White keep
Over the moat.
MAKIKO OMOKAWA — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Suicasmo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Feri88 — CC BY 3.0 · Yoshio Kohara — CC BY 3.0 · z tanuki — CC BY 3.0
Hirosaki Castle is a small white three-storey keep with grey roofs, standing in a broad park ringed by moats and red wooden bridges. The park is famous for its thousands of cherry trees in spring and its red maples in autumn. The castle was built in 1611 as the seat of the Tsugaru clan, who ruled the area. Its grounds measure 612 m east to west and 947 m north to south, divided into six concentric baileys once separated by moats. Unusually, its Edo-period keep and most of its outline survive intact. In recent years the keep was moved about 70 m to repair the stone walls beneath it, with its return planned for 2026. You walk round the moats and over the red bridges and enter the inner grounds to see the keep up close. It is loveliest in late April, when the cherry trees bloom. It is in the centre of Hirosaki itself. The inner grounds are free from late November to March, and the keep is closed in winter.
Over the moat.
In wood.
In April.
Hirosaki Park, central Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture
Usually late April.
Closed in winter; check the relocation work.