Tsuruta, Aomori

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This article is about the town in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. There is another town with the same Japanese name in Kagoshima Prefecture, see Tsuruda, Kagoshima.

Location of Tsuruta in Aomori prefecture

Tsuruta (鶴田町, Tsuruta-machi^?) is a town located in Kitatsugaru District, Aomori, Japan.

As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 15,404 and a density of 332.13 persons per km². The total area is 46.38 km².

Tsuruta, Japan, is located in Aomori Prefecture, the second poorest prefecture in Japan. The name "Tsuruta" is a combination of the character for crane (鶴) with that for rice field (田). Tsuruta Town Office, approximately in the center of town, is 25 kilometers from the Sea of Japan and about 45 kilometers from Aomori City, the capital of Aomori Prefecture.

Farming is the main industry of Tsuruta. Cold-hardy varieties of rice and many varieties of apples are grown in the town. Farmers in the area recently developed a strain of apples that does not oxidize (turn brown) when cut.

Tsuruta's school system is part of a new government pilot program in Japan. Schools participating in the program pick an area of focus and develop specialized curricula that expose young kids to the specialty at an early age. Tsuruta's school system focuses on teaching English to kids starting in preschool.

To implement this program in elementary schools, Tsuruta employs both a JET English teacher and a private English teacher from the sister city of Hood River, Oregon.

The Tsuruta-Hood River sister city relationship is among the most active in Japan, with groups of students and/or adults making a pilgrimage between the two towns several times a year.

Tsuruta is famous in Japan for having the longest wooden footbridge. It is said that anyone who walks across the bridge will have a long life. The bridge passes over Fujimi Lake in Fujimiko Park, where the town hosts a cherry blossom festival that falls sometime around Japan's Golden Week, May 3-5. The town is also host to a summer festival, Tsuruta Matsuri, when floats parade through the central streets. This is a time when Tsuruta's townfolk take to the streets to make what is claimed to be Japan's longest sushi roll.

The town's central park, Sakura Dsutsumi Park (桜づつみ公園), has views of the nearby volcano, Mt. Iwaki, and has a stage where various events take place in the summer months.