青森県観光物産館アスパム The A-shaped Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center (ASPAM) on Aomori waterfront is a landmark of this northern city and was completed in 1986. ASPAM is a 76 meter tall building symbolizing the first letter of Aomori Prefecture and Aomori city and is a multi-use structure introducing Aomori's local food and handicraft products and the prefecture's many tourist attractions. ASPAM contains souvenir and craft shops selling Aomori's signature products: apples, of course, sake, rice crackers (senbei), embroidery, kokeshi dolls, woodwork and lacquerware goods. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/photo/110974670469184990448/6244077872961946450
The Landmark ASPAM building by The strait of Tsugaru, Aomori, Japan 青森県観光物産館アスパム https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/photo/110974670469184990448/6232006049716043122
会津若松城 (鶴ヶ城) The castle is also known as Tsuruga(Crane) Castle which is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. The castle was constructed by Ashina Naomori in 1384, and was originally named Kurokawa Castle (黒川城). It was the military and administrative center of the Aizu region until 1868. Date Masamune, the greatest warlord of the Tōhoku area, had struggled against the Ashina clan for years, and finally captured the castle in 1589 at the Siege of Kurokawa Castle. But soon he submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and gave it up in 1590. ~Wiki~ The most famous story in history happened here is the Battle of Aizu (会津戦争). The Byakkotai (White Tiger Force白虎隊) was a group of around 305 young teenage samurai of the Aizu domain, who fought in the Boshin War (1868–1869) for the defense of the castle. Finally, the 19 Byakkotai members who committed suicide at the Iimori Hill (飯盛山) because of seeing the rising smoke and assumed that the castle itself had fallen. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/photo/110974670469184990448/6237407462506339426
