Hirosaki, Japan | Avoid the crowds and enjoy the cherry blossom season at a different time
It's quite magical how I came to know about Hirosaki - I was discussing cherry blossom viewing in Japan with a friend, but it was already close to the blooming season in Osaka and Tokyo. So, I randomly searched and found out that the blooming in Aomori, in the northeastern part of Japan, happens later, usually in late April, and we could still make it to our schedule.
Hirosaki Park is one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Aomori. During the cherry blossom season, there's also a cherry blossom festival, making the park even livelier.
Talking about this trip: I had calculated the days, but a week before we set off for Hirosaki, a sudden change in temperature caused most of the cherry blossom varieties to bloom earlier. The day before we arrived, there had been heavy rain, and the cherry blossoms in Hirosaki Park's tunnel and Hirosaki Castle, which are famous spots, had almost all fallen. We only saw these few weeping cherry trees, which were also nearing the stage of cherry blossom blizzards.
However, after hearing the news about the blooming, I had already lowered my expectations and thought it was all down to luck.
So, when I saw the weeping cherry trees, I was still blown away!! Clusters of waterfall-like blossoms, the feeling of fragmentation when the breeze blew was unbeatable!! It also coincided with this year's cherry blossom festival (4.19-5.5), and there were quite a few shops and free matcha available in Hirosaki Park, adding some festivity.
If you don't want to squeeze through the crowds in Tokyo or Kyoto during cherry blossom season, I really recommend considering Aomori in northeastern Japan! Hirosaki is part of Aomori Prefecture, and Hirosaki Park is a famous cherry blossom viewing spot, with the season generally in late April. Plus, the Aomori area has a lot of fun places to visit (check the main page for detailed strategies).
🌸 Cherry Blossom Viewing Strategy
① Check the blooming dates and plan your trip.
Keep updated with the different blooming times for each area and variety, which are updated daily.
② There's a tourist information center at the Hirosaki station exit where you can get many free guides. During the cherry blossom festival, there are also guides and maps of Hirosaki Park for cherry blossom viewing, indicating where each type of flower and photo spots are.
🚗 Transportation
Aomori has an airport, but there are no direct flights domestically; you need to transfer in Tokyo. I flew to Tokyo, took the Shinkansen to Shin-Aomori Station, and then transferred to JR to get to Hirosaki.
🏨 Hotels
This time I stayed opposite Hirosaki Station, just across the road when exiting the station. It's a half-hour walk or a 15-minute bus ride from the hotel to Hirosaki Park.
➡️Hotel Route-Inn Hirosaki Ekimae
✅ Free Japanese breakfast and artificial hot spring (but the rooms are super small, and the room rate is 1k+ during cherry blossom season)
🚌 City Transportation
Hirosaki is not big, and if you like walking, you can rely on walking. Buses accept Suica cards, and during the cherry blossom festival, the fare is 100 yen. There's a bicycle rental outside Hirosaki Station.
🏠 Other Attractions
Besides Hirosaki Park for cherry blossom viewing, Hirosaki City also retains many Western-style buildings from the Meiji period, which is quite special. Most of the buildings are concentrated in one area and can be explored on foot.
📍Aomori Bank Memorial Hall > Hirosaki Church > Nichi-Tohoku Gakuin Foreign Teachers' House > Old Hirosaki City Library > Hirosaki City Hall > Starbucks Hirosaki Park
Most places close around 5-6 pm, so be sure to check the times when planning your trip.
This year, the Japanese cherry blossoms opened early, so I found a day to go to the city of Sapporo for the Easter holiday to see the cherry blossoms 🌸 just the cherry blossoms are almost full, the scenery is beautiful, I recommend everyone to see the cherry blossoms next time 😊
In the park of the front of the park in Aomori Prefecture, the most beautiful scenery every year is approaching the late autumn maple leaf gradually falling, and there are still several shining red orange lights, which is the most beautiful scenery in the late autumn. I still remember it deeply.
The number of cherry blossom trees in and out of the park is very amazing. According to statistics, there are about 3,000 cherry blossoms in Yoshino, nearly 1,500 in Satozakura, and 500 in the branches. It can be said that the whole park is soaked in the pink flowers of cherry blossoms when they see them in spring. The "Sakura Festival in front of the flower" during the flower meeting, not only the large gathering of the northeast snack house, but also the parade of Jinqing folk songs and Shaowu Duo Festival ﹙ Nebuta ﹚, the night is really like a night cherry blossom event.
The most famous cherry blossom resort in northeastern Japan. Every year cherry blossoms are in full bloom between 23 and 30. There are days to weeks before and after the meeting, but basically from April 25 to 27, you can always see that cherry blossoms will last only 7 days, so in the cherry blossom season, one room in Hongqian is hard to find in that week, and the price is 4-5 times as high as usual. I booked four months in advance and didn't make any reservation at the local hotel. But you can live in the nearby city of Aomori. It's better to distinguish between the full opening days and the first fading days. In 2017, I stayed in Qingsen area of Hongqian for 28 days to May 1 for 4 days, just to see the peak of cherry blossoms and the full red carpet of cherry blossoms on the moat at zero. The periphery of Hongqian Park is free. There is a charge inside Hongqian City. The ticket is 310 yen. Night cherry can also be seen, of which Xihao's landscape is the most amazing.
Cherry blossom scenic spots in Northeast China are usually in late April when they are full blooming each year, but each year there will be a few days to a week of floating, full blooming lasts only seven days, so the timing of viewing is very important. Generally speaking, from April 25 to 28, we can always see the full opening. But it's better to book a room 4-5 months in advance. Otherwise, Hong Qian's room is hard to find, even the nearby Aomori room is tense. In the cherry blossom season, there is a 100 yen shuttle bus from Hongqian Station to Hongqian City. There are many snack stands in the city. Free on the outskirts of the city, 310 yen in the inner circle. Tianshou Pavilion is very small, but I come here mainly to see cherry blossoms. Tianshou Pavilion in front of the prospecting platform can clearly see the distant Yanmu Mountain.
Hiroshima is one of Japan's 100 famous cities, but after all, Hiroshima is not a big city, and the size of the city is far less than Osaka, Nagoya and other cities. From Hongqian Station to Hongqian Park outside Hongqian City, there is a circular bus, 100 yen per person. Hongqian Park is free, but Hongqian City and other Hongqian Botanical Garden are charged, but not expensive.