Kuroishi Aomori

Kuroishi is a small city in the Aomori Prefecture that is close to the highly acclaimed Hakkoda Ski Area, which offers a ropeway serviced backcountry haven for powder hounds.

The Kuroishi Hot Spring Village is a collective name for four onsen: Nuruyu; Ochiai; Itadome; and Aoni Onsen. The Kuroishi Hot Spring Village sits on the outskirts of the city, and you can stay in one of the ryokan to enjoy some fabulous Japanese hospitality and cuisine, and soak your tired body in the onsen after a big day on the slopes. The Kuroishi onsen baths have been benefitting locals and visitors with a variety of ailments for centuries. Of important note the onsen waters are supposed to assist with fatigue recovery!

Kuroishi Hot Spring Village is a great area to stay to experience the experience of the region and sample the Japanese culture.

See more Kurioshi information here.

Where is Kuroishi?

Kuroishi is located in the centre of the Aomori Prefecture. It has the Hakkoda Mountain Range to the east, Hirosaki City to the west (famous for its cherry blossoms in spring), and Aomori City to the north.

Most people stay in the Kuroishi Hot Spring Village which is situated on the southeastern fringe of the city on the Asaseishi River. It’s only 22km (30 min drive) from the onsen village to Hakkoda. Google maps will try to take you around the long way, but it’s possible to utilise route 394 and 103 to reach the Hakkoda Ropeway.

The city of Kuroishi is rather spread out, and whilst there are some buses in the area, it’s best to have a rental car to give you the most flexibility to get around.

Other Nearby Ski Resorts

Kuroishi is particularly ideal to visit the famed Hakkoda, however there are also a few other nearby ski resorts.

The Aomori Spring Ski Resort is 43km to the west.

The little Iwakisan Hyakuzawa is only 36km to the west, which could be ideal if the weather is really brutal.

Owani Onsen is 29km to the southwest and another good option if a big snowstorm is battering Hakkoda.

Kuroishi Onsen Hotels

The Kuroishi Hot Spring Village has a concentration of inns and ryokan that are dotted alongside the river. Most are located near the start of route 394 that heads to Hakkoda, whilst Lamp no Yado Aoni Onsen is a little further afield in a remote valley.

The ryokan and inns have onsen and there are also public onsen baths in the area.

The hotels offer half board packages with breakfast and dinner. Some even offer vegan cuisine, which is a bit of a rarity outside of Tokyo.

See Kuroishi accommodation options.

Other Activities

Soaking in the onsen may be your main extra-curricular activity if you’re skiing or snowboarding during the day. Or if you take an afternoon off the slopes, you can explore other parts of Kuroishi City.

You could visit the Kokeshi Doll Museum and the region also has other arts and crafts like Tsugaru lacquerware.

Nakamachi Komise Street is very instagrammable and worth a stroll. It is a covered walkway shopping arcade that has mostly stayed intact since the Edo period (1603 – 1868).