occupied and rebuilt by the United States Army Air Forces ; the base has seen a US military presence since then. Radio Aomori made its first broadcast in 1953. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held. 1958 saw
5292-527: The Pacific War ; however, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. The Japanese-ruled Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states . The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by
5439-708: The Sirena Deep , is also located in the Mariana Trench. The western Pacific has many major marginal seas , including the Philippine Sea , South China Sea , East China Sea , Sea of Japan , Sea of Okhotsk , Bering Sea , Gulf of Alaska , Gulf of California , Mar de Grau , Tasman Sea , and the Coral Sea . In the early 16th century , Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and sighted
5586-693: The Southern Hemisphere . The North Equatorial Current , driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds , turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current . Turning eastward at about 45°N , the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current , while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms
5733-683: The Southwest Pacific around Oceania . The Pacific Ocean's mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench , located in the northwestern Pacific, is the deepest known point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,928 meters (35,853 feet). The Pacific also contains the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere , the Horizon Deep in the Tonga Trench , at 10,823 meters (35,509 feet). The third deepest point on Earth,
5880-662: The Strait of Magellan to the Philippines , the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful; however, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific. The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes . Tsunamis , caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns. The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507
6027-837: The Tsugaru Line . Other notable rail operators in the prefecture are the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), that runs the Hokkaido Shinkansen through the Seikan Tunnel to and from Hokkaido, the Aoimori Railway that operates passenger services on the Tōhoku Main Line, and the northernmost privately owned railway in Japan, the Tsugaru Railway . Maritime transport in Aomori Prefecture operates primarily from
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6174-772: The Western Hemisphere . The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole ) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge . For most of Magellan's voyage from
6321-654: The World Ocean and the hydrosphere covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area (148,000,000 km (57,000,000 sq mi)). The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere , as well as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility , are in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean circulation (caused by the Coriolis effect ) subdivides it into two largely independent volumes of water that meet at
6468-566: The crab claw sail ) – it is likely that the progressive development of these technologies were related to the later steps of settlement into Near and Remote Oceania. Starting at around 2200 BCE, Austronesians sailed southwards to settle the Philippines . From, probably, the Bismarck Archipelago they crossed the western Pacific to reach the Marianas Islands by 1500 BCE, as well as Palau and Yap by 1000 BCE. They were
6615-929: The equator , the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (or more loosely the South Seas ). The Pacific Ocean can also be informally divided by the International Date Line into the East Pacific and the West Pacific , which allows it to be further divided into four quadrants, namely the Northeast Pacific off the coasts of North America , the Southeast Pacific off South America , Northwest Pacific off Far Eastern / Pacific Asia , and
6762-408: The 1320s. The conflict was put down after the Nanbu intervened at the behest of the shogunate. The conflict weakened the Kamakura shogunate in its later years, while the Andō were split into northern (Andō) and southern (Akita) divisions. At the onset of the Ashikaga shogunate , the Nanbu and Andō continued to rule the area, with the Nanbu controlling the current prefecture's southeastern section and
6909-449: The 1867 resignation of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu , the Boshin War had reached northern Japan by late 1868. On 20 September 1868 the pro-Shōgunate Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei was proclaimed at Morioka , the capital of the Nanbu clan who ruled Morioka Domain . The Tsugaru clan first sided with the pro-imperial forces of Satchō Alliance , and attacked nearby Shōnai Domain . However, the Tsugaru soon switched course, and briefly became
7056-441: The Andō controlling the Shimokita and Tsugaru peninsulas. The Andō also were involved with controlling the fringes of Ezo, splitting their attention. In 1336, the Andō completed construction of Horikoshi Castle during the Northern and Southern Courts period . During the Muromachi, the Nanbu slowly began edging the Andō out of present-day Aomori Prefecture. The Andō were pushed out of Tosaminato in 1432, retreating to Ezo, giving
7203-414: The Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent the entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines . The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands , such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition , led by
7350-405: The Atlantic. The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc , along
7497-433: The Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current . The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on
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#17328549291327644-499: The Danish-born Russian navy officer Vitus Bering . Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and colonized Polynesia , and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii , and the North American Pacific Northwest . In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron , a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established
7791-445: The Emishi that inhabited what would become Aomori Prefecture was known as the Tsugaru. Historic records mention a series of destructive eruptions in 917 from the volcano at Lake Towada . The eruptive activity peaked on 17 August. Throughout the Heian period the Emishi were slowly subdued by the Imperial Court in Kyoto before being incorporated into Mutsu Province by the Northern Fujiwara around 1094. The Northern Fujiwara set up
7938-411: The Meiji period. Aomori Station , Shin-Aomori Station , Hachinohe Station , Hirosaki Station , and Shichinohe-Towada Station are major rail stations operating in Aomori Prefecture. The East Japan Railway Company (JR East), operates several rail lines in the prefecture: the Tōhoku Shinkansen , the Tōhoku Main Line , the Ōu Main Line , the Ōminato Line , the Gonō Line , the Hachinohe Line , and
8085-498: The Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions encountered the Caroline Islands , the Aru Islands , and Papua New Guinea . In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan. In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 soldiers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi , and colonized the Philippines and Mariana Islands . For the remainder of the 16th century, Spain maintained military and mercantile control, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across
8232-401: The Nanbu control over all their lands. The port settlement would fall into disrepair under the Nanbu. During the Sengoku period, the Nanbu clan collapsed into several rival factions. One faction under Ōura Tamenobu asserted their control over the Hirosaki Domain . His clan, originally the Ōura clan ( 大浦氏 , Ōura-shi ) , was of uncertain origins. According to later Tsugaru clan records,
8379-436: The Nanbu dialect are centered around Hachinohe. The Shimokita dialect is used on the Shimokita Peninsula around Mutsu and has been recognized as having enough differences to distinguish it from the Nanbu dialect. It was also used in combination with the Nanbu dialect in an early Japanese–Russian dictionary written by a man whose father came from the Shimokita Peninsula. The oldest discovered compilation of words and phrases of
8526-726: The Nanbu dialect was written in 1790 followed by a dictionary of the Tsugaru dialect in 1809. Special features of the Aomori dialects include an atypical intonation , voicing consonants that are typically unvoiced (e.g. [k] sounds become [g]), and the addition of voiced velar nasal sounds and corresponding kana (か゚ [ŋa], き゚ [ŋi], く゚ [ŋu], け゚ [ŋe], and こ゚ [ŋo]). There is a negative connotation that surrounds people who speak this dialect, labeling them as lazy country folks. Due to this negativity speakers of Tōhoku dialects will often hide their accents. A study performed in 2016 indicated that people from Aomori who are 70 years and older frequently use these dialects, while use becomes less frequent
8673-409: The Pacific Ocean from Lake Towada. Another feature of the park, the Hakkōda Mountains , an expansive volcanic group , rises in the lands to the south of the city of Aomori and north of Lake Towada. Shirakami-Sanchi , a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the Shirakami Mountains in the western part of the prefecture. The site contains the largest surviving virgin beech forest in East Asia which
8820-429: The Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam , and establishing the Spanish East Indies . The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco , in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also arrived at Tuvalu , the Marquesas , the Cook Islands , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , the Marshalls and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. Later, in
8967-399: The Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea , Coral Sea , East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea , Sea of Japan , South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea , Tasman Sea , and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait ) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to
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#17328549291329114-402: The Pacific in recorded history. They were part of a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation . Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn , the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until
9261-540: The Philippines already in 7000 BCE. Additional earlier migrations into Insular Southeast Asia, associated with Austroasiatic-speakers from Mainland Southeast Asia, are estimated to have taken place already in 15000 BCE. At around 1300 to 1200 BCE, a branch of the Austronesian migrations known as the Lapita culture reached the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , Fiji , and New Caledonia . From there, they settled Tonga and Samoa by 900 to 800 BCE. Some also back-migrated northwards in 200 BCE to settle
9408-412: The Shimokita Peninsula, is the eleventh largest lake in Japan, the largest brackish lake in the Tōhoku area, and the prefecture's largest lake. Lake Towada , a lake that sits in a volcanic caldera , straddles Aomori's boundary with Akita. The lake is a primary feature of Towada-Hachimantai National Park and is the largest caldera lake in Honshu. Also within the park, the Oirase River flows east towards
9555-407: The Shimokita Peninsula. Another dish that was created in the area surrounding Mutsu Bay is kaiya in the Tsugaru area or kayaki on the Shimokita Peninsula, it is a boiled miso and egg dish mixed with fish or scallop meat on a large scallop shell that serves as both the cookware and serveware. In 2006, the production of aged black garlic began in Aomori Prefecture. The prefecture has since become
9702-399: The Towada Campus of Kitasato University . The Aomori Prefecture Board of Education oversees various aspects of the prefecture's educational system including the management of libraries, the Aomori Prefectural Museum , and various educational support offices and centers. In all the prefecture allocated 130.3 billion yen towards education in 2018. In 2017 the prefecture's public school system
9849-406: The Tsugaru Strait are of strategic value to both Japan and the United States, as the strait serves as an access point for the United States Navy into the Sea of Japan where they can put pressure on Russia, China, and North Korea. The prefecture also hosts Misawa Air Base , the only combined, joint U.S. service installation in the western Pacific servicing Army , Navy , and Air Force , as well as
9996-442: The Tsugaru clan had solidified their control over their gains made during the Sengoku period. Mutsu Province was struck by the Tenmei famine between 1781 and 1789, due to lower than usual temperatures that were exacerbated by volcanic eruptions at Mount Iwaki , near the Tsugaru clan's capital, Hirosaki, between November 1782 and June 1783. At the beginning of the Edo period, the last pockets of Ainu people in Honshu still lived in
10143-407: The Tōhoku Expressway also serve the prefecture. The Aomori Expressway and Hachinohe Expressway , spur routes into the eastern part of the city Aomori and central Hachinohe. A spur of the Hachinohe Expressway continues northwest across the eastern side of the prefecture towards the prefecture's capital. It is made up of several named routes: the Momoishi Toll Road , the Daini-Michinoku Toll Road ,
10290-528: The United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873–76); and the German Gazelle (1874–76). In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853, respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated
10437-429: The age of 64. In the same year the prefecture had a density of 130.9 people per square kilometer. In 2015, about 3,425 foreign-born immigrants lived in Aomori, making up just 0.26 percent of the prefecture's population, the lowest of any prefecture. Like much of the Tōhoku Region , Aomori Prefecture remains dominated by primary sector industries, such as farming, forestry and fishing. The prefecture's forestry industry
10584-530: The andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville , Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands. The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under
10731-408: The andesite line. Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and
10878-500: The archaeological sites would join Shirakami-Sanchi as the prefecture's second World Heritage Site. Tourist access to Shirakami-Sanchi is heavily restricted to tourists due to its delicate ecosystem, though several water features, trails, and roads can be accessed by its visitors. About 35.2 million domestic travelers visited Aomori Prefecture in 2016, while about 95,000 foreign tourists visited in 2017. Aomori Prefecture and
11025-574: The arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December. A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between
11172-508: The base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea . Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current . The South Equatorial Current , flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea , turns east at about 50°S , and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current . As it approaches
11319-484: The cities, ferrying automobile traffic and passengers rather than trains. Aomori Public College opened in April 1993. In April 1995, Aomori Airport began offering regular international air service to Seoul, South Korea , and Khabarovsk, Russia ; however, the flights to Khabarovsk were discontinued in 2004. In June 2007, four North Korean defectors reached Aomori Prefecture, after having been at sea for six days, marking
11466-517: The city is part of Iwate 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . The local economy of Ninohe is based on agriculture and food processing. Local produce include apples, dairy products and hops. Ninohe has eight public elementary schools and four middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education. There
11613-468: The city of Hirosaki. The creator of the supernatural manga series Shaman King , Hiroyuki Takei , is from the village of Yomogita in northwestern Aomori. The comedian Daimaō Kosaka , known widely for his viral single " PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen) ", was born in Aomori Prefecture. Sōsaku-hanga artist Shikō Munakata was born in Aomori. Much of his art was inspired by the prefecture's natural qualities and rural culture. The two largest cities of
11760-472: The clan was descended from the noble Fujiwara clan and had an accent claim to ownership of the Tsugaru region on the Tsugaru Peninsula and the area surrounding Mount Iwaki in the northwestern corner of Mutsu Province; however, according to the records of their rivals, the Nanbu clan, clan progenitor Ōura Tamenobu was born as either Nanbu Tamenobu or Kuji Tamenobu, from a minor branch house of the Nanbu and
11907-527: The completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizen's Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a rail connection with the village of Minmaya at the tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula. In March 1985, after 23 years of labor and a financial investment of 690 billion yen, the Seikan Tunnel finally linked the islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō , thereby becoming
12054-402: The country. Only neighboring Akita Prefecture lost more citizens than Aomori. In 2017, 23,529 people moved out of Aomori, while 17,454 people moved to the prefecture. In 2018, about 590,000 of the prefecture's residents were men and 670,000 were women, 10.8 percent of the population was below the age of 15, 56.6 percent of residents were between the ages of 15 and 64, and 32.6 percent was above
12201-455: The diameter of the Moon. Its geographic center is in eastern Kiribati south of Kiritimati , just west from Starbuck Island at 4°58′S 158°45′W / 4.97°S 158.75°W / -4.97; -158.75 . The lowest known point on Earth – the Mariana Trench – lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft ; 5,966 fathoms ) below sea level. Its average depth
12348-402: The difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest; however, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active. The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins , which are
12495-464: The early Meiji period , the town of Fukuoka and the villages of Jōbōji, Kindaichi, Gohenchi, Tomai, Ishikiridokoro, and Nisattai were established within Ninohe District on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Jōbōji was elevated to town status on December 25, 1940. Gohenchi, Tomai, Ishikiridokoro, and Nisattai merged with Fukuoka on March 10, 1955. The modern city
12642-544: The east and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast. Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea , the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Santa Cruz , Vanuatu , Fiji and New Caledonia . The largest area, Polynesia , stretching from Hawaii in
12789-493: The east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents . In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to
12936-634: The eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula , the Kuril Islands , Japan, the Mariana Islands , the Solomon Islands , and New Zealand's North Island . The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside
13083-558: The eighteenth century. Magellan stopped at one uninhabited Pacific island before stopping at Guam in March 1521. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope , completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522. Sailing around and east of
13230-634: The equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north. The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km (63,800,000 sq mi) – larger than Earth's entire landmass combined, 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi). Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from
13377-585: The equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas. The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre ) and counter-clockwise in
13524-535: The establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate , the Nanbu ruled the Shimokita Peninsula and the districts immediately to the south of it. The area to the west of the Nanbu's holdings and to the north of the lands held by the Akita clan were all controlled by the Tsugaru clan, from their capital at Hirosaki . Work on Hirosaki Castle was completed in 1611, replacing Horikoshi Castle as the Tsugaru clan's fortress. By 1631,
13671-586: The first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula , and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and arrived at Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum – a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from
13818-469: The first humans to reach Remote Oceania , and the first to cross vast distances of open water. They also continued spreading southwards and settling the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia , reaching Indonesia and Malaysia by 1500 BCE, and further west to Madagascar and the Comoros in the Indian Ocean by around 500 CE. More recently, it is suggested that Austronesians expanded already earlier, arriving in
13965-523: The great "Southern Sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). Afterwards, the ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico , which in Portuguese means 'peaceful sea'. Top large seas: Across the continents of Asia, Australia and
14112-411: The harsh winters since cotton was unavailable to the lower class. Wooden horse figures called Yawata-uma have been made in the former holdings of the Nanbu for 700 years. The Aomori area has given rise to several soups: ke porridge or Keno-jiru, which consists of miso soup with diced root vegetables and wild plants such as butterbur and bracken with tofu from the Tsugaru area; ichigoni ,
14259-429: The highest recorded temperature during the summer is 33.1 °C (91.6 °F). A person living in or from Aomori Prefecture is referred to as an Aomorian. As of 2017, the prefecture had a total population of 1.28 million residents, accounting for just over 1 percent of Japan's total population. In 2018, Aomori Prefecture saw the second largest decrease in the number of Japanese citizens out of any prefecture in
14406-603: The imperial army in attacking the Republic of Ezo at the Battle of Hakodate , where the pro-Shōgunate forces were finally defeated. As a result, the entire clan was able to evade the punitive measures taken by the Meiji government on other northern domains. In 1868, Mutsu Province was broken up into five provinces in the aftermath of the Boshin War, with its namesake province, Rikuō occupying what would later become Aomori Prefecture and
14553-439: The incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile. Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during
14700-533: The islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia , Melanesia and Polynesia . Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line , includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to
14847-730: The islands of eastern Micronesia (including the Carolines , the Marshall Islands , and Kiribati ), mixing with earlier Austronesian migrations in the region. This remained the furthest extent of the Austronesian expansion into Polynesia until around 700 CE when there was another surge of island exploration. They reached the Cook Islands , Tahiti , and the Marquesas by 700 CE; Hawaiʻi by 900 CE; Rapa Nui by 1000 CE; and finally New Zealand by 1200 CE. Austronesians may have also reached as far as
14994-654: The largest producer of the superfood in Japan. Aomori Prefecture boasts a variety of festivals year round offering a unique look into northern Japan, and hosts the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri , one of the Three Great Festivals of Tōhoku [ ja ] . During late April hanami festivals are held across the prefecture, with the most prominent of the festivals being located on the grounds of Hirosaki Castle. Summer and autumn hold many distinct festivals with bright lights, floats, dancing and music. Winter
15141-451: The late Nara period ; however, it was not under effective control of the central government until the mid- Heian period . The area was dominated by the Nanbu clan from the early Muromachi period , and was named for one of the nine numbered stockades, or fortified ranches, that established to secure this frontier area. During the Edo period , the area was under the control of Morioka Domain . In
15288-588: The longest tunnel of its kind in the world. Almost exactly three years later, on March 13, railroad service was inaugurated on the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line . The tunnel's opening to rail traffic saw the end of the Seikan Ferry rail service. During their 80 years of service, the Seikan rail ferries sailed between Aomori and Hakodate some 720,000 times, carrying 160 million passengers. It continues to operate between
15435-566: The mountainous areas on the peninsulas of the prefecture. They interacted with the ruling clans to some extent, but they primarily lived off of fishing the waters of Mutsu Bay and the Tsugaru Strait . However, the Tsugaru clan made two big pushes to assimilate the Ainu, the first came in 1756 and the second came in 1809. Records show that the clan was successful in wiping out the Ainu culture in their holdings, though some geographic names in Aomori Prefecture still retain their original Ainu names. Despite
15582-404: The nation's production of redcurrant , burdock , and garlic , accounting for 81, 37, and 66 percent, respectively, of the country's production. Aomori also boasts being the home to Hakkōda cattle, a rare, region-specific breed of Japanese Shorthorn . The town of Gonohe has a long history as a breeding center for horses of exceptional quality, popular among the samurai . With the decline of
15729-585: The north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu , Tokelau , Samoa , Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands , Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands , Tuamotu , Mangareva Islands , and Easter Island to the east. Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside
15876-603: The northern Philippines , but also earlier groups associated with Austroasiatic-speakers , resulting in the modern peoples of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. A later seaborne migration is the Neolithic Austronesian expansion of the Austronesian peoples . Austronesians originated from the island of Taiwan c. 3000 –1500 BCE. They are associated with distinctive maritime sailing technologies (notably outrigger boats , catamarans , lashed-lug boats, and
16023-530: The northern end of the island of Honshu . It faces Hokkaido from across the Tsugaru Strait and it borders Akita and Iwate in the south. The prefecture is flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Japan to the west with the Tsugaru Strait linking those bodies of water to the north of the prefecture. The islets of Kyūroku-jima in the Sea of Japan are the prefecture's westernmost point. Oma , at
16170-557: The northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the Southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin , where they occasionally impact island nations. In
16317-465: The northwestern corner of Iwate Prefecture. On 4 September 1871, Rikuō Province was abolished and divided, establishing today's Aomori Prefecture. Its capital was briefly located in Hirosaki, but it was moved on 23 September to the centrally located port village, Aomori. The prefecture's new capital, Aomori, saw rapid expansion which was due to its importance as a logistic hub in northern Japan. It became
16464-408: The northwestern tip of the axe-shaped Shimokita Peninsula , is the northernmost point of Honshu. The Shimokita and Tsugaru Peninsulas enclose Mutsu Bay . Between those peninsulas lies the smaller Natsudomari Peninsula , the northern end of the Ōu Mountains . The three peninsulas are prominently visible in the prefecture's symbol, a stylized map. Lake Ogawara , a brackish lake at the base of
16611-399: The ocean was encountered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean. He named it Mar del Sur ("Sea of the South" or "South Sea" ) because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. In 1520, navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first to cross
16758-549: The ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia . The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of
16905-515: The population of Ninohe peaked around the year 1960 and has steadily declined over the past 60 years. The area of present-day Ninohe was part of ancient Mutsu Province , and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period . Many Jōmon and Kofun period remains have been found. Inhabited by the Emishi tribes, the Nihon Shoki describes the penetration of the area by forces of the imperial dynasty in
17052-621: The port settlement Tosaminato in present-day Goshogawara to develop trade between their lands, Kyoto, and continental Asia. The Northern Fujiwara were deposed in 1189 by Minamoto no Yoritomo who would go on to establish the Kamakura shogunate . Minamoto no Yoritomo incorporated Mutsu Province into the holdings of the Kamakura shogunate. Nanbu Mitsuyuki was awarded vast estates in Nukanobu District after he had joined Minamoto no Yoritomo at
17199-566: The ports of Aomori, Mutsuogawara, and Hachinohe, though smaller ports are found throughout the prefecture. The ports at Aomori and Hachinohe both serve cruise ships and ferry lines. Additionally, a ferry line operates between Ōma and Hakodate. Prior to the opening of the Seikan Tunnel, rail ferries operated by the Japanese National Railways linked Aomori Station and Hakodate Station as the primary connection between Hokkaido and
17346-474: The prefectural fish. Tōhoku dialect , one of the three main dialects of Japan, is spoken in Aomori Prefecture. The most widespread variants are the Tsugaru dialect , Nanbu dialect, and Shimokita dialect. The boundary determining which of these dialects are spoken is mainly along the former border of the Tsugaru and Nanbu clans between Hiranai and Noheji, with some overlap. Speakers of the Tsugaru dialect are typically centered around Hirosaki, while those who use
17493-500: The prefecture remains dominated by primary sector industries, it also serves as a transportation hub due to its location at the northern end of Honshu. The oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in the town of Sotogahama in the northwestern part of the prefecture. The relics found there suggest that the Jōmon period began about 15,000 years ago. By 7,000 BCE, fishing cultures had developed along
17640-483: The prefecture was designated as Natural Parks , namely the Towada-Hachimantai and Sanriku Fukkō National Parks; Shimokita Hantō and Tsugaru Quasi-National Parks; and Asamushi-Natsudomari , Ashino Chishōgun , Iwaki Kōgen , Kuroishi Onsenkyō , Nakuidake , Ōwani Ikarigaseki Onsenkyō , and Tsugaru Shirakami Prefectural Natural Parks; and Mount Bonju Prefectural Forest . The climate of Aomori Prefecture
17787-509: The prefecture's national highways also continue north across the Tsugaru Strait to Hokkaido: National Route 279, which is carried to Hakodate by the Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry ; and National Route 280, which was previously carried by ferry to the town of Fukushima, Hokkaido , though the route is still signed from Fukushima to Hakodate. Railways have played an important role in Aomori Prefecture's transportation network and development since
17934-547: The prefecture, 4 that are private, and 155 that are run by municipal governments), and 95 high schools. During the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search conducted in Flagstaff, Arizona for main-belt asteroids that have a risk of coming close to Earth, observers discovered 19701 Aomori , an asteroid which they named after Aomori Prefecture. 19701 Aomori was given its name on 9 May 2012 after
18081-622: The prefecture, Aomori and Hachinohe, both host professional sports teams. Both cities have professional soccer clubs in the Japan Professional Football League : Aomori's ReinMeer Aomori and Hachinohe's Vanraure Hachinohe . Other professional sports teams in the two cities include the Aomori Wat's , a basketball team from Aomori in the B.League and the Tohoku Free Blades , an ice hockey team from Hachinohe that competes in
18228-422: The prefecture; the incomplete Tsugaru Expressway , running east–west in the southwestern portion of the prefecture; the partially-complete Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway that travels south–north along the prefecture's eastern coast to Hachinohe; and the partially-complete Shimokita Expressway that travels south–north along Shimokita Peninsula from the town of Noheji to the city of Mutsu. Several auxiliary routes of
18375-569: The quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , arrived at the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres . Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in exploration and trade; Willem Janszoon , made
18522-475: The region. After pledging fealty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi , he was confirmed as an independent warlord in 1590 and changed his name to "Tsugaru", formally establishing the Tsugaru clan . Tsugaru Tamenobu assisted Hideyoshi at the Battle of Odawara , and accompanied his retinue to Hizen during the Korean Expedition. Afterwards, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. After
18669-586: The rest of Japan. A museum dedicated to the historic rail ferries operates near Aomori Station in a former rail ferryboat, the Hakkoda Maru . There are two commercial airports located within Aomori Prefecture, Aomori Airport and Misawa Airport . Both airports are relatively small, though Aomori Airport offers regular international flights to South Korea and Taiwan, seasonal flights to China, and chartered flights to Thailand, in addition to domestic flights to several cities. Aomori Prefecture's national university
18816-405: The samurai, Gonohe's horses continued to be bred for their meat. The lean horse meat is coveted as a delicacy, especially when served in its raw form, known as basashi ( 馬刺し ) . The Aomori coast along Mutsu Bay is a large source of scallops, but they are particularly a specialty of the town Hiranai where the calm water around Natsudomari Peninsula makes a good home for them. Tourism has been
18963-413: The second known case ever where defectors have successfully reached Japan by boat. In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the east coast of Japan. The southeastern coast of Aomori Prefecture was affected by the resulting tsunami . Buildings along harbors were damaged along with boats thrown about in the streets. Aomori Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture in the Tōhoku region, lying on
19110-500: The settlement of Buka by 32,000 B.P. and Manus by 25,000 B.P. Journeys of 180 kilometres (110 mi) and 230 kilometres (140 mi) are involved, respectively. The descendants of these migrations today are the Negritos , Melanesians , and Indigenous Australians . Their populations in maritime Southeast Asia , coastal New Guinea , and Island Melanesia later intermarried with the incoming Austronesian settlers from Taiwan and
19257-519: The shores of the prefecture which were three meters higher than the present day shoreline. Around 3,900 BCE, the settlement at the Sannai-Maruyama Site in the present-day city of Aomori began. The settlement shows evidence of the wide interaction between the site's inhabitants and people from across Jōmon period Japan, including Hokkaido and Kyushu . The settlement of Sannai-Maruyama ended around 2300 BCE due to unknown reasons. Its abandonment
19404-548: The six sons of Nanbu Mitsuyuki, forming the six main branches of the Nanbu clan . The northwestern part of the prefecture was awarded to the Andō clan for their role in driving the Northern Fujiwara out of Tosaminato. The port was expanded under the rule of the Andō clan. They traded heavily with the Ainu in Ezo . However, conflict would break out between the Ainu and the Andō clan in 1268 and again in
19551-500: The southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress. In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass. Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when
19698-476: The style was Takahashi Chikuzan , a blind musician from Hiranai who wandered around the country and eventually gained nationwide appeal. Aomori Prefecture is also where the decorative embroidery styles, kogin-zashi and Nanbu hishizashi originated as more utilitarian techniques during the Edo period. The peasant women of the area, who created the styles, used them to make linen clothing more robust and warm during
19845-786: The tropics and Antarctica, which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude. The ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius ; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan 's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than
19992-453: The vastness of the world. The prefectural bird has been Bewick's swan since 1964, the species migrates to the area during the winter. In 1966, the prefecture designated the hiba ( Thujopsis dolabrata ) as its prefectural tree. The apple blossom was designated as the prefectural flower in 1971 to pay homage to the prefecture's apple production. In 1987, the Japanese halibut was designated as
20139-566: The west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean . As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian , the West Pacific (or western Pacific , near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere , while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific , near the Americas) is in
20286-525: The width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history. One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and
20433-400: The winter. The eastern side is subject to low clouds brought in by northeasterly winds during the summer months, known locally as Yamase winds, from June through August, with temperatures staying relatively low. However, there are instances of Yamase winds making summers so cold that food production is hindered. The lowest recorded temperature during the winter is −9.3 °C (15.3 °F), and
20580-434: The world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles). Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of seawater, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near
20727-421: The younger a person is regardless of fluency. Additionally, the study revealed that when traveling to Tokyo, older generations will continue to use their dialect, while younger generations switch to standard Japanese. On the other hand, over half of each generation surveyed preferred to use their local dialect when talking to Tokyoites in Aomori Prefecture. The largest newspaper by readership in Aomori Prefecture
20874-472: Was driven from the clan due to discord with his elder brother. In any event, the Ōura were hereditary vice-district magistrate ( 郡代補佐 , gundai hosa ) under the Nanbu clan's local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu; however, in 1571, Tamenobu attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan's castles in the Tsugaru region one after another. He captured castles at Ishikawa, Daikoji and Aburakawa, and soon gathered support of many former Nanbu retainers in
21021-482: Was founded on April 1, 1972, with the merger of the town of Fukuoka with the village of Kindaichi. On January 1, 2006, the city of Ninohe annexed the town of Jōbōji. Ninohe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. Ninohe, and the town of Ichinohe contribute two seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics,
21168-407: Was impacted by the migration of settlers from continental Asia to a lesser extent than the rest of Japan to the south and west of the region. The region, known then as Michinoku, was inhabited by the Emishi . It is not clear if the Emishi were the descendants of the Jōmon people, a group of the Ainu people , or if both the Ainu and Emishi were descended from the Jōmon people. The northernmost tribe of
21315-435: Was likely due to the population's subsistence economy being unable to result in sustained growth, with its end being spurred on by the reduced amount of natural resources during the neoglaciation . The Jōmon period continued up to 300 BCE in present-day Aomori Prefecture at the Kamegaoka site in the city of Tsugaru where the Shakōkidogū was found. During the Yayoi period, the area that would become Aomori Prefecture
21462-407: Was teaching 133,507 primary and secondary students, a sharp decrease from a total of 173,537 students ten years earlier. Overall the prefecture has 94 kindergartens (1 of which is a national school and 3 that are public), 289 elementary schools (1 of which is a national school and 288 that are run by municipal governments), 161 middle schools (1 of which is a national school, another which is run by
21609-469: Was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size. (Inhabited dependent territories are denoted by the asterisk (*), with names of the corresponding sovereign states in round brackets. Associated states in the Realm of New Zealand are denoted by the hash sign (#).) Territories with no permanent civilian population. The Pacific Ocean has most of
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