Part 2 of our overnight bus trip from downtown Tokyo to castle town Hirosaki!
Welcome back for the second part of our trip from Tokyo to Aomori Prefecture via Japan’s overnight bus network. To recap, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma hopped on the Jamjam Liner at the Busta bus terminal in downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood at 10:20 p.m., then rode it through the night to the northernmost prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu, arriving in the town of Hirosaki at 7:40 the next morning.
After warming himself up in a local hot spring bath and visiting the Niji no Mart fish and produce market for a very satisfying breakfast, Masanuki was refreshed and fueled up, so now it was time to get to sightseeing, and his first stop was the Hirosaki City Tourist Center.
▼ Despite being in Hirosaki on March 20, there was still plenty of snow on the ground.
Aomori’s biggest cultural event is the Nebuta Matsuri, or “Neputa” Matsuri, as it’s pronounced by many locals. In this unique after-dark festival, giant lantern-style floats depicting brave warriors and mythical creatures are paraded through the streets, attracting crowds from all over Japan to come watch. The festival is held every August, but the Hirosaki City Tourist Center has floats on display in the off-season too.
As for must-see places in Hirosaki, Hirosaki Castle is at the top of the list, so that was Masanuki’s next stop.
▼ The castle and its surrounding park and moat are at the center of the city, about a 5-to-10-minute walk from the Tourist Center.
▼ Walking route from the Tourist Center to Hirosaki Castle
Hirosaki Castle is one of Japan’s most famous cherry blossom viewing spots, with over 300 sakura trees, some more than a century old, lining its moat and dotting the park. However, sakura season comes to Japan’s north a little later than it does the rest of the country, and instead of being adorned with pink flowers, the castle grounds were blanketed in white snow.
As a matter of fact, it was so cold that the moat was frozen!
The castle itself still looked very cool, though, and with smaller crowds because of the chilly temperatures it felt a bit like Masanuki had traveled back in time.
Hirosaki Castle was originally built in 1611 by the lord of the Tsugaru samurai clan, and its current tower dates from 1810, when Japan was still under the rule of the shogunate.
Climb the steps to the top and you’re treated to a very nice view of what you might for a second think is Mt. Fuji. This is actually Mt. Iwaki, the tallest mountain in Aomori, although its gently curving slopes and flat top have earned it the nickname “Tsugaru Fuji.”
Feeling thirsty, Masanuki decided to grab a drink at a place he’d heard about just a quick walk away.
This preserved building from the Taisho era (1912 to 1926) is an official Registered Tangible Cultural Property…and it’s also a Starbucks! When setting up shop in or near a historical district, the coffee shop tries to salute and preserve the local culture, and they’ve done that by beautifully maintaining this piece of 100-year-old architecture.
Hirosaki has a number of buildings from the Taisho era, as well as the preceding Meiji period and the early years of the Showa period, which followed the Taisho. For example, the town’s former library, which served that purpose from 1906 to 1931, has been preserved and now functions as a history museum.
▼ Starbucks Hirosakikouen-mae branch to library
Right next to the library is the Nebuta Matsuri Float Exhibition Hall, where you can see more of Aomori’s traditional artistic craft.
▼ Library to Float Exhibition Hall
▼ Yes, that’s a giant daikon radish float.
▼ During the festival, drummers riding on the floats bang massive drums to amp up the crowd and keep everyone pulling in unison.
If you’re done much traveling around Japan, you’ll have noticed that every region has some food that they say they do better than anywhere else. Aomori’s pride is apples, and that makes Hirosaki’s representative dessert apple pie. You’ll spot it on cafe menus and in bakery display cases all over town, but Masanuki had some insider info on an especially great example of Hirosaki apple pie, thanks to a local acquaintance who’d tipped him off about a specialty shop called Grand Merci.
▼ Float Exhibition Hall to Grand Merci
As you can see from the map above, it was going to take Masanuki more than 20 minutes to get to Grand Merci, but he wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. As he made his was to the bakery, he passed by the captivatingly retro-style Chuo Hirosaki Station (which we’ll have more on in a separate article).
His route also took him through a snowy field and past the Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Art Museum…
…before finally…
…arriving at Grand Merci!
There’s no eat-in space, but Masanuki was able to pick up an individual-size to-go apple pie for 480 yen (US$3.25).
Something else Aomori is known for is music, particularly the traditional stringed instrument called a shamisen. The Tsugaruhan Neputamura cultural center has live performances, so Masanuki headed that way to get an earful of the regional sound.
▼ Gran Merci to Tsugaruhan Neputamura
▼ More snowy sights along the way
Tsugaruhan Neputamura also has floats on display, giving Masanuki another opportunity to appreciate their huge size and intricate details.
Then it was time for the shamisen performance, and Masanuki was instantly a fan. Compared to more orthodox shamisen compositions, Tsugaru shamisen, as Aomori’s version is called, is more dynamic and energetic, with musicians customarily adding improvisational flourishes as they play.
By the way, if you’ve got a sweet tooth, keep your eyes peeled as you’re walking around town for shops and stands selling koganeyaki.
Hirosaki’s take on sweet bean paste-filled baked confectionaries like taiyaki or Imagawayaki, koganeyaki are warm, delicious, and perfectly sized for a sweet snack. They’re also extremely budget-friendly, with Masanuki snagging one for just 70 yen.
Since overnight buses (which start at 8,000 yen) run both ways on the Tokyo-Hirosaki route, it’s entirely possible to hop on the bus in Tokyo, spend the next day sightseeing in Hirosaki, and then head back to Tokyo that night, without having to book (and pay for) a hotel room. The bus from Hirosaki to Tokyo doesn’t leave from Hirosaki Station until 9 p.m., so you’ve even got time to grab dinner before you go, say, for example, at the restaurant Yabukin.
▼ Tsugaruhan Neputamura to Yabukin
Yabukin specializes in soba (buckwheat) noodles, but they also have chuka soba (i.e. ramen) served in a curry broth, which is what Masanuki opted for, for 800 yen.
Rather than a thick, clumpy curry, the broth is nice and smooth, letting you evenly soak the noodles and sip the sauce. It was so delicious that it wasn’t until after Masanuki had finished that he realized he’d had noodles for his breakfast, lunch, and dinner this day in Hirosaki, but with all three meals being outstanding, he had no complaints.
And for dessert? He still had his to-go apple pie from Gran Merci to munch on after he left the restaurant, and it was every bit as lovely to look at and to taste as his friend had led him to believe it would be.
▼ Walking route from Yabukin to Hirosaki Station
If you catch the 9 p.m. Jamjam Liner JX932, you’ll be back in Tokyo at 7 the next morning, possibly early enough to even clock in for work or make it to class if that’s the only way you can slot in a Hirosaki getaway. Alternatively, you could do what Masanuki did and spend the night in an old-school Japanese bar that’s been converted into a hotel…
…which we can tell you all about here.
Related: Jamjam Liner website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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