“Namaco” - Sea Cucumber

Aomori is famous for apples, but also “namaco” (sea cucumber) is quite famous that the catch is more than 1,200t every year.

Namaco is echinoderm same as sea urchin and starfish, and it’s consumed raw or people enjoy namaco soup or namako porridge using dried namaco.

There’s “Aomori Namaco Branding Council” to promote consumption of sea cucumbers, and they sell various products out into the market. Here are some of them.

Pancake

Looks like a namaco a bit.

With sesame paste filling.

Stickers: kids might feel familiar to namaco?

Fan

Post-it: very useful in the office

Cell-phone strap: real dried sea cucumber!

Cell-phone strap: (lucky charm) contains dried

sea cucumber powder



Black for oily skin, blue for dry skin and green for sensitive skin.

You can get these goods at ASPAM, Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center.

ASPAM: 1-1-40 Yasukata, Aomori-shi, Aomori Prefecture

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "apti net" : http://en.aptinet.jp/ 

Apple Soft Ice Cream

Another soft ice cream.

At ASPAM, Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center, you can enjoy the taste of Aomori.

Aomori is quite famous for apples that more than half the apples produced in Japan come from Aomori. There are heaps of various apple products and this ice cream is one of them. It’s soft-served and vanilla and pure apple syrup taste, and chopped fresh apple at the bottom of the cup with apple syrup again. Needless to say, it's delicious!!

Besides apple ice cream, you can also try “scallop soft ice cream” at another shop in ASPAM. I’ve never tasted it before so that I can’t say it’s good or not. If you want to try, please drop in at ASPAM.

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet":  http://en.aptinet.jp/