The , also known as the is a

metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

in the Japanese prefecture of

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

that includes the city of

and its surrounding

satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientif ...

Hiranai () is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 9,750 in 4,736 households, and a population density of 45 persons per km2. It is the most heavily populate ...

, Imabetsu, Sotogahama, and Yomogita. The metropolitan area is defined as the Aomori Urban Employment Area by the Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) and the Center for Spatial Information Service of the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Demographics

As of 2015, Greater Aomori had a population of 310,640. Due to the area's

aging population Population ageing is an overall change in the ages of a population. This can typically be summarised in a single parameter as an increase in the median age. Causes are a long-term decline in fertility rates and a decline in mortality rates. Most ...

, its population is expected to fall by 74,265 at least to 236,375 people by 2045, though more harsh estimates project a population of 192,673 by 2045.

Transportation

Air

* Aomori Airport

Major highways

* * * * * * * (unsigned) * * * * *

Rail

Greater Aomori has a network of railway lines. Main rail terminals in the area include,

Aomori Station is a railway station in the city of Aomori in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The station has been operating since September 1891, though the most recent station building, which consists of three island platforms connected to the station building by a ...

, Shin-Aomori Station, and Okutsugaru-Imabetsu Station.

High speed rail

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

and

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

operate

high-speed trains High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single def ...

on the Tōhoku-

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

line. Shin-Aomori Station acts as the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

terminal station, though the two lines are physically joined, and many trains offer through service. This station is connected to

in central Aomori by the

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station (Fukushima), Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1 ...

. The smaller high-speed station, Okutsugaru-Imabetsu Station is also within Greater Aomori.

Commuter rail

Both

and private lines connect Aomori and its suburbs. The Aoimori Railway Line is operated by the Aoimori Railway Company, a " third-sector" publicly and privately owned company. It connects

and central Aomori to

in Greater Aomori and continues towards Noheji, Misawa, and Hachinohe. The Tsugaru and Ōu lines operated by JR East have termini at Aomori Station. The Ōu Main Line connects Aomori to Hirosaki and points to the south, while the Tsugaru Line connects

and Minmaya Station in the town of Sotogahama on the northern tip of the

Tsugaru Peninsula The is a peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, at the northern end of Honshū island, Japan. The peninsula projects north into the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshū from Hokkaidō. The western coast is on the Sea of Japan, while on its eastern coast ...

References

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