Hirosaki Castle

Date of enjoyment: 17/4/25 Came here first day of the matsuri festival 2025, it was early in terms of blossom perhaps 5 days early. Nonetheless you can tell by the way the trees and how they are grown Hirosaki cherry blossom so special. Imagine it lit up at night will also be stunning, we were fortunate to come on a sunny day and Mt. Iwate in the background really is a stunning image of Japan, castle, cherry blossom and a mountain in the background does not getting anymore Japan. There’s so much to see here from the castle to the view of the mountain and a walk around the castle with so much cherry blossom, do allow 2hrs here. I can appreciate why this is one of the top cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan.

Lucky to visit when there's still lots of blooming Sakura trees left. Despite being smaller (than the usual castles), it still offers a really good experience. Don't forget to take pictures of the great vista where both the castle and Mt Iwaki are visible.

We visited on the last day of the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival. Most of the sakura in the garden had already fallen, except for those along the main road and around the castle, thanks to the various cherry tree varieties. We recommend visiting during the third or fourth week of April for the best experience. However, in other parts of the city, visitors can still enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom, especially along the road leading to Mt. Iwaki.

Pictures here from late April 2025 and prime Sakura. It is worth visiting in both the daytime and at night to savour both experiences. Every shot is potentially a postcard whichever way you turn. The carnival atmosphere, particularly at night makes the squeeze on the bus and train only a slight inconvenience.

A great place to explore! Lots of grounds to cover, but if you only see a part of it, it will be beautiful. Been here for cherry blossom festival, chrysanthemums(?)festival, and autmn! My favorite is the huge ginko trees. There is a lotus pond where you can see some duckies. An area with swings. Nice covered walkways. Nice open walkways. So many paths to explore. If you like to collect manhole cover cards this is one of the stops too!

Photos June 19, 2025. Hirosaki Castle stands as one of Japan’s few remaining original castles, with a three-story keep framed by scenic moats, bridges, and cherry trees. Originally built in 1611 by the Tsugaru clan, the current structure dates to 1810 and is a rare example of Edo-period architecture. Its location within Hirosaki Park offers sweeping views and a powerful sense of history layered into every stone and timber.

As of 19th April 2025, there are roughly 1/3 to Sakura to fully blossom . But it’s already beautiful enough. The heart shaped Sakura is in middle of the park, around 5 mins walk from main entrance

A small but charming castle with a very affordable entrance fee. On clear days, you can enjoy beautiful mountain views. It’s surrounded by a peaceful park—perfect for a relaxing stroll.

Beautiful site with enriching history. A pass to the castle can include a memorial and botanical gardens entry. Absolutely stunning garden. The entire park can take hours to walk through. The botanical gardens include beautiful blooms, an impressive koi fish pond (with massive koi!!!) and gorgeous albino peacocks. My group thoroughly enjoyed our day trip to Hirosaki Castle, and wish we could experience the Sakura blooms at this location.

I drove here, so I don't know how far from or how to get here from the station. I saw a foreign dude on the rent-a-cycle, I would recommend to rent one as this compound is fairly vast to walk around on foot. The main keep was under construction(it was removed from the foundation and placed 50 yards from original spot for time being), it didn't look as magnificent as it usually would've been. It looks like it lost its legs. But it was still pretty impressive thing to look at. Inside of the main keep had lots of artifacts from feudal time. As well as some displays of other castles in Japan. I didn't get to venture out northern half of the compound because of time crunch. I hope I get to visit here again to see stroll around there.

Hirosaki Castle was constructed in 1611 and was the seat of the Tsugaru clan, who ruled over Hirosaki domain. Its grounds were divided into six concentric baileys, which were walled and protected by moats. It was originally a 5 story castle, but was struck by lightning in 1627, destroyed by the fire and rebuilt into a 3 story castle in 1810. To this day, many of its outlying features remain intact. The castle grounds and surrounding Hirosaki Park are one of the most famous spots to view cherry blossoms each year. You can take a tour inside the castle, which allows you to see up close and personal what those conditions were like in those days. The castle has been moved a few times and is currently under renovation as it's being moved again.

This wasn't quite as interesting as I had hoped. It's an old fortress. When we visited they were working on repairing the original walls. As a consequence they had moved the one major structure maybe 50m away from the wall. Normally it is perched right in the corner on top of the wall. The original building burned down in the 1600s, and the one there now was built in the 1800s. The entire park is referred to as "the castle", and I gather at one time there were several more structures as part of the castle complex. Today it's a park. It used to be the seat of power for that region (in the 1600s). The design of the fortress is pretty conventional. Moats, big walls. Nothing innovative like the star fortress. Apparently a lot of the former structures and walls were pulled down in the late 1800s. It's pleasant enough to walk around here. I'm sure it's spectacular when the cherry blossoms are in full force. The building itself is only moderately interesting. Not much indication of what used to be inside of it. The do have a model inside showing what the complex used to look like 400 years ago.