Hirosaki Castle (Hirosaki Park)

Hirosaki Castle was built in 1611 by Tsugaru Nobuhira, the second lord of the Hirosaki Domain. The castle grounds cover about 490,000 m² and are divided into six areas: Honmaru (main bailey), Ninomaru, Sannomaru, Yonomaru, Kita-no-Kuruwa (north enclosure), and Nishi-no-Kuruwa (west enclosure), all surrounded by triple moats. Hirosaki Castle is the only castle in the Tohoku region included among Japan’s "12 original surviving castle keeps" (castles whose keeps remain from the Edo period). The original keep was five stories, but it was destroyed by lightning in 1627. In 1810, a corner turret was remodeled and completed as the current three-story keep. Due to major stone-wall repairs for the first time in 100 years, the keep has been moved about 70 meters to a temporary base within Honmaru until 2025. Inside the keep is a museum, and during cherry blossom season, small windows offer beautiful views of the surrounding sakura. In Sannomaru, you can also visit facilities such as the Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden (with 1,500 species and 124,000 plants) and the Hirosaki City Museum, which focuses on the history of the Hirosaki Domain and Tsugaru culture.