So you are in Aomori and want to see more than just the capital (Aomori City). But what is there to do? You are in luck because there is a nearby region with a lot of richness regarding food and tourism. This article is a one-day Hirosaki itinerary covering the city and nearby Inakadate.

Starting the Day

For this Hirosaki itinerary, I am going to assume that you are staying in Aomori City, which is in the centre of the northern coastline, known as Aomori Bay. From Aomori or Shin-Aomori Stations, take the Ou Line (orange) to Hirosaki station. You can either take the local version or the express version (faster).

Things to do in Hirosaki

Hirosaki has a wealth of sites, including museums, art museums/exhibits, a castle, gardens, the castle park, and shopping unique to the region.

I am very partial to a good castle and gardens, so my first stops were the castle, botanical garden, and Fujita Memorial Garden. The entrances for each is ¥300, but you can get a combined ticket for ¥520, so definitely a deal if you are visiting more than one. They are also next to each other, so it makes sense. But why go?

Hirosaki Castle Park

Hirosaki Castle Park encompasses the former area of the castle grounds. Open to the public (and completely free), the castle park has some amazing lawns, gardens, landscapes and waterscapes that can be enjoyed for free. In fact, many locals frequent the park due to it being in the centre of the city and to get away from modern Japanese life.

The Castle Park is also home to Hirosaki Castle (the inner part, which is paid) and the Hirosaki Botanical Garden (also paid).

Hirosaki Castle

Hirosaki Castle is unique – even in Japan. One of Japan’s 12 surviving original castles (the rest were rebuilt in the past few decades), it is unique even among this rare group because of its size and construction. Additionally, it is one of the few castles that has been moved! You can read more about the castle below – and also watch a video of the castle being moved!

Fujita Memorial Garden

Hirosaki and the wider Tsugaru Plain area has a wealth of resources, especially in terms of agriculture. As a result, there were some very wealthy merchants throughout its history.

One such example of their legacies is the Fujita Memorial Garden, which was the private house and tiered garden of a merchant in the early 1900s. A garden open to the public today, it is a premiere example of a Japanese garden arrayed around a pond. A waterfall is also a major feature of the garden. When I was there, there was even a wedding photoshoot taking place!

You can read more here:

Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden

Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden is a medium-sized botanical garden situated in the southwestern corner of the castle park. It is divided into 23 zones where 124,000 trees and plants of 1500 species can be seen from April to November. During this time, something is always in bloom, so you will not be disappointed.

Additionally it offers some beautiful views of Hirosaki Castle, which you can see in the background of groves, manicured European-/English-style gardens, or a Zen garden.

You can read more about the Botanical Garden (and see a tour video) here:

(coming soon)

Hirosaki Tourism Office

In this area is also the Hirosaki Tourism Office, which has a wealth of information about the city and things to do there. There is also a shop that sells local products from Hirosaki, nearby farms and breweries in the area. It is a great way of getting your hands on some local products from local companies.

It also has an added benefit: you can see some of Hirosaki’s Neputa floats. Like the Aomori Neputa, it is one of the three great festivals in Aomori, which happens at the beginning of August every year. These floats contain LEDs, creating some amazing images and intricate artwork.

Lunch and desert

There are many possibilities for lunch in Hirosaki, from cafés (which also serve food in Japan) to restaurants of all types, styles are varieties, and other food options.

Hirosaki has a several unique foods that have made the city well known in Japan. If you have eaten an apple in Japan, it is very likely that it came from this area. Apple picking is also an experience you can enjoy from August to October, and a lot of places (especially cafés) offer a lot of apple products, including cakes!

But before we put dessert before the main course, let’s look at some speciality foods!

Jappa-jiru

In the winter, Jappa-jiru (a codfish-based miso soup made from the bony parts and guts of the fish along with daikon raddish, chinese cabbage, konjac, tofu and carrots) is a staple!

Kenoshiru

Kenoshiru is another winter dish – miso soup with vegetables (daikon radish, carrots, burdock), edible wild plants, and deep-fried tofu is also eaten in January. Traditionally, it was a meal served on 15 January (Little New Year’s Day) to pray for good health for the coming year.

Kaiyaki-miso

If you are a seafood lover, Kaiyaki-miso will most likely be your thing – and it is very nutritious! Cooked and served in a big scallop shell, a beaten egg with miso and stock containing either fish or scallops is a simple dish but was a delicacy when eggs were a rare commodity. While you can eat it in Hirosaki, it is more usual in Shimokita and Tsugaru, which are closer to the ocean.

Salmon and Bamboo Shoot Izushi

One thing that I can personally recommend is Salmon and Bamboo Shoot Izushi, which is traditioanlly a New Year’s dish but is sold (and can be eaten directly) year round at Niji no Mart (Rainbow Mart). Red salmon, which use to be a sign of great wealth, is pickled and added to bamboo shoots, rice, carrots and ginger.

Because of the red colour of the salmon and the white of the ginger and rice, which are auspicious colours in Japan, it is said to be a good way to start off the New Year. It was also served when inviting estimeed guests to your home.

Note: The market is located across from the Bus Terminal, which is perfect for our next stop.

Igamenchi

In Hirosaki, Igamenchi is a deep-fried dish made of chopped squid tentacles and seasonal vegetables. As Hirosaki is far from the coast, seafood was rare in the past and every part of everything that came from the sea was not wasted. Igamenchi grew out of the need to use the tentacles, leading to a much beloved dish. There are many variations of the dish – it is said every family has their own recipe. The only commonality is the tentacles and seasonal vegetables.

Super sweet corn

As a breadbasket of Japan, Hirosaki’s area grows a lot of different foods. From late August to mid-October, you can eat Dake-Kimi corn, which is well known in Japan for its sweetness.

At this time of the year, days are hot and nights are cold. The wild temperature differences cause the sweetness, which you can try from food vendors and roadside stands.

Tsugaru Buckwheat Noodles

If seafood really isn’t your thing, then Tsugaru Buckwheat Noodles might be your answer! The process of making Tsugaru buckwheat noodles is long and involves a lot of time to let the dough relax. During this process, the flower is combined with soya beans, which add a sweetness to the noodles. The process takes a full 24-hours and the result is used in warm, soupy soba.

This style was actually created back when rice was still scarce in this part of Japan. The flour needed to be made into dough and soya beans made it last longer, so it was a natural preservative. The result of this process is also makes the noodles fragile, so rather than picking them up with chopsticks, you drink everything like a soup – and they melt in your mouth!

Working off the meal (Afternoon)

As a breadbasket, there are many activities available to spend time outdoors in and around Hirosaki. A popular one is fruit picking, especially apples in the late summer and autumn.

If that is not your thing, then maybe this next place is more your style, especially if you like edible art.

In nearby Inakadate, there are a set of fields where locals plant different varieties of rice to create images. The stalks vary from green to red and white, allowing for some detailed and complex images to be created. Examples include art such as Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa (the famous wave painting with Mt Fuji in the background), scenes from famous films, famous individuals such as Marilyn Monroe, and many more!

From Hirosaki, you can take a bus that goes to Inakadate once per hour. See more about the Inakadate Rice Field Art here:

Summary of Hirosaki Itinerary

And there you have it! A fun day combining indoor and outdoor activities with some excellent food! A morning focusing on a castle and gardens, followed by an excellent locally-produced lunch, and finishing up with a beautiful, edible art installation. What more could you ask for?

If you have more time (or you finished these activities faster than expected), you can also combine it with other nearby sites. A good one for those who love history is Kuroishi, which is known for its historical streets. It is also easy to access with public transportation – you can even get a private train back to Hirosaki and then the JR Ou Line back to Aomori.

You can do this Hirosaki itinerary with or without a car. Public transportation works almost as well and you don’t have to worry about where to leave it.

Hirosaki Apple Cider

Apple cider as Westerners understand the word – alcoholic fermented apple-based drink – is few and far between in Japan. Rather, there is a drink called cider which is similar to Sprite or Seven Up – a lemon-lime soda. However, Hirosaki and Aomori Prefecture is an exception to the rule as the Japan’s apple-growing region.

At the tourist information centre in Hirosaki, there is a store that sells local and regional products, including many different brands of cider. Here is one example:

Cider in Japan tends towards sweeter cider, which is much more in line with Japanese palates. It is also very smooth and easy to drink, and thinner in terms of the drinking experience – more like a Swedish cider than a French or English one.

Bottles cost ¥450 individually and you can buy them to try before going to the brewery’s website and getting some for yourself. The store had 25 different ones available, along with a wide range of other products. I grabbed this one at random and it was good – even if it wasn’t my usual cup of tea.

Thanks for reading! Want to do some more exploring? Have a look at the travel map:

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