Hirosaki
A unique city in Aomori prefecture, Hirosaki is known for its apples and western architecture.
Hirosaki specifically is the area in Aomori famous for apples
There are many western styled buildings in the city that date back to the Meiji era
I traveled up to Aomori prefecture in February 2021. Amongst the stops on the 3-night trip was Hirosaki.
How to get there
We took the Ou Line limited express train from Aomori Station. We only spent a day in the city and stayed at Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, which is also located along the same train line.
Fujita Memorial Garden grounds covered in snow
About Hirosaki
Hirosaki is a small city of less than 170,000 people, and is to the mid-east part of Aomoro prefecture. It’s centered around Hirosaki Station and Hirosaki Castle, and while that central area is somewhat walkable if you really wanted to, things are a bit far apart.
An old wooden building with a post box
There are a lot of interesting buildings that date back to the Meiji era, and these are often the main sights to see. One of Japan’s notable Starbucks is in one of these buildings here as well.
Hirosaki is most known for its apples, and has used the slogan "Apple Colored Town Hirosaki". It really is as it accounts for 20% of Japan’s apple production. A lot of the orchards can be seen as you catch the Ou Line train.
Former Hirosaki City Library
Where we went
It’s pretty convenient to see the main sights in the city. There’s a Dotemachi Loop Bus that starts at Hirosaki Station and goes in a loop that includes Hirosaki Castle.
We rode this to the city hall stop, which is right in front of the castle grounds. The bus comes frequently and only costs 100 yen.
Our first stop was to have lunch at the Taishō Roman Tea Room, which is on the Former Fujita Family Villa grounds. I’ll showcase more about this at the bottom.
We then explored the Hirosaki Castle grounds. The moats were frozen and grounds covered in snow - which was nice - but they say that the best time to visit is spring when all of the cherry blossoms are out.
You can see some of our time in Hirosaki as well as Aomori city and the ryokan resort we stayed at in this video:
After the castle, we walked around the surrounding area and checked out some of the city’s notable western buildings.
Many of them were built in the Meiji era, and they help add a unique character to the city.
Visually speaking, I found Hirosaki to be more interesting than Aomori and Hachinohe cities in the prefecture, and I’m glad that I could stop by.
Hirosaki Former 59th Bank
Former Too Gijuku Missionary Residence
Former Fujita Family Villa
Where we ate
Taisho Roman Tea Room
This is a place that embodies Hirosaki.
In the veranda within a Meiji-era western home, the Former Fujita Family Villa, this tea house specializes in foods revolving around the city’s specialty - apples.
In the soft, early afternoon sun, we enjoyed a meal of apple curry followed by some tea and apple pie. Nice atmosphere and good food.
Starbucks Hirosaki Koen-mae
This Starbucks location, Hirosaki Koen Mae, is one of the notable ones in Japan due to the building it’s in and how it’s designed to naturally fit into the environment.
The building used to be the official residence for the commander of the Japanese 8th division, then it became the mayor’s residence before being registered as one of Japan's Tangible Cultural Assets.
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Aomori: Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru
A winter escape in Aomori at the Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, an amazing boutique ryokan full of local culture.
In Owani onsen, a rural area of Aomori, is Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, a fantastic retreat that lets guests dive into the local, Tsugaru culture.
Hoshino Resorts is one of the most well known and sought after luxury hot spring and resort ryokan chains in Japan. If you’ve looked around at my Japan travels on my blog or watched some of my videos on YouTube, you may know that I’m a fan of their KAI brand. I’ve been fortunate to have stayed at their KAI Kaga resort while visiting Kanazawa, their KAI Sengokuhara resort while visiting Hakone, as well as others.
While traveling around Aomori in the winter of 2021, I was able to get another chance to stay at one of their locations.
How to get there
We took the Ou Line limited express train from Aomori Station to Owani Onsen Station. Owani Onsen Station is a very local station, and a Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru van will come and pick you up if you tell them when you will arrive.
As you check-in, you can schedule your meals (2 time options per meal) and schedule any activities. We did one, which was to have a drink in an igloo outside (top image), an activity that they only offer in the winter. In the summer, the area transforms into a lake with lanterns.
The Owani Onsen area is very local and not really convenient without a car, but it’s fine since the purpose of going to these types of ryokans is to relax at the resort. And this one allows that just fine.
The lobby and performance area
Library lounge and gift shop
Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, like other locations in this line, is focused on providing a local experience. A lot of the decor is from the area, using traditional patterns and techniques.
Tsugaru Koginzashi patterns decorate the room and resort
For example, the diamond-like pattern in decorations in the rooms and around the resort, as well as in the lighting in the halls, are called Tsugaru Koginzashi. It’s a traditional embroidery pattern devised by local farmers and primarily used on indigo fabrics, that’s been passed down through generations in the area.
Aomori’s Nebuta lantern decorations
After dinner, a traditional shamisen performance in the local style was performed by national champion Kohei Shibuya and a resident student of his. I have to say that they were impressive - a clip of their performance is in my video.
Rooms
We stayed in the Japanese-style Room TB2, a room that measures between 64㎡ big with 2 beds, a living room, bathroom with shower (you probably won’t need it).
Sleeping area of the room
The living room area
Bathroom
The Hot Spring
What makes Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru’s onsen especially unique is the apples floating in the water. Aomori is known for apples, and they help give off a pleasant, sweet scent as you soak in the bath.
The water that flows through Japanese onsen hot springs vary and depend on where the water is coming from. Each has a slightly different combination of minerals carrying different benefits to the skin and body.
Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru’s onsen water is from the Owani hot spring and is pretty clear in color. They report that their water has sodium, chloride, and sulfate.
This combination is said to help in areas such as protecting the skin from drying out, accelerating the body’s natural healing process, and coating the body like a veil to warm up and moisturize the skin.
Public indoor onsen bath area
Dining
Like most ryokan stays, Japanese kaiseki meals are included. Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru’s meals are served in the dining hall that has separated rooms.
Like every other Hoshino Resorts KAI resort, this location had amazing food.
Aomori prefecture is known for maguro (tuna), and we opted to go for the special maguro kaiseki course.
It included dishes such as maguro akami (lean) and chutoro (medium fatty) sashimi, sushi, negima (maguro and green onion) hot pot, Aomori-grown rice cooked perfectly in an earthware pot, a maguro ochazuke set that you can adjust according to taste, and a bunch more. We also made sure to order some Aomori nihonshu, or sake, since the prefecture is also known for that.
Delicious dinner. Some pics are below.
Breakfast was also great and was centered on kaiyaki miso, a local dish where scallops are marinated in miso, cooked in its shell, and topped with lightly beaten raw egg.
I enjoyed my stay at the Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru and recommend it to anyone traveling in the area. It’s a perfect place to go to for a retreat.
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Aomori City
Stopping at Honshu Island’s northern-most capital.
Aomori City is the capital of Aomori prefecture, which is at the northern tip of Japan’s main Honshu island
Aomori is known for apples, fresh seafood, garlic, and more
I traveled up to Aomori prefecture in February 2021. Amongst the stops on the 3-night trip was Aomori city, the prefecture’s capital.
How to get there
We were dropped off by a shuttle provided to us by the hotel we stayed at the night before, Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel. However, the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train stops at Shin-Aomori Station, and can be caught from Tokyo Station.
There is also a (mainly domestic) airport located about a 35-minute drive outside the city center.
Shops around Aomori downtown
About Aomori
Aomori is a small city of less than 300,000 people. The city center has a quaint feel to it, and even the main station, Aomori Station, feels very local.
A few things that the city and prefecture as a whole is most known for apples, fresh fish (especially maguro, or tuna), and garlic.
Where we went
Because we were only there for half a day, we only made a few stops.
The first was catching a view of the Memorial Ship Hakkōda-maru and bay from the Aomori Labridge (MAP). On a sunny day, the view is especially beautiful. (Top image, or you can see it my video below)
Just nearby was our next stop.
Nebuta Warasse Museum
Nebuta Warasse Museum
The Nebuta Warasse Museum is dedicated to the local lantern float art. Large, illuminated floats that depict warriors and animals are marched around the city during the Nebuta Festival each summer, and this museum showcases this culture.
Taxi waiting
Like I mentioned, Aomori is known for fresh seafood, so of course, our main destination was lunch.
Where we ate
Aomori Gyosai Center
A food hall that focuses on Aomori’s “nokkedon”, which is a kaisendon, or bowl of fresh seafood on rice.
You buy scripts from a booth, pick up your bowl of rice, then browse vendors and purchase the fresh fish of your choice with the scripts. Vendors are mostly selling slices and individual servings, and they’ll place them into your bowl.
There are a few small tables where you can sit and enjoy your personalized meal.
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Aomori: Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu Hotel
A beautiful and relaxing winter retreat surrounded by Aomori’s nature.
On a trip to explore northern Honshu island in February 2021, I was lucky enough to get to stay at Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keikyu Hotel in Towada, Aomori.
Hoshino Resorts is one of the most well known and sought after luxury hot spring and resort ryokan companies in Japan. I’ve stayed at a few in their KAI line, such as KAI Kinugawa (Nikko), KAI Sengokuhara (Hakone) and KAI Kaga (near Kanazawa).
This was the first time I was staying at one of their resorts that wasn’t in that line, and as expected, it was great as well.
Main lobby and check-in area
How to get there
We took the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo Station to Hachinohe in Aomori prefecture. From there, there’s a daily shuttle bus that you can request that is provided by the hotel. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the hotel.
The main lounge area
Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu is located along the Oirase stream, tucked away and completely surrounded by nature.
Because of this, if you want to leave the resort, you’ll need a car.
Luckily, Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu has a handful of tours and activities setup which they provide transportation for as well as equipment to rent. We took part in a couple, and I talk about those down below.
We stayed in the Modern Room, a room that measures 44㎡ with 2 beds, a bathroom, and a sofa looking out at the surrounding nature.
Modern Room
The Hot Spring
Maybe especially so because we went in the winter, but the onsen hot spring here was amazing, probably one of the nicest I’ve sat in.
Public indoor onsen bath area
In the winter, it’s called the “Frozen waterfall onsen” due to being surrounded by walls of ice. The hot water comes from Mt. Hakkoda, and the outdoor bath look out to the natural environment.
There is also an indoor part of the onsen that is quite big.
Dining
Like most ryokan stays, meals are included. Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu’s meals take place at their Aomori Ringo Kitchen, a dining area centered around an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Aomori Ringo Kitchen buffet
The food here was great, and yes, they had more than apples.
For dinner, the highlights are their roast beef and maguro (tuna) sashimi and negitoro. Their apple pie and self-serve soft serve ice cream dessert is also really good.
For breakfast, their ikura (salmon roe) and salmon flakes are amazing.
Activities
Because the Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu is secluded in the Towada area of Aomori, you basically need a car to go anywhere on your own. Because of this, they have option activities available that they’ll provide transportation for and offer gear to rent.
We went on two.
Night tour: Frozen waterfall
This was a short trip in a van to Makadoiwa Rock, a nearby waterfall that gets illuminated by LED lights. You don’t need any equipment and the whole trip takes only about an hour.
Snow trekking
This activity is in the daytime and took place twice a day. We opted for the later one that went from 1PM - 4PM. A van takes the group to a parking lot where we each strap into show shoes.
We followed the leader up and around a small mountain area until we ended up at Tatsunuma, a scenic swamp/lake. The guide was very informative, explaining the trees in the area and behaviors of the animals while looking at the tracks we came across.
All in all, this was a really nice stay and this resort was great. It exceeded my expectations and I’d love to visit again.
If you want to see the trip in video:
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Visiting the Furano area of Hokkaido in the summer, a popular tourist destination for Japanese