Aomori (青森市 Aomori-shi) is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tohoku Province of northern East Japan. As of September 2015, the city had an estimated population of 259,227 and a population density of 314.37 persons per km2. The total area of the city was 318.38 square miles (824.6 km2).
Geography[]
Aomori is located in central Aomori Prefecture, between the southern end of Mutsu Bay, which it faces to the north and the Hakkōda Mountains to the south.
Climate[]
Like most of Tōhoku, Aomori has a humid temperate climate with warm summers, and cold, though not extreme, winters. The city has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with monthly averages ranging from −1.2 °C (29.8 °F) in January to 23.3 °C (73.9 °F) in August.
Aomori and its surrounding area are renowned for heavy snowfall, the heaviest among all Japanese cities, and, in fact, among the heaviest in the world. In February 1945 the city recorded a maximum snow cover of 208.28 centimeters (82 inches), but the extreme low of −24.7 °C (−12 °F) was recorded 14 years earlier. In contrast, Sapporo's heaviest snowfall occurred in 1939, and that was only 165.1 centimeters (65 inches), and more northerly Wakkanai has recorded similar maxima. The particularly heavy snow is caused by several winds that collide around the city that makes the air rise and cool, resulting in quick, thick cloud formation followed by intense precipitation.
In summer, a cool wind called Yamase often blows from the east, which sometimes results in abnormally cool weather and poor harvests. Additionally, thick fogs from the Oyashio Current are often observed in mountainous areas in the summer. Due to this fog, flights to Aomori Airport are often cancelled.
Economy[]
Aomori serves as the regional commercial center for central Aomori Prefecture. Agriculture and commercial fishing form only 4% of the city economy, with manufacturing forming 16.2% and the service sector forming 78.2%.
Sister/Twin Cities[]
- Dalian, People's Republic of China
- Zhubei, Republic of China
- Kecskemét, Hungary
- Pyeongtaek, Korea