Visit to Hirosaki (1/3)
When we went back to Japan, we travelled to Aomori prefecture, in northern Japan. Aomori literally means blue forest, although it could possibly be translated as "green forest". I've been to Towada Lake which is located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, but never been to proper cities in Aomori. Since a bullet train line has been extended to Hokkaido via Aomori, we decided to visit Hirosaki-city, in Aomori.
The castle's original five-story keep burnt down in 1627 after being struck by lightning. The present three-story keep was built in 1810. It used to stand on the stone base on the corner, but now, it's on the ground. Engineers have moved a 400-year-old castle tower so that repairs can be carried out on the stone base of the tower. It's an amazing skill.
Inside the castle tower, there are a few displays, explaining how they moved this tower, rather than the history of the castle. The castle standing on the ground looked smaller than it used to be. I expected it, but it was disappointingly small, unfortunately... However, you can enjoy the layout, with a moat as well as steep and narrow stairs inside, as a feature of what a Japanese castle is like. I wasn't impressed by the castle tower itself very much, but I thought the gates and turrets were worth seein. The castle is located in the Hirosaki Park, and you can see the nice view of Mount Iwaki as well.
Aomori is famous for its apples. We didn't forget to eat apple cake and drink apple juice. I had an apple hot juice with them. :)
Hirosaki Castle was built in 1611. It's famous for its three-story castle tower in the beautiful cherry blossom season. When we visited there, autumn colours, especially red leaves, were still beautiful.
The castle's original five-story keep burnt down in 1627 after being struck by lightning. The present three-story keep was built in 1810. It used to stand on the stone base on the corner, but now, it's on the ground. Engineers have moved a 400-year-old castle tower so that repairs can be carried out on the stone base of the tower. It's an amazing skill.
Inside the castle tower, there are a few displays, explaining how they moved this tower, rather than the history of the castle. The castle standing on the ground looked smaller than it used to be. I expected it, but it was disappointingly small, unfortunately... However, you can enjoy the layout, with a moat as well as steep and narrow stairs inside, as a feature of what a Japanese castle is like. I wasn't impressed by the castle tower itself very much, but I thought the gates and turrets were worth seein. The castle is located in the Hirosaki Park, and you can see the nice view of Mount Iwaki as well.
Aomori is famous for its apples. We didn't forget to eat apple cake and drink apple juice. I had an apple hot juice with them. :)
