RAPPLE I like the word ‘Rapple’. It’s probably the best word ever made. It’s also the name of one of the most popular sweets we found at souvenir shop Shikanai, in Hirosaki station. A ‘Rapple’ is a small puffy cake filled with chopped apples. The apples used are made in Aomori and are purchased from…

CURRY RAMEN The beautiful city of Hirosaki is composed of multiple restaurants as diverse as each other, between Indian, Pakistani, French or American one they are stand in this gastronomically multicultural city. It is also important to take your time to walk around the small alleys to find good restaurants which are still well hidden…

COLD APPLE SOUP I had the chance to meet and converse with the extraordinary chef of this restaurant who lived for two decades in France, inspired by the best dishes of France located 8000km from Japan. Through his mastery of French cuisine and the use of local products, he proved to us that this 70…

MINI APPLE DONUTS In Japan, it is traditional to walk around the malls in search of souvenirs for relatives or friends. We buy most commonly local products to discover them as gifts. Among a wide range of local snacks (apples, apples and apples), I procured myself some mini apple donuts. The concept is cute and…

APPLE CURRY Whilst Hirosaki feels a bit like being on the edge of the world, in Tohoku’s far flung north, surprisingly it was once home to Japan’s most famous business man, Kenichi Fujita, back in the early 20th centry. To celebrate his hometown Kenichi created a beautiful Japanese garden (the second largest in Tohoku), with…

APPLE BURGER What to do after you try to eat in a restaurant during rush hour and you’ve been refused by three of them in a row as they’re already full? You go to the best hamburger restaurant in all of Aomori! This is what happened to me last night in Hirosaki, and as I…

APPLE DROPS “ Doroppusu” (meaning: drops) are a hard candy sold in Japan since 1908, very similar to Pear drops we enjoy back in the UK. When I saw them in a souvenir shop this morning, I suspected they may be exactly what I needed to help soothe a sore throat I’d been suffering from….

NOKKEDON The Furukawa fish Market, also called “ The Gyosai center” is filled with tightly packed rows of vendors selling a staggering variety of fresh seafoods, vegetables and pickles from across Aomori prefecture. But the thing that made it stand out, was the fun and unique way of experiencing the markets fresh ingredients, whereby customs…

AOMORI REIMEN Wandering around Aomori city, I wanted to try a restaurant randomly – and one that didn’t contain any fish as I’d spent the last week eating fish. So my heart skipped a beat when I saw the Nikudoki Hall Hanako (literally translated as the “Hall of Meat”). This place is a Yakiniku restaurant,…

CHAUSSON AUX POMMES I know the name is French and to be honest the origins of this pastry are totally French. So why did I chose this pastry in particular between some others ? The ASPAM (Aomori Sightseeing Products And Mansion) building offers the best of Aomori culture, food and tourist information. There is a…