Hirosaki City
Hirosaki City is rich in culture, history, and natural beauty. This city is home to one of the largest cherry blossom festivals in the country, as well as castles and samurai residences. Hirosaki is also responsible for about 20% of Japan’s apple production. Apple decorations and apple merchandise can be spotted just about everywhere in Hirosaki. I love going on shopping sprees here because there are so many crazy apple flavored things, such as coffee, pizza, and even ramen. I also find myself purchasing a bottle of apple cider and apple wine every time I’m in the city. It’s just too hard to resist, especially when they’re in every store I walk into. Along with all the apple related merchandise, there are people on the side of the road who sell fresh apples and apple juice, too. I always make sure to stock up when I visit, especially on the apple juice. It’s the sweetest, freshest juice I’ve ever tasted!
It isn’t a big surprise that Hirosaki is also known for apple pie. Information centers have something called an “Apple Pie Guide Map,” which guides you to the best apple pies around the city. There are 47 pies in total, and the guide rates the sweetness of each pie and how strong the cinnamon taste is. It’s actually really fun following this guide and giving the pies my own rating. I’ve been to Hirosaki a few times with a whole plan, but somehow I’ve always ended up café hopping to try and find the best apple pie.
A very detailed guide listing the café names and locations, price, and flavor profile of each pie.
Fresh apples and apple juice
Hirosaki Park
Hirosaki Park is one of the top 3 places in Japan for cherry blossom viewing. During the Edo period, Hirosaki was actually a thriving castle town. What used to be the site of Hirosaki Castle is now a park that welcomes over 2 million visitors every spring season. The castle still stands today and is the most popular attraction at the park. It’s an absolutely stunning structure, especially when surrounded by cherry blossoms. The park is open all year round and offers different views during different seasons, but springtime is definitely the busiest and most popular time to visit.
The size of the park is something to be noted, too. I got lost multiple times while roaming around, but it wasn’t a big deal because every inch of this place is worthy of attention. There are about 2,600 cherry blossom trees planted here, and I recall constantly stopping and going off track to take photos and admire the pink canopies. Besides, every guest is given a map upon entering so I was able to figure out where I was in no time.
Hirosaki Castle
Hirosaki Castle was constructed in 1611 and is one of the only castles in Japan that has been preserved in its original structure. In fact, most of the original layout of the park has been preserved. This includes castle walls, watch towers, and moats. Visitors can pay a small fee to go inside the castle for a tour. Next to the castle is a breathtaking view of Mount Iwaki, which is still snow-capped during the spring season. The cherry blossoms really add to this stunning mountain view. When I visited in spring 2022, I couldn’t believe how perfect the weather was. It was such a clear day and I swear I could see every detail of Mount Iwaki.
The sunset was a very special time in this area. A worker came over the loud speaker and announced when the sun would be setting. Large crowds slowly poured in to get the best view and photographers were pulling out their tripods. It felt like every person in the park was there to see the sunset. I picked a spot in front of some low hanging cherry blossom branches so it would frame the mountain. It was a stunning view in my opinion, and this sunset is definitely the best I’ve ever experienced. I couldn’t have asked for better weather, it was simply perfect.
The crowds were thinning as the sun sank lower. I took that chance to move to the front for this photo.
There are about 5 moats that surround the castle, and they are really a sight to see during cherry blossom season. Trees are planted on both sides of the moats, so petals fall down and float on top of the water. The water in the moat looks like a huge, pink carpet that you can walk on. There’s a name for this in Japanese, which is “hana ikada.” This translates to “flower raft.” It’s kind of mesmerizing to watch the petals swirl along the top of the water and make different patterns. In all honesty, I had never seen anything like this before so it was really cool to sit and watch for a minute.
I was really surprised by the amount of people surrounding the moats to take photos of this phenomenon. I actually had to wait for a spot to open up in order to see it for myself. I wasn’t aware that falling flower petals could attract so many people!
Sakura Heart
This spot in Hirosaki Park is popular among couples. The sakura heart is a heart made out of tree branches, and the best part is that it’s all natural! It’s difficult to see the heart at first because you have to be at a certain angle. The correct angle is marked by a heart-shaped plate on the ground. This area wasn’t on the park map I had, so it’s kept secret from the public. I had to ask a worker in the park where it was. Since I had to hunt this down, it felt even more special when I saw the heart. The daytime view is stunning with a blue sky, but my favorite view was at night when all the blossoms were lit up. Considering it took some effort to find, I figured it wouldn’t be too crowded here. I was very wrong, because this was probably the second most crowded spot besides Hirosaki Castle. I wasn’t too surprised though, because the sakura heart has quickly grown in popularity online. It’s clear that most people ask about it when visiting Hirosaki Park.
Rent A Boat
There’s a cherry blossom lined river in the park as well, where visitors can rent a boat and enjoy rowing through a pink carpet. There’s also a fantastic view of Mount Iwaki from the river. The cherry blossom tunnels on either side of the river are also really amazing to walk through. The walkways are completely covered by blossoms as far as the eye can see. I like to visit when the cherry blossoms are at peak, because a lot of petals will be falling off and dancing in the wind. Sometimes, a ton of petals will fall off at once with a strong gust of wind. It looks like snow when thousands of petals are being swept away by the wind.
This is another phenomenon that I always look forward to in spring. I’ve heard a lot of names for it, such as “springtime snow,” “pink snow,” and the Japanese name for it: hanafubuki. This translates to “flower snow storm.” It’s really crazy to witness and it does look exactly like a snow storm. I love when the petals get stuck in my hair and on my clothes. I also love holding my hand out to try and catch as many petals as I can. This flower snow storm doesn’t happen too often, so it’s really a magical moment when it does.
Snacks and Souvenirs
Towards the entrance of the cherry blossom festival are numerous food stalls and Japanese snacks. Some of my favorites that I always get at this festival are candied strawberries, grilled beef skewers, apple ice cream, and boiled potatoes smothered in butter and salt. I have also seen Korean corn dogs and dango sold here. Along with food, there are stalls where visitors can play fair games to win prizes and stalls that sell Japanese art, toys, and clothes. Another one of my favorite areas is a small restaurant located more towards the center of the park. During spring season, I always get the cherry blossom flavored ice cream here. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’m a sucker for floral flavors. I buy everything cherry blossom flavored in spring without a second thought.
Cherry blossom ice cream. There are little pieces of blossom!
Apple ice cream
Hirosaki Park is easily my favorite place in the Tohoku region for cherry blossom viewing. I often found myself blown away by some of the views and saying out loud how surreal it felt to be there. This is truly some of the best of Japan and I highly recommend Hirosaki Park to those visiting the countryside.