Sannai Maruyama Jomon Site
An excavated Jomon site, one of a World Heritage group, entered through its museum.
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Sannai Maruyama Jomon Site
SaveAn excavated Jomon site, one of a World Heritage group, entered through its museum.
You can watch staff mend broken pots, and children make their own mini clay figure in the craft room.
MoreWhat kind of place
Sannai Maruyama is an excavated village from Japan's prehistoric Jomon period, on the edge of Aomori city. It is one of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, the group inscribed on the World Heritage list.
What came out of the ground fills the building: the general storeroom stacks pottery and stone tools on shelves 13 feet (4 m) high, and the Jomon Big Wall spreads 5,120 pottery fragments across a wall about 20 feet (6 m) tall.
You can also watch the staff at work in the sorting room, piecing broken pots back together and measuring them.
Sources and evidence (18)
- The whole property is non-smoking, the site and the Jomon Jiyukan building alike.source
- The picnic area is the only place on the site where you can eat or drink.source
- Inside the museum building, eating and drinking are limited to the restaurant and the rest corner.source
- The coin lockers are free to use: you put in a 100 yen coin and get it back afterward.source
- Bags too big for the lockers are held at the main information desk, though valuables are not accepted.source
- Parking is free, with about 500 spaces, and there is a separate lot for large buses.source
- Foreign-language pamphlets come in English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Korean, and Thai.source
- Translation devices can be used at the Jomon Theater, covering English, Chinese, and Korean.source
- The Jomon Theater shows an eight-minute film about the site, remade on April 1, 2020, for the first time in about five years.source
- You can watch the work in the sorting room, where excavated pots are joined back together, restored, and measured.source
- The general storeroom holds the huge quantity of excavated pottery and stone tools on shelves 13 feet (4 m) tall.source
- The restaurant Gosennen no Hoshi inside the building serves dishes made with Jomon-era ingredients.source
- There are two shops in the building: the museum shop with books and Jomon goods, and Aomori Hokusaikan Sannai Maruyama with souvenirs from around the prefecture.source
- What is inscribed on the World Heritage list is the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, and Sannai Maruyama, a Special Historic Site, is one of its component parts.source
- The special exhibition Northern Jomon and Asia: Connections Across the Sea runs from July 17 to October 12, 2026, in the special exhibition room of the Sannai Maruyama Site Center.source
- The scheduled volunteer guide tours take no advance booking; they meet in the entrance hall of the museum building and near the exit of the Jiyu Tunnel.source
- Visitors are asked to avoid using a tripod or monopod when taking photos inside the museum building.source
- There is no ATM on the premises.source
With kidsThe part that matters
The only way into the excavated village is through the museum building: you go in at the front, walk through, and come out the far side onto the open site.
In the craft workshop, children shape a miniature clay figure with their own hands, and the information desk lends Jomon clothing free of charge for photos.
Four multipurpose restrooms have room to change a diaper, three in the building and one out on the site, and parking is free.
Volunteer guides need no booking, so you can pick one up in the entrance hall and be walked around the site in about 50 minutes.
Without a guide the visit stretches to fit: one family walked the outdoor ruins in an hour, another spent four hours with the craft workshop included.
Sources and evidence (7)
- Jomon clothing is lent free of charge for photos, from the main information desk.source
- There is a craft workshop on the premises where you can make something yourself.source
- Four hours from opening with two elementary-schoolers: mini clay figures in the craft room, no human bones on display.source
- Mini clay figure 450 yen/50 min, magatama bead 450 yen/50 min, flat clay figure 700 yen/70 min; sign-up from 9:30.source
- August with a five-year-old: 30C, so hat and parasol. An hour covers the outdoor site only, not the indoor exhibits.source
- City bus from stop 6 at Aomori station: 310 yen, 30-40 min, one every 1-2 hours. Boots are lent on snowy days.source
- Winter with 7-year-old twins: snow hid the burial rows, so they played in it 20 minutes. Bus from Shin-Aomori, 15 min.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1Every exhibition room is barrier-free, the paths through the site are lightly paved, and the large pit dwelling has a ramp inside. Indoors, the Jomon Big Wall scatters 5,120 shards of Jomon pottery across a wall about 6 meters high, something to look up at from your arms. Admission is free for high school age and under.Multi-purpose restrooms usable for diaper changes are in three places in the Jomon Jiyukan building and one place out on the site. The site paths are lightly paved, but a few viewing spots are reached by steps, so those are the stretches to carry them. Eating and drinking are confined: on the site only the picnic area, and inside the building only the restaurant and the rest corner. Drinking water to stay safe in the heat is allowed anywhere except the permanent and special exhibition rooms and the shop, as long as you are not walking. Coin lockers are free: you put in 100 yen and get it back afterwards, and bags too big for them are held at the general information desk.
- Ages 2-3Jomon-style clothing is lent free at the general information desk for souvenir photos, and personal snapshots are freely allowed. In the Sanmaru Museum, figures reconstruct how Jomon people lived, so there is plenty to point at: the large flat clay figure, the woven Jomon pouch. Outside, the site paths are lightly paved, easy for small legs to cover on their own.A family with a five-year-old who saw only the outdoor site arrived at 12:13 and left at 13:13. Scheduled volunteer guides need no booking: the site tour runs about 50 minutes and the museum tour about 20, at 10:30 and 14:00 twice a day and sometimes cancelled when crowded, so you can start with the short one. Snacks are eaten at the picnic area on the site, or at the restaurant and rest corner inside the building. The whole grounds are non-smoking. As of August 2026 the official site announces that part of the large pit dwelling is closed off and the north mound is not open.
- Ages 4-6The craft workshop lets them make something with their hands: you can watch staff mending broken pots up close, and children shape their own miniature clay figure. In the sorting room, excavated pottery is being joined back together, restored, and measured, in view. The Jomon Theater film is 8 minutes, the Big Wall holds 5,120 shards, and the general storeroom stacks pottery and stone tools on shelves 4 meters high. Free for high school age and under.A family with a first- and a third-grader stayed four hours, workshop included. Admission is free for high school age and under and 500 yen for adults; special exhibitions cost extra each time, and from 17 July to 12 October 2026 a special exhibition on the Jomon of the north and Asia is running. There is no ATM on site, so bring cash. Hours are 9:00-17:00 with last entry 30 minutes before closing, extended to 18:00 during Golden Week and from 1 June to 30 September. Closing days are the fourth Monday of each month, the next day if that is a holiday, plus 30 December to 1 January and internal sorting days, so they are not fixed to a day of the week. The Aomori Museum of Art is about a 10-minute walk away, and showing a same-day collection-exhibition ticket stub from there brings adult admission down from 500 to 400 yen.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayOut on the site the paths are lightly paved, with stairs up to some of the viewing spots. Jomon Jiyukan, the building you enter through, is indoors and holds the exhibition rooms and the hands-on workshop.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1–4 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：with conditionsconditions
- NursingNursing space：not checked
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
* Other not checked (4)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Steps & slope caution, Child switch (rider swap)
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Four hours from opening with two elementary-schoolers: mini clay figures in the craft room, no human bones on display.
A trip home to Aomori: Sannai Maruyama for a school research project, and cheap hands-on crafts
Japanese · opens translatedOfficial
Mini clay figure 450 yen/50 min, magatama bead 450 yen/50 min, flat clay figure 700 yen/70 min; sign-up from 9:30.
Hands-on craft room | Special Historic Site Sannai Maruyama
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
August with a five-year-old: 30C, so hat and parasol. An hour covers the outdoor site only, not the indoor exhibits.
Hakodate with a child: a detour to Sannai Maruyama from Shin-Aomori station
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
City bus from stop 6 at Aomori station: 310 yen, 30-40 min, one every 1-2 hours. Boots are lent on snowy days.
Sannai Maruyama, Aomori: the highlights and a free guided tour
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Winter with 7-year-old twins: snow hid the burial rows, so they played in it 20 minutes. Bus from Shin-Aomori, 15 min.
Aomori with the kids, day 1: Sannai Maruyama and a look into the Jomon age
Sannai Maruyama Jomon Site · Links & reads ▾
Where to go next
Where it is
305 Sannai Maruyama, Aomori-shi, Aomori 038-0031source
Before you go
- Drinking water to keep from overheating is allowed anywhere except the permanent exhibition rooms, the special exhibition rooms, and the shop, though not while you are walking.source
- Pets cannot come into the building or onto the site, while guide dogs and service dogs can.source
- The homepage announces that part of the large pit dwelling is closed off and that the north mound is closed to visitors.source
- Museum guide tours run twice a day, at 10:30 and 14:00, and take about 20 minutes, though they may not run when it is crowded.source
- You are free to take photos for your own keepsakes, though a few things are marked no flash and a few no photos at all.source
Basics
- Fee：The permanent exhibition, which includes the site itself, is ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for university students; everyone of high school age and under goes free. Groups of twenty or more pay ¥400 and ¥200. Special exhibitions are charged separately each time, on top of this. Showing a same-day stub from a collection exhibition at the Aomori Museum of Art brings the adult price down to ¥400 and the university price to ¥200.source
- Hours：Open 9:00-17:00, with entry until 30 minutes before closing. During Golden Week and from 1 June to 30 September it stays open until 18:00. The closed day is the fourth Monday of each month — the next day when that Monday is a public holiday — plus 30 December to 1 January and days set aside for internal sorting work. Because the closed day is not a fixed weekday, check the month's calendar.source
- Time to allow：1–4 hsource2
- Booking：The regular volunteer guide tours need no booking in advance; you gather by the blue sign in the entrance hall or near the exit of the Jiyu Tunnel. Group tours for ten people or more must be requested by fax two weeks ahead.source
- Note: part of the large pit dwelling is closed to entry and the North Mound is closed to the publicsource
Basics in detail (17)
- Admission to the site and the permanent exhibition is 500 yen for adults and 250 yen for university students, and free for high school age and under; groups of 20 or more pay 400 yen and 200 yen.source
- High school students and anyone younger get in free.source
- Special exhibitions carry their own charge each time, on top of the permanent exhibition ticket.source
- Showing a same-day ticket stub from the collection exhibition at the Aomori Museum of Art brings the price down from 500 to 400 yen for adults and from 250 to 200 yen for university students.source
- Visiting hours are 9:00 to 17:00, and you have to be in by 30 minutes before closing.source
- Only during Golden Week and from June 1 to September 30 does the site stay open until 18:00.source
- The last entry is 30 minutes before closing.source
- It closes on the fourth Monday of each month (the following day when that Monday is a holiday), from December 30 to January 1, and on days set aside for internal work, so the closures do not fall on a fixed weekday.source
- The official homepage gives Monday, August 24, 2026, as the closed day for that month.source
- Sannai Maruyama can only be visited by way of the Jomon Jiyukan museum building, which serves as the entrance to the site.source
- The paths around the site have a simple paved surface, and there is a ramp inside the large dwelling.source
- All of the exhibition rooms are barrier-free.source
- The site paths are paved, if simply, but a few viewing points are reached by steps.source
- The Aomori Museum of Art is about a 10-minute walk from the site.source
- The address is 305 Aza-Maruyama, Sannai, Aomori City, Aomori, and the phone number for the Sannai Maruyama Site Center is 017-766-8282.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (9)
- Official: Diaper changing table, Family restroom, English support
- Official: Stroller friendly, Stroller rental, Indoor / outdoor
- Official: Outside food allowed
- Official: main site
A Jomon-era site on the edge of Aomori, reached only through the Jomon Jiyukan building at the entrance. An eight-minute film on the excavation runs before you walk out onto the open ground. Inside, the Sanmaru exhibition room shows a large flat clay figure and a woven Jomon pouch. One wall about six meters high carries 5,120 pieces of broken pottery. In a working room, staff join and rebuild pots where visitors can watch. Jomon clothes are lent at the information desk for photographs.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | The paths around the site are lightly paved and the large dwelling has a ramp inside, and every exhibition room is step-free. One thing to know: in places the way up to a viewing point is by stairs. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Yes | Lent at the main information desk in the Jomon Jiyukan on the spot, just ask. Numbers are small and the official pages give two different figures, so it is worth having your own if the day matters. Wheelchairs, including a powered one, are lent from the same desk. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | In the multi-purpose toilets — three in the Jomon Jiyukan and one out on the site. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes (4) | Four multi-purpose toilets, for wheelchair users and for diaper changes: three in the Jomon Jiyukan and one out on the site. There are also accessible toilets at the Jomon Jiyukan and at the parking lot. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | The Jomon Jiyukan with the exhibition rooms, the theater and the restaurant is indoors; the site itself, which you walk out to from the building, is open ground. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | You can eat what you bring, but only in certain places: out on the site, only the picnic ground; inside the Jomon Jiyukan, only the restaurant and the rest corner. The whole grounds are non-smoking. Drinking water to stay well in the heat is allowed anywhere except the exhibition rooms and the shops — but not while walking. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| English support | English menu & signs | Leaflets in English, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean and Thai. A translation device can be used inside the Jomon Theater, in English, Chinese and Korean. The website also has English, Chinese and Korean versions. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Yes | Everyone of high school age and under goes in free. There is a workshop for hands-on making, and Jomon clothes are lent free at the information desk for photographs. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Parking is free, about 500 spaces, with bus bays. Coin lockers cost ¥100 and give it back; bags too big for them are held at the information desk, but not valuables. Pets cannot come in — assistance dogs can — and cannot be left at the door. Photographs for personal use are fine, though some things may not be photographed or flashed, and tripods and monopods are discouraged inside. There is no ATM. The Aomori Museum of Art is about ten minutes' walk away. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sannaimaruyama.pref.aomori.jp |
| Nursing space | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | Not checked yet | ||||
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet |