The Annual Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum and Autumn Festival will run until November 10th! Hirosaki Castle is well known for it’s Sakura and Momiji (Autumn Leaves) scenery, with over 1000 Maple and 2600 Sakura trees. When the seasons come, it is quite delightful to visit during Spring and Autumn.
The festival had been going on yearly since 1962, and the theme has been Momiji and Chrysanthemum. There are Chrysanthemum themed art pieces in the Hirosaki Castle Botanical Gardens. For the Autumn Leaves, the Castle not only features Maple but also Sakura as well (Sakura leaves also turn red during Autumn). This year the Sakura trees will turn red by the end of October, while Maples will remain red from now to mid-November.
For activities, aside from visiting the Botanical Gardens, there’s also a boat ride around the inner moat. The ride features a tunnel-like scenery of red leaves. The ride will be available from October 25th to November 4th, from 9 am to 4 pm.
There will also be a night light up in the Castle from now to mid-November, from sundown to 9 pm. At 6
Admission
Admission is free for the majority of the Castle, except the Botanical Gardens and the Donjon (天守 in Japanese, the keep of the Castle). The admission of the Botanical Gardens and the Donjon are as below.
Botanical Gardens ticket:
320 yen for adults and high school students, 100 yen for grade school students and children.
Donjon and Botanical Gardens combo ticket:
520 yen for adults and high school students, 160 yen for grade school students and children.
How to get there
The Dotemachi 100 yen bus runs a circular route between JR Hirosaki Station and Hirosaki Castle, and cost 100 yen per ride. The service usually
Official Site of the festival (in Japanese): https://www.hirosaki-kanko.or.jp/web/edit.html?id=cat02_autumn_momiji