The city of Aomori owes its development to its unique position as transportation and distribution hub for the north of Japan. This vital factor also holds out great promise for continued urban development as Aomori heads into the 21st century. With a population of about 290,000, Aomori is an attractive modern city, bordered on one side by the Hakkoda mountain range and on the other by the sea and a fine natural harbor. Aomori enjoys mild weather throughout the year regardless of season. Sitting at the southern end of the international waters of the Tsugaru Straits, Aomori is situated at approximately the same latitude as New York, Beijing, and Rome. As one of Japan's Northern urban centers, Aomori hopes to play an international role in circulating information about life in snowy regions.

Facing Aomori on the opposite shore of the Tsugaru Straits is the city of Hakodate. The sea has occasioned links between the two cities for a very long time, and with the completion in 1988 of the Seikan undersea tunnel(the longest such tunnel in the world), the two cities formally cemented their relationship by becoming sister cities. Thus the way has been opened to renewed economic development and cultural interchange. Now these two cities on the Tsugaru Straits are beginning to establish themselves not only as leading winter cities, but also as international centers for information exchange, tourism, sport, culture and commerce.