Hirosaki Castle, Tohoku, Japan

4Roger K 5:00 PM Sep 14, 2015

Day Trip to Hiroski Castle from Aomori
Made my own way from Aomori to Hirosaki by train on the JR Ou Line. The one way trip takes about 40 minutes, costs 670 yen. Hirosaki Castle lies within Hirosaki Park which lies about a 10-15 minute bus ride (100yen) or a 30 minute walk west from Hirosaki Station. I took the 100 yen bus from Hirosaki Station as did most tourists visiting the Castle. Opposite the main entrance to the Castle is Otemon Square, being a stepping off point for visitors to Hirosaki Castle. It has an Information Center with maps, pamphlets and advice about the city's other sightseeing spots. Enter the grounds and start walking around the complex with well signposted walk ways. The castle was surprisingly small is size. Maybe I was expecting something like Osaka Castle but it wasn't to be. Unfortunately at the time of my visit, the Castle was under repair and no entry was allowed into the actual building or walled internal compound. Visitors could still walk around and through the park grounds. All around the park you could see large maple and cherry trees but as it was summer at the time of visit, they were all in full leaf....and surprisingly(not) very few visitors. Apparently Hirosaki Castle is one of the top viewing locations for Cherry Blossoms and you can imagine an impressive display with the Castle as a back drop. On existing the north gate, I tried to find some of the old samurai residences in the former samurai district that surrounded the Castle in times gone by wandering the local streets, but with no signage of where they were, I was unsuccessful. I returned to Hirosaki station on foot as it was a easy 30 minute walk(make sure you have a map) instead of trying to link up with the 100 yen tourist bus loop.

4Redflyer99 5:00 PM Nov 8, 2022

Worth visiting the huge castle grounds.
The actual castle keep is fairly small and unimpressive but what is impressive is the size of the castle grounds, the viewing platforms at the top and the amount of trees. I went during the off season in winter where there were much less people but according to my friend it's packed during Sakura season as one of the most popular places in Japan. Gates and watch towers are still intact and can be viewed up close.