Fresh, Fermented, or in a Pie: The Apples of Aomori

Aomori is one of Japan’s most iconic tourist destinations, with everything from spectacular Nebuta festivals to blazing Tsugaru-jamisen music. But this prefecture at the northernmost tip of Honshu also has a softer side—or a crisper one, perhaps: Aomori is Japan’s leading producer of apples.

“Aomori’s first apple trees were planted 150 years ago. Today, they’re part of everyday life here the prefecture. When I was a boy, my family’s apple orchard was my playground.”

Kazuomi Ose is the manager of Hirosaki Apple Park. This apple-lover’s paradise has 80 different varieties growing on 2,300 trees spread across 9.7 hectares. Between August and November, visitors can pick big, red apples right off the trees as part of a harvest experience (fees apply).

Outside harvest season, fresh apples and other apple-related souvenirs are available year-round at the Apple House visitor facility, which also hosts exhibits and activities about the prefecture’s apple culture. In May, the park—and much of the prefecture—fills with delicate white apple blossoms, rivaling even Hirosaki’s renowned cherry blossoms for breathtaking beauty.

What makes Aomori apples special? According to Ose, sweetness is one factor. For the first century or so of apple production in Japan, buyers preferred tart apples. But when tropical crops like bananas became more widely available in the sixties, Japan developed a taste for sweeter fruit. Its apples have been getting sweeter ever since, with varieties like Fuji overtaking older favorites like Kogyoku.

“The bigger varieties are popular among tourists, too,” says Ose. “Hokuto and Toki, both developed in Aomori, are particular favorites.”

Aomori’s apples are also deliciously crisp, partly due to the steep temperature differential between day and night in the prefecture. Too much heat makes apples go soft or fail to develop their color, but Aomori has the perfect balance.

“Also, every orchard has its own unique terroir,” says Ose. “Even the same variety of apple tastes different depending on the soil it grows from.”

One popular way to eat a fresh apple in Aomori is the “star cut.” The apple is sliced horizontally, with the core in star-shaped cross-section at the center of each slice. Sometimes the core itself is removed in advance, but the skin is usually left on—the color contrast, extra crunch, and umami are part of the experience.

Processed apple products are also popular among both residents and visitors. Apple pie is a favorite, with cafes across the prefecture offering their own hand-baked take on the classic formula. Apple juice is easy to find, too, usually blending sweet and tart varieties for depth. And, of course, there’s apple cider.

“Apple-based drinks have been brewed in Aomori for almost as long as apples have been grown here,” says Satoshi Takahashi, founder of the Kimori cider brewery located right inside Hirosaki Apple Park. “But the true ciders available today all began with Asahi Cidre, founded by Isamu Yoshii in 1954.”

Yoshii and his brewers studied cider brewing in Europe but created a distinct tradition without the strict bounds on flavor imposed by some countries. “Visitors often remark on how ‘apple-y’ our cider is,” says Takahashi. “That’s because we start with respect for the apples themselves. Cider is another way to share the appeal of Aomori’s apples.”

For drinking on its own, Takahashi recommends a sweet cider, to enjoy the ‘apple-y’ taste as-is. But, he says, to accompany food—especially the preserved foods traditional to northern Japan—a tarter cider often showcases the original flavors more subtly.

In either case, Takahashi encourages visitors to learn the story behind the cider before they take their first sip. “It really does taste better that way,” he says with a smile.

Takahashi has his own story to tell. He grew up in Aomori, moved to Tokyo to enjoy a successful career in television, then returned to the orchards of his youth, where found himself particularly fascinated by the challenge of pruning.

Pruning, Takahashi explains, is a way to stimulate growth by disturbing the balance between a tree’s boughs and its roots. Every cut can affect the flavor of the fruit. This makes every tree a unique puzzle—and harvest time is when you see how well you did.

“Northern Aomori gets more rain than apple trees really need,” says Takahashi. “That makes pruning and otherwise caring for them all the more important.”

Even today, Aomori has its own distinct pruning shear designs. Some attribute this to the influence of former sword makers, who switched from katana to shears after the shogunate was abolished in the 1860s and former samurai went into the apple farming business instead.

Today, the samurai are long gone, but Aomori’s love for its orchards is stronger than ever. The name “Kimori” is a Japanese word that refers to leaving a single fruit unpicked, usually at the top of the tree, for birds to eat. This spirit of giving back to nature symbolizes the care and effort that makes Aomori apples so beloved by residents and visitors alike.