The Hachinohe Area is a region in the southeast of the Aomori Prefecture.
It is made up of the city of Hachinohe and seven towns and villages in the surrounding area, which were all once part of the domain of the Nanbu clan.
This has shaped Japan's Northern Frontier.
During the winter months Hachinohe offers a series of winter events and activities.
The winter illuminations of Oirase Gorge's waterfall
From December throughFebruary, the Hachinohe area is illuminated every night with seasonal winter lights.
The illuminated ice falls of Oirase Gorge, an hour and 20 minutes from the Hachinohe.
This gorge is one of the most stunning river valleys in Japan, with fast flowing waters that freeze over during the winter months.
Visitors to the Oirase Gorge can see rare ice falls and the beauty of icicles and frozen streams, all of which have been carefully lit with LED lamps that don't melt the ice.
During the winter months, Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel, located alongside Oirase Gorge, runs night tours for visitors to view the spectacle of the frozen waterfalls.
www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/oirase-gorge
www.hoshinoresorts.com/en/resortsandhotels/uniquehotels/oirase.html
Soyumura Village 229 Ski Land Snow Festa
Located in Tako-cho, Soyumura 229 Ski Land is the southernmost ski resort in Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu.
It is located an hour from Hachinohe City and has slopes both beginner and advanced skiers.
For those who don't ski, 229 Ski Land Snow Festa ioffers a range of snow based activities with firework displays in the evenings.
www.snowjapan.com/japan-ski-resorts/aomori/takko/soyumura-229-ski-land
The Hachinohe Enburi Festival
Annually February
Hachinohe Enburi is a 800 year old winter festival, that takes place every year at locations in the city of Hachinohe.
The festival features a series of dancers (tayu) who perform a unique style of dancing down the city streets.
Each dancer holds a farming tool called 'enburi' and wears a hat shaped like the head of a horse and dances while moving the head.
Traditional folk dances are performed to announce the end of northern Japan's long winter and to pray for a successful planting and harvest season, and to usher in the coming of spring season.
www.visithachinohe.com/en/stories/the-2020-hachinohe-enburi-festival-schedule
The Hachinohe Bouillabaisse Festival
Annually February and March
Hachinohe's Bouillabaisse Festival is a two-month long celebration of the port town's best seafood that.
It is one of the biggest events in the Aomori Prefecture, where visitors can sample unusual fish dishes from local participating restaurants.
Restaurants that serve at the festival must abide by strict standards, using at least four types of seafood that are caught off the coast of Hachinohe serve another dish that makes use of the leftovers as a soup.
Each restaurant must prepare a signature dish that utilises the soup in an original way.
www.visithachinohe.com/en/stories/hachinohe-bouillabaisse
Sake
The Hachinohe Area has five sake breweries, with the Hachinohe Shuzo Sake Brewery and Hachinohe Shurui Sake Brewery in Hachinohe City itself.
Tours are available year round with January a good time because winter is the traditional season for brewing sake in Japan.
www.visithachinohe.com/en/places/hachinohesyuzo
www.visithachinohe.com/en/experiences/hachinoheshurui-hachitsurukojo