Spots in Hirosaki / Kuroishi / Mt. Iwaki Area

  • Hirosaki Park
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    4.5
    573 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Shimoshiroganechou 1
    This is a park in the center of Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, established on the grounds of Hirosaki Castle. Many elements inside the park are designated as important cultural assets of Japan, and visitors can see remains of the feudal era including the castle tower, five castle gates and a watchtower. With a moat surrounded by Japan’s oldest Somei Yoshino cherry trees, it is known as one of the prefecture’s leading cherry blossom spots. Many visitors come for the spring cherry blossom festival, as well as the autumn leaves festival and winter snow lantern festival, with several events going on throughout the year.

    Hirosaki Park is a sad sight in winter, and early March is still winter here. The main attractions, including the botanical garden, are closed. Snow patches remain on the soggy ground and the...

  • Tsugaruhan Neputa Mura
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    4.0
    218 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Kamenokoumachi 61
    This is an experience-based tourist facility in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, themed on local culture including the Hirosaki Neputa festival and the Tsugaru region. The permanent exhibition features displays on Hirosaki Neputa and accompanying musical demonstrations. One can learn about local craftwork and have a production experience, and in the Tsugaru shamisen corner one can not only listen to a live performance but also try playing the shamisen under the guidance of a professional. There is also a free to enter shopping area offering locally-produced vegetables, apples and handicrafts.

    We visited as part of a visit to Hirosaki Castle (see my other review). Unfortunately the English presentation we were supposed to have, for some reason didnt happen. The explanations on the...

  • Aoni Onsen
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    4.0
    181 Reviews
    Accommodations / Hot Spring
    Aomori Pref. Kuroishishi Okiura Aozora Takinoue 1 - 7
    A rustic and secluded hot spring bath facility and inn established in 1929 known as the Lamp Inn for its use of beautiful lanterns. The facility consists of a main building standing along a mountain stream in secluded Aoni Ravine, along with three detached buildings. There are guest rooms in the main building and the detached buildings are great for groups staying together, but the facility's baths can also be used by non-guests looking to stop by and enjoy a spa day trip.

    Simple, no frills, comfortable ryokan set in a very secluded beautiful narrow wooded valley with a rushing stream outside the windows. Be aware: the smell of paraffin from the lamps is...

  • Hirosaki Castle Tower
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Shimoshiroganechou 1
    Hirosaki castle was completed in 1611. In 1627 the castle was struck by lightning and burnt from the fifth level of the keep to the ground. The castle stood without a tower for the following 200 years, but in 1810, the ninth lord of the Tsugaru Clan Yasuchika rebuilt a three-layered keep in the southwest corner of the grounds. It is called “Gosankai Yagura” and is the castle you can see today. It is now used as historical center exhibiting historical materials of the feudal era.
  • Fujita Memorial Japanese Garden
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    4.0
    132 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Kamishiroganechou 8-1
    Kenichi Fujita, who was born in Hirosaki City and served as the first president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, invited gardeners from Tokyo to make the garden reminiscent of Edo while he established a separate residence in 1919. The total area is about 21,800 square meters in size, which is the second largest garden next to Hiraizumi Motsuji Temple Garden in the Tohoku district. It is divided into a high mountain area and a low ground area. You can enjoy iris and azalea flowers in the lowland area.

    When it comes to landscape gardening, the Japanese have no equals. This is a rather large garden, consisting of two levels. The upper level has a teahouse and a traditional Japanese home, which is...

  • Roadside Station Inakadate Yayoi no Sato
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    4.0
    103 Reviews
    Transportation
    Aomori Pref. Minamitsugaruguninakadatemura Takahi Yahata 10
    A roadside station standing along National Route 102 and located in Inakadate Village, Aomori Prefecture, a village famous for its rice paddy art which uses rice paddies like a giant canvas to create artistic works. The station's spacious, 7.5 hectare grounds are home to a farm-fresh center selling local specialty products and a restaurant where you can enjoy Yayoi udon noodles and other local dishes. There are also a variety of leisure facilities such as a park, playground, miniature golf course, and a petting zoo, and the station is a popular destination for families with children and people of all ages.

    Inakadate is a small rice farming village. In 1993 the village people came up with ideas of designing mural size of rice fields, which have been growing rice for over 2000 years, to boost the local...

  • Aomori Bank Memorial Hall (Former main branch of the 59th National Bank)
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    4.0
    138 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Motonagamachi 26
    Located southeast of Hirosaki Castle, the Aomori Bank Memorial Hall is a designated National Important Cultural Property which was originally built in 1904 as the 59th National Bank. A Renaissance-esque Western-style building, with decorative tower at the top, called the “White Palace,” also serves as an observatory. The interior is decorated with old-fashioned gold patterned Japanese leather paper, very few examples of which survive today in Japan, and the windows incorporate features from Japanese earthen warehouse architecture as both an anti-burglary and fireproofing measure. The hall still retains vestiges of the mixture of Japanese and Western styles with which it was designed in the Meiji period.

    The building was formerly a bank and now used as a memorial museum. The architecture is European in style. Quite elegant. Displays focus on the development of Japanese coins/money from the samurai...

  • Hirosaki Municipal Tourist Center
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    4.0
    100 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Shimoshiroganechou 2-1
    Hirosaki Municipal Tourist Center provides tourist information by a tourist concierge, and various guide maps according to your destination. The displays of the decorated floats of the “Neputa Festival” on the first floor, and traditional crafts of Tsugaru on the second floor are also an attraction. There is also a local produce shop, restaurant, and bicycle rental service, so drop in before you begin exploring Hirosaki.

    弘前城南側の観光施設です。土産物屋やレストラン、ねぶた等の展示も在りますので立ち寄ってみては如何でしょう。個人的には美味しいリンゴパイのお店を探すのに「リンゴパイマップ」が役立ちました。

  • Catholic Hirosaki Church
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    4.0
    66 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Hyakkokumachikouji 20
    Located around five minutes’ walk to the east of Hirosaki Park, Catholic Hirosaki Church was built in 1910. It was constructed in the Romanesque style, with a spire, and with prominent pillars at the left and right corners of the front face. The oak-wood altar that faces the door at the far end of the interior was a gift from the Church of St. Thomas in Amsterdam; the altar was made in 1866, and won an award for its design at an exhibition held in Antwerp, Belgium.

    ミサのない時は、いつでも教会内に入り、見学やお祈りが出来ます。 弘前公園の近くにあるので、行きやすいですし、外見を見るだけでも、行く価値はあります。

  • Hirosaki Church, United Church of Christ in Japan
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    4.0
    65 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Mototeramachi 48
    A church built by the Hirosaki Methodist Church in 1906. Located close to Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden, the wooden building’s gothic style architecture with two towers is an extremely rare example constructed during the Meiji period. A variety of traditional crafts were used in the decorate of the church as well. The pulpit and communion table are painted Tsugaru-nuri lacquer, and the donation baskets are traditional woven vine work. Visitors are permitted, but not when staff are not present or during church events.

    I had seen the 1/10th scale building and bumped into it in the middle of my walk-about. I did not enter for it isnt my faith and i was heading somewhere else. It is is large enough to see.

  • Roadside Station Lake Nijinoko
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    3.5
    38 Reviews
    Transportation
    Aomori Pref. Kuroishishi Okiura Yamanokami 1-5
    A roadside station situated amidst the lush natural beauty of Lake Nijinoko, a dam lake formed by the Tohoku region's largest dam, Aseishigawa Dam. The grounds of the station have been turned into a park where you can enjoy outdoor activities; the park's numerous facilities include a lakeside rest house, sports garden, barbecue area, and playground area with huge play equipment. There is a free rest area right next to the parking area. The lakeside rest house has a restaurant where you can enjoy a meal while taking in a view of the lake as well as a shop carrying local specialty products and light meals, making this station a great place to take a break while driving through the area.

    国道102号線沿いにあり、黒石から十和田湖へ向う途中、休憩のため立寄りました。 虹の湖というダム湖の湖畔で「虹の湖公園」の一角にある道の駅で、ログハウス風で休憩所のある管理棟と、レストランとお土産売場があるレストハウスがメインで一通り揃っていますが、あまり特徴がないように見受けられました。 レストランは準備中でしたが「きのこラーメン」がお勧めとあり、お土産も置いてあったのでウリはきのこのようでした...

  • Seibi-en
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    4.0
    45 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirakawashi Saruka Ishibayashi 1
    The Seibi-en which was nationally designated as a Place of Scenic Beauty in 1953, is a building blending both Japanese and western styles and was built to look out onto the gardens. The first floor is pure Japanese style and the second floor is designed in a western style. This building has a unique beauty that fuses with the Japanese gardens and shows traces of Japan’s Westernization movement during the Meiji period. The second floor is not currently open to the public. It is approximately a 10 minute walk from Tsugaru Onoe Station on the Konan Railway Konan Line.

    Curious house, being Japanese style on the ground floor and European on the second. The highlight for me though was the lovely, tranquil, formal garden with dry gravel, stones, greenery, water with...

  • Tsugaru Traditional Craft Center
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    3.5
    37 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Kuroishi-shi Fukuro Tomiyama 65-1
    This complex is in Tomiyama,Fukuro, Kuroishi City. Presented here are the traditional crafts of Tsugaru-nuri lacquerware, and Tsugaru Kokeshi dolls as well as local food products housed in 6 studios where you can also try your hand with a DIY experience. In the complex are stores selling over 1,600 items of local produce and products as well as regular presentations of the Tsugaru shamisen stringed instrument performance. The eateries offer ordinary local menu items, such as the Kuroishitsuyu yakisoba noodles.

    Visited the Traditional Crafts Museum in the winter with my family. There are many hands-on crafts experiences offered in different shops. Our kids (8 and 4 yrs old) tried Kokeshi doll painting...

  • Hirosaki City Museum
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    3.5
    30 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Shimoshiroganechou 1-6 In Hirosaki Park
    A museum located in a corner of the outermost region of the grounds of Hirosaki Castle. The solemn museum building was designed by architect Kunio Maekawa. The museum displays historical materials relating to Hirosaki Domain as well as arts and crafts. The museum's popular mascot, Inocchi, was modeled after an earthen figurine of a wild boar in the Museum's collection dating back to the Jomon period.

    戦国大名津軽家の歴史を中心に貴重な資料を拝見させていただきました。今では青森市が県の中心でしたが、当時は弘前が中心ということが分かりました。

  • Hirosaki City Machinaka Information Center
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    4.0
    22 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Dotemachi 94-1
    A municipal facility opened in May 2004 which functions as information center, cultural exchange hall, and rest area. The center provides tourism and other information relating to the local area and also sells specialty products from Aomori Prefecture such as apple products; you can also get a light meal here. The facility also has a meeting room and studio (advance reservation and fee required), and computer booths with free internet access, and the center serves as a base for sightseeing activities in the Dote-machi neighborhood as well as a relaxation space for local residents.

    初音ミク/桜ミク スタンプラリーで 駅前 市立 まちなかと 三ヶ所観光案内所を行きましたが ここが一番 資料が多く 手作りの資料もあり 机 アイスや飲み物 (有料 もあり じっくり聞けて そのあと 簡単なメモもできて 良かったです ちなみに 他のあえて悪いところをあげるなら 駅前 人の出入りが激しくせわしない 市立 お役所感...

  • Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art
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    4.5
    5 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Hirosaki-shi Yoshinocho 2-1

    弘南鉄道中央弘前駅の近くにある美術館です。かつての酒造会社の倉庫を再利用した、レンガ造りの外観が目を引きます。

  • Iwakiyama-jinja Shrine
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Hyakuzawa Terasawa
    With a history of approximately 1,200 years since it was built and believed to enshrine the guardian deity of agricultural and fishing industries, Iwakiyama-jinja Shrine is also called by its other names of “O-Iwaki-sama” and “O-yama.” The long path leading from the torii gate to the honden (main shrine) is flanked on either side by sugi (Japanese cryptomeria trees). The premises feature a honden, haiden (hall of worship), okumon (inner gate), and romon (two-storied gate) all arranged in a line, and these beautiful structures have been designated as Important Cultural Properties.
  • Hirosaki Municipal Local Museum of Literature
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    4.0
    18 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Hirosaki-shi Shimoshiroganecho 2-1
    This facility introduces writers with deep connections to Hirosaki. There is a permanent exhibition of the works of nine literary persons from Tsugaru, such as Katsunan Kuga, Kouroku Sato, Zenzo Kasai and Osamu Dazai. In addition, there are special exhibitions which are figured out to deepen our understanding of the local literature. In addition, each literary person's literature monument is guided, and they are useful for visiting the places of connection and memory.

    多くの文学者を輩出した津軽です。お恥ずかしいのですが文学の世界には全く疎い私なので評価し難いです。弘前城南側の多くの文化施設が集合しているエリアに有ります。

  • Hirosaki City Apple Park
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Aomori Pref. Hirosakishi Shimizutomita Terasawa 125
    This is a park and tourist facility in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, where one can experience local specialty apple production. From common to rare there are around 80 varieties of apples on 1,500 trees. In the production experience garden one can stroll freely through the grounds, and from the beginning of August to mid-November one can pick and eat the apples. In the garden there is an “apple house” to learn more about apples, a reconstructed farmer’s residence displaying agricultural equipment, open areas and picnic spots too.
  • Daienji Temple
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    4.0
    16 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aomori Minamitsugaru-gun Owanimachi Kuradate Muraoka 12
    "This Buddhist temple has garnered worshipers due to it being known as ""Owani no Dainichi"" in Tsugaru. During the Nara period (710-794), with the construction of Emperor Shomu's provincial temple, Dainichi Nyorai was enshrined at Daiankoku Temple. In 1191, it was transferred to Kohaku Temple, and during the separation of Buddhism and Shintoism in 1871, it was moved from Hirosaki City to Daienji Temple. The ""Amitabha statue"" called ""Dainichi"" as the object of worship has been designated an important cultural property. It is thought that a Buddhist sculptor from the capital who visited Hiraizumi used Hiba sypress and sculpted it in Owani."

    大鰐温泉の温泉街にある高野山真言宗のブッダ・テンプルです。本尊は大日如来で、国指定重要文化財(登録は木造阿弥陀如来坐像として)になっています。津軽地方固有の一代様信仰では、未年と申年の守り本尊になっています。御朱印あります。

Aomori Areas

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Centuries-old stories of samurai at Kakunodate and the remains of millennia-old archaeological sites including the likes of Isedotai invite history buffs to delve into Aomori’s fascinating history. As the most northern prefecture on the Japanese mainland, Aomori enjoys a cooler climate, which makes it a welcome escape from the southern cities for combining castles, art galleries, and summer festivals with the great outdoors.

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