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.
Keep in touch:
Visiting the Furano area of Hokkaido in the summer, a popular tourist destination for Japanese