We are on a 31 Day Transpacific Repositioning cruise on the Carnival Luminosa. And one of our ports of call is Aomori, Japan. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on the main island of Japan and is blessed with both diverse culture and magnificent nature, including the famous cherry blossom viewing spot Hirosaki Park.
We were lucky enough to be visiting Aomori during the height of the cherry blossom blooming season. It was a drizzly day but that didn’t stop us. We hired a taxi guide and he took us to Hirosaki Park, with over 2,600 cherry blossom trees in FULL BLOOM and home to Hirosaki Castle. Hirosaki Castle was built in 1611 by the Tsugaru Clan. The original five-story keep burnt down in 1627 after being struck by lightning. Rebuilt in 1810, the present three-story keep is the only one in the Tohoku Region that was not rebuilt in the modern era, amongst only a handful in all of Japan. Not only was the castle a perfect example of Japanese architecture and design, but the landscape of millions of blossoms in shades of pink were amazing to see, including the view of the majestic and snow-covered Mt. Iwaki. As the day pushed on the rain stopped and we were blessed with a beautiful day. We even got to take a drive over to the Choshoji Temple. This Buddhist temple has a long history as the family temple of the Tsugaru clan, and many feudal lords from the past are buried in the mausoleum built within the temple grounds.
So come along with us as we explore a port day in Aomori, Japan.
welcome to amori Japan yes our second to last stop of Japan second to last stop so if you look in you’re not going to see it in this image only because it’s cloudy it’s overcast but there’s a huge mountain right there are we going to go to that mountain I don’t think we’re going to go to that mountain no maybe I think that mountain will be visible from where we will be so we’re we’re in court we’re in the carnival luminosa and we’re going to uh rent the taxi today we are and we’re going to go over to a castle harasaki castle harasaki castle it’s know for the charer Blossom Festival uh lots of cherry blossoms in the area we’re hoping that it’s not past the season and we can still see it it is overcast at the moment uh kind of cloudy and rainy it said it was going to be kind of cloudy today so I’m just hoping that the rain clears up that would be nice um we have what is it almost an hour hour a half ride so we have some time we might hit a family Mark I’m sure we’ll do something the hubard way hey thanks for coming along see you soon very [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] excited all right we’re getting off it’s raining it’s raining it’s chilly you guys aren’t used to this cold weather huh sir good morning thank you thank you thank you is the carnival Paparazzi okay we are off and running but it’s raining today this looks like the zum bridge in Boston I bet you the same people designed it cuz it’s exactly what it looks like we should do a we’ll we’ll show what the zum Bridge looks like in this bridge here they look almost identical good morning guys what you got going on back there not much trying to adjust adjust early morning huh we were all pretty tired and feeling the effects of several days of exploring so we welcomed the Thrive as we relaxed and took in the foggy but beautiful sight of Mount iuke Cherry Blossom Street oh Cherry Blossom Street right here look at that pictures here we come we’re coming in we’re in am and this is the walk chry Blossom Street two terasaki Castle all right full bloom cherry blossoms from what I understand this is the Cherry Blossom capital of Japan and we’re going to see him we have a bit of a drizzle but it’s really pretty one more time go go go we walked up the street from where we parked to the entrance and even though it was a light rain and overcast it didn’t take away from the natural beauty of these trees and Nature Park and actually the umbrella’s added a Whimsical touch to our photos every year in April Amore becomes painted shades of pink with blossoms of the cherry trees and even on a cloudy day these Beauties transform the area into a soft peaceful magical place the cherry blossoms in harasaki park are also known as the largest in size and quantity of cherry blossom trees in Japan in fact we saw the widest and the oldest tree on the property this is the widest cherry blossom on the property correct in Japan in Japan oh it’s the largest in Japan yes in Japan’s known for cherry blossoms there it is oh my wow so they’re holding part of it up cuz it’s probably getting too heavy chestnuts scallops look at those scallops oh look at these [Music] bananas oh they got prawns this place is huge hirasaki Park is known as one of the best cherry blossom viewing sites in Japan the park is home to about 2600 trees with over 50 different types of cherry trees and we were told that during the harasaki Cherry Blossom Festival which is held annually between the end of April and early May that the park will get over 2 million visitors do you take uh Visa Visa only cash oh okay as you can see the admission into the park is cash only and we weren’t prepared for this but our guide was kind enough to pay them cash and we paid him back at the end of our journey we followed our guide as he directed us over this very pretty red bridge and then just on the other side the site became even more beautiful we were very lucky to see so many of the cherry blossoms in the height of their blooming season the existence of these cherry trees date back to 175 when the suguru family acquired 25 Kasumi zakura cherry trees from Kyoto and planted them in the grounds of the hirasaki castle from then the cherry blossoms continued to grow and and flourish and by the early 1920s the castle had become completely surrounded by cherry trees and the millions of pink blossoms but before going to the castle we got to admire the view of Mount iwaki off in the distance I just heard a bird a Tampa bird look at this beautiful mountain here I just heard a bird he heard a bird Tampa bird oh look at that mountain the construction of the hosaki castle began under the TAMU suru who United the sugaru region the castle was completed by the second feudal Lord Noir sugaru in 1611 the original keep was a five-story building that was built on the southwest corner of the castle enclosure however it was hit by lightning and destroyed by a fire in 1627 just 16 years after its construction the steps are like a ladder I mean they’re literally like you’re going up a ladder all right I’m going to go up this ladder we climbed the very steep ladderlike stairs to the different levels of the castle and looked outside to some beautiful sites and mount iuke off in the distance so the present keep was completed in 1810 and although it is smaller than the original one it is a prominent Castle keep that represents Japanese architecture and history inside we got to see several plaques that showed us the different history of the castle just outside we got to climb a structure so we got a great view of the castle this goes up to an observation point where you can actually take a picture so we’re coming down a little observation photo spot it’s turning out the a nice day more pink and then they turn more white so that’s so they open and Bloom more when they’re white or when they no when they they’re pink they start and then they get the white so it’s really it it started out as a rainy day and now it’s turning out to be this beautiful day birds are singing oh the blossom SE he said in one week these blossoms will be gone 4 days it takes the bloom and then they’re gone in one week so Andrea is telling me that this is the oldest this is the oldest cherry blossom 1882 wow so not the biggest the oldest check out the reflection of the cherry blossoms in the water it’s like a mirror pretty cool huh what’s that oh we’re going to have some of that oh yeah oh look at she’s making this up she’s putting sauce on there oh look at that oh look at these crit card they take credit card right there credit [Music] card scallops scallops all right let me see right here check this place out right here this is this is where we are yes this is the place what’s the name of this place what’s the [Music] name did you get that yeah thank you I got look at [Music] this m Scarlets unbelievable Scarlets fresh they just cooked them you’re going to leave that one for me right no it turned out to be a great day and we were very fortunate to be able to see such beautiful sites okay this is we’re in a in a market here this is where we can get our uh our beer somewhere in here oh right over here next stop is where Temple okay oh yeah we’re going to go to the Temple next cheers guys not yet not yet what the heck are you guys doing back there oh my goodness H bird you know what next time we’re going to stick you in the back and then you’ll know all right let’s go where’s Andrea Andrea not in there oh there she there she is Cheers Cheers let’s get this show roll r one of another best taxi driver he is the best taxi driver I think in all of aramori yes it is thank you I don’t know what she’s eating back there Soom emia rice no rice no no noodles noodles oh tastes good though it’s good very good very good temple temple temple so there’s a Temple here Temple here oh wow and there’s a temple at the very end too is that the main Temple yes just all right love how’s it going so I’ve been looking to eat this thing Oka Yaki three PS night okaki Yaki this was like a big thing to eat you wanted to have it I had to try it because you can you can eat it very creamy he you talk about it everywhere so I had to give it a shot next our guide took us to the chos soji temple the first structure we saw was this three room Ono Tower Gate built in 1629 the gate is referred to as a sandman this Temple has a long history as the family Temple of the suguru clan and many feudal Lords from the past are buried in the maalim built within the temple grounds once we walked through the gate we were in kind of a Courtyard area and in front of us was the main hall this wasn’t a building we went in however we did go into the structure on the left the interior of the structure was beautiful and everywhere you looked there were carved statues that were painted with lacquer and gold leaf it was just amazing [Music] [Music] we then walked across the way to the curry [Music] for this beautiful altar was very ornate and in front of this area was a Gong that we were able to ring and take a moment to give blessings okay [Music] back outside our guide told us about the suguru family Mausoleum we looked around one last time and took in all the history and beauty of this sacred place what a beautiful Temple just before getting back into the taxi for our long ride back to the port we took a moment for a bathroom break and couldn’t help but notice this pagota off in the distance we took a walk over to get a closer look and a few photos at the Overlook very pretty very pretty scenery and right here bathrooms yep that’s where we’re going [Music] go to family M family M we’re going to family M let’s go to family M or 7-Eleven we’re not we don’t Prejudice we go to either one all right we’re going into the family M we’ll get a sixpack okay oh yeah Andrea wanted Coca-Cola oh yeah Coca-Cola Coca-Cola good thing good thing you said that cuz I’d be in trouble she likes the Coca-Cola buddy where Tony is right there the best driver in aramori oh yeah Tony yes there you are there you are you we’re going to uh we’re going to bring these with us we’re going to drink these on the ship man think we we can give him one more right yeah bring that home for your wife yes yes yes another great taxi Rider he literally paid for us for everything byebye thank you thank you he he literally just paid for us we got the got into the castle food and obviously obviously we we paid him back but he didn’t need to do any of that no he’s a good he’s a class act that guy yeah all right we locked out in Japan all right we’re going to head back on the ship we’ve been in the port kind of just hanging out chilling out talking to people coming back on the ship let’s do this right [Laughter] [Music] here all got look at the little kid I know I saw him they’re adorable oh my God it’s so beautiful
1 Comment
Looks wet…..lucky you are not doing a mud bath or it would wash off