Hirosaki Castle

Great little castle park with a nice botanical gardens. Tickets are cheap and right now there is an autumn garden show happening. Definitely a must-see attraction in Hirosaki.

During the autumn leave festival it is best to go at night. However, I would say don’t pay for botanical gardens and just walk around the free sections. They were better imo. The castle is pretty small but at night you don’t pay for ticket so was nice.

Great place to visit! The castle itself might not be so amazing, but the place around looks beautiful and it got great views.
I went the on May 5th 2023 with some friends.
The cherry blossoms still had lots of flowers.

2 big gates, the main keep (honmaru) and a little keep are all that is left of the castle. The keep was recently moved from the fortifications wall to the centre of the place after an earthquake threatened its stability. Great place for pictures. Limited historical artefacts.

Beautiful castle. Would visit again. Would spend more time there next time approximately 3 hours.

A great place to take pictures and watch the sunset. Even better in the fall 🍁 or cherry 🌸 blossom season

I just love that place!!! It has a very special place in my heart, it has a really romantic atmosphere and is definitely a great place to go, even if you have missed the cherry blossoms in Central Japan! 🌸🥰🩷

Hirosaki Castle Park + Castle. One of main objective of to catch the best Sakura spots in the Tohoku region was unlocked with perfect weather of cloudy skies and strong winds (it was raining heavily the day before!). With the full bloom that just happened and being much closer to the moat (even though it’s not fully covered), there were parts of that were fully covered! Also if you come at night, you will get a whole different view (check ig for that location to get a sense)!

April 18 - beautiful pink willows and white cherry trees along the cherry tree tunnel. However, many cherry trees are also falling.
Personally, one of the best cherry blossom locations because of the variety of different types of trees, a castle, a mountain view, cherry blossom tunnel, water + bridge view, and many reflection spots. In addition, the Sakura festival/matsuri is very lively with the ROWS of food and activities.
Castle entrance: come before 9am for free entry and after 5pm! Entering the castle is also free :)
They also have night illuminations all around the park for free! They're especially beautiful here because there are no gimmicks-- just plain white light 💕

There are snow removal vehicles in the winter so you can visit without difficulty. Notice the snow falling from the pines and cherry trees. The snow is quite slippery, so it is recommended to wear winter shoes with anti-slip soles. i think the park will be very beautiful in cherry blossom season.

It is a very beautiful place to visit all times of the year, but it is really nice in the Spring with all the cherry blossoms in full bloom! Unfortunately, we went a little too late to see them, but still managed to get some nice photos/views of the area. There were still a lot of vendors out selling delicious food and the path is lengthy and nice. It is absolutely worth the trip!

The gardens were trained out this year but the castle and autumn leaves were beautiful. Can go inside the castle and view pictures of how it was moved while the base gets fixed. Big areas to enjoy

The main tourist attraction in Hirosaki City, which not only garden but also has castle inside. The access is very easy, you can take bus from Hirosaki Station for 100¥ (please check the timetable for bus using app/ask the tourist information center inside the station). I went here during Chrysanthemum and Autumn Leaves Festival, so the entrance is free. Normally, the entrance to the park is free but if you want to visit Hirosaki Castle area or Botanical Garden, you need to pay for a ticket, but I think the price is still reasonable (520¥ for all access). This park is spacious and has some picnic areas inside. There are also some cafe you can visit if you’re hungry. This park has various events in a year, so, make sure you come when the festival is held.

Really cool place full of cherry blossoms. I believe the cherry blossom festival starts around April 20th until the end of the first week in May.
Lots of food shops around, all around super fun.

Great visit. Lots to see. Went to castle and the botanical garden.

Lovely park and Castle would recommend to anybody. We will lucky enough to be there during the Autumn festival so we got in for free. But prices were very reasonable would have happily paid. Beautiful autumn colors

A must visit in Hirosaki. The Fall foliage here is stunning!

Must visit in cherry blossom season which is late April. Beautiful and large amount of cherry blossom around and in the park. We didn’t go to the paid area but you can see how amazing the blossom are. The cherry lane was lined with cherry trees canopy. It’s just mesmerising not to mention romantic. They do have cherry blossom festival on with many stalls with street food, games as well as souvenirs. It was freezing and raining on the day we went so it was not so crowded.

Beautiful castle in Aomori, it’s a really cute castle in a nice setting with mount iwaki in the background

This was the highlight of my Japan trip. After missing the cherry blossom in southern part of the Japan, end of April in Hirosaki Castle means peak cherry blossom.

There numerous cherry blossom trees in the castle ground, combined with the white wall of the castle and the 3 layers of moat surrounding the castle - it makes for a beautiful scenery. And with the beautiful scenery, there are throng of Japanese having a picnic under the cherry blossoms. It's crowded but I still enjoy the blossoms.

Numerous street food vendors lines the ground of the castle. One can find anything from ice cream, takoyaki (the squid ball), grilled fish on stick, or for that matter octopus, shrimp, chicken, etc on stick. Also ramen and stir fry noodle. My favorite is the steam pork bun - fresh from the bamboo steamer and it's the size of my palm. Yummy!

The entire walk lasts easily a couple of hours. It's must visit when you're in Aomori.