Visited 16.10.2015 (Fri)
No. of castles visited to date: 10
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Highlights:
Restoration. Previously. a bulge was discovered on the stone wall of Honmaru. Due to this, the stone wall may potentially collapse if an earthquake is to occur. Therefore, repair works had to be carried out to restore the integrity of the stone wall. As the three-storey tenshukaku sits at the edge of the stone wall and in order to facilitate stone wall repair, the building was forced to be moved 70 m away from its original location. When we were at Hirosaki Park, the shifting of tenshukaku to the center of Honmaru was just on the verge of completion. It is expected that the entire repair work will take about 10 years and tenshukaku is planned to return to its original location in 2021. Hopefully repair works will complete as per plan and we will get to witness the picturesque scenery of tenshukaku and its surroundings soon.
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Hirosaki Castle 弘前城
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No. of castles visited to date: 10
Top 100 castles in Japan: #4
Icon. Hirosaki Castle is undoubtedly the symbol of Hirosaki city. Various festivals are held around the castle and its compound throughout the year such as Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival 弘前さくらまつり between late April and early May, Hirosaki Castle Snow Castle Lantern Festival 弘前城雪燈籠まつり in early February and we chanced upon the Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum and Fall Foliage Festival 弘前城菊と紅葉まつり during this trip (held from mid Oct to early Nov). During this annual autumn festival, the botanical garden in Hirosaki Park is decorated with various kinds of chrysanthemum plants and life sized dolls depicting historical figures dressed with flowers are put up for display in the park.
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Highlights:
On Day 8, we boarded Resort Shirakami リゾートしらかみ (a limited express sightseeing train which runs along Gono line) from Aomori 青森駅 to Hirosaki 弘前駅 via Ou main line 奥羽本線, safe kept our luggage at the hotel upon arrival and immediately set off for Hirosaki Castle by bus. Alighted at Shiyakusho-mae 市役所前 and entered Hirosaki Park via Otemon Gate 追手門.
History. Hirosaki Castle completed construction in 1611 and was home to Tsugaru clan during the Edo period. The castle had a five storey tenshukaku 天守閣 (keep tower) originally, but it was struck by lightning and burnt down in 1627. The current, iconic three storey tenshukaku was built during the reconstruction of the corner turrets in 1811. The castle was later opened to public as Hirosaki Park in 1895 and was designated as a historical site in 1952. Today, the park is extremely popular with visitors during spring as there are more than 2,600 cherry blossom trees of different varieties here and these trees were actually donated by the locals to the park in the early 20th century. Imagine the beautiful sight of sakura flower petals covering the moat giving rise to a pink waterway!
History. Hirosaki Castle completed construction in 1611 and was home to Tsugaru clan during the Edo period. The castle had a five storey tenshukaku 天守閣 (keep tower) originally, but it was struck by lightning and burnt down in 1627. The current, iconic three storey tenshukaku was built during the reconstruction of the corner turrets in 1811. The castle was later opened to public as Hirosaki Park in 1895 and was designated as a historical site in 1952. Today, the park is extremely popular with visitors during spring as there are more than 2,600 cherry blossom trees of different varieties here and these trees were actually donated by the locals to the park in the early 20th century. Imagine the beautiful sight of sakura flower petals covering the moat giving rise to a pink waterway!
Landmarks. Tenshukaku is located in Honmaru 本丸 which is surrounded by an inner moat and connected to Ninomaru 二の丸, Nishi no kuruwa 西の廓, Kita no kuruwa 北の廓, Sannomura 三の丸 and Yonnomura 四の丸 via bridges. Out of all the various sections of the park, only Honmaru, Kita no kuruwa and the botanical garden require admission fee. The castle itself has a total of five gates - North, Inner South, Inner East, Otemon and East Gate and three turrets/yagura in Ninomaru - Ushitora 丑寅櫓, Tatsumi 辰巳櫓 and Hitsujisaru 未申櫓. All these historical structures were painstakingly preserved in its original state and have been designated as important cultural property by the government. In fact, one of the best photo taking spot (before the tenshukaku shifted its location temporarily due to renovation works since 2015) to capture the tenshukaku, the stone wall, the moat and vermilion bridge (Gejo-bashi 下乗橋) in the same picture frame is from Ninomaru. The castle compound is pretty spacious and easy to navigate around. And because it was the autumn season when we visited the park, the vegetation in the park were beautifully donned in various shades of red. Apart from that, the majestic Mount Iwaki 岩木山, the tallest peak in Aomori Prefecture and affectionately referred to as Tsugaru-fuji 津軽富士 by the locals here, can be seen clearly from afar in the northwest direction. Managed to capture an alluring sunset view in the backdrop of Mount Iwaki while we were here too.
Restoration. Previously. a bulge was discovered on the stone wall of Honmaru. Due to this, the stone wall may potentially collapse if an earthquake is to occur. Therefore, repair works had to be carried out to restore the integrity of the stone wall. As the three-storey tenshukaku sits at the edge of the stone wall and in order to facilitate stone wall repair, the building was forced to be moved 70 m away from its original location. When we were at Hirosaki Park, the shifting of tenshukaku to the center of Honmaru was just on the verge of completion. It is expected that the entire repair work will take about 10 years and tenshukaku is planned to return to its original location in 2021. Hopefully repair works will complete as per plan and we will get to witness the picturesque scenery of tenshukaku and its surroundings soon.
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Hirosaki Castle 弘前城
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs (1 Apr - 23 Nov); Tenshukaku is closed from 24 Nov to 31 Mar.
Admission fee to Honmaru and Kita no kuruwa between 1 Apr to 23 Nov = 310 yen
Free admission to Honmaru and Kita no kuruwa between 24 Nov to 31 Mar
- Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden 弘前城植物園
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs (Mid Apr - 23 Nov)
Admission fee = 310 yen
- Combined ticket for Honmaru, Kita no kuruwa and Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden = 510 yen
https://www.hirosakipark.jp/
Admission fee to Honmaru and Kita no kuruwa between 1 Apr to 23 Nov = 310 yen
Free admission to Honmaru and Kita no kuruwa between 24 Nov to 31 Mar
- Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden 弘前城植物園
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs (Mid Apr - 23 Nov)
Admission fee = 310 yen
- Combined ticket for Honmaru, Kita no kuruwa and Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden = 510 yen
https://www.hirosakipark.jp/
How to get there?
By Dotemachi loop bus 土手町循環バス.
Board the bus from Platform #2 outside Hirosaki JR Station Chuo Exit 弘前駅中央口 and alight at Shiyakusho-mae 市役所前.
http://www.konanbus.com/coin.html
http://www.konanbus.com/coin.html
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Commemorative stamps:
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