2-Day Itinerary

Hirosaki Municipal Tourist Center (Hirosaki)

Located by Hirosaki Park on a corner of the Otemon Square, Hirosaki Municipal Tourist Center offers various services for tourists including tourist information, bicycle rental service, and free boots rental service during the winter months.

Former Hirosaki City Library (Hirosaki)

Former Hirosaki City Library is a three-story wooden Western-style building with octagonal twin towers in the Renaissance style, with Japanese style incorporated throughout. It was used as the city library from 1906 to 1931, from Meiji to Showa era.

Former Tōō Gijuku Missionary Residence (Hirosaki)

Tōō Gijuku is a private school founded in 1872 with Keikokan as the parent body, a domain school for educating children of feudal lords. This building was built in 1900 as a residence exclusively for foreign teachers invited by the Tōō Gijuku. The facility now highlights the life of foreigners in the Meiji period. A coffee shop is located on the first floor, where visitors can enjoy apple pie and other delicacies.

Former Fifty-Ninth Bank Head Office Main Building (Hirosaki)

Completed in 1905 as the head office of the Fifty-Ninth Bank, the two-story wooden structure was made of hiba (cypress) and keyaki (zelkova) from the prefecture. The interior walls were covered with roof tiles and plastered over with plaster without the use of nails, a method that is considered to be original and a renaissance architecture of the Mutsu region. The master builder was Sakichi Horie, one of Hirosaki’s most famous master builders, who poured his heart and soul into the construction of this masterpiece, an excellent building with a highly accomplished blend of Japanese and Western techniques.

Fujita Memorial Garden (Hirosaki)

Fujita Memorial Garden is a Japanese garden that Hirosaki City established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its municipal organization in July, 1991. Originally built in 1919 to accompany the residence of Mr. Kenichi Fujita, the first president of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Edo-style garden has a highland and lowland areas. The highland part of the garden is surrounded by the great view of Mt. Iwaki. The lowland area of the garden features a pond at its center, where seasonal plants such as irises and azaleas bloom beautifully when in season.
Fujita Memorial Garden

Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art (Hirosaki)

The museum is housed in a renovated “Yoshino-cho Brick Warehouse” built as a sake brewery in the Meiji and Taisho periods. It introduces domestic and international art and exhibits works from Hirosaki and the Tohoku region. There is also a café and store adjacent to the museum, including a cider factory.

Former Hirosaki Kaikōsha (Hirosaki)

Built in 1907 as a facility for friendship, mutual aid, and research for officers serving in the 8th Division of the Japanese Army, the building was designed in the Renaissance style by Sakichi Horie, one of Hirosaki’s most famous builders.

Stay at Ishiba Ryokan or Kobori Ryokan in Hirosaki

Ishiba Ryokan, founded in 1879, and Kobori Ryokan, founded in 1894, are some of the accommodations that offer the atmosphere and aesthetic of the ancient capital, Hirosaki.

Tachineputa Museum (Goshogawara)

A large-sized Tachineputa (approximately 23 meters high) is on display. Inside the museum, visitors can observe the production site, try their hand at paper pasting a real large Tachineputa, and for a fee, experience making a “kingyo neputa,” a paper lantern, or an original fan. Visitors can also enjoy Tsugaru’s local cuisine in the observation lounge.
Tachineputa no Yakata, Tachineputa Museum

The “KURA” for Memories of DAZAI OSAMU (Goshogawara)

This warehouse was located next to the home of Osamu Dazai’s aunt Kie, whom he adored more than his own mother. The current warehouse was reconstructed in August 2014 after the original was dismantled in 2011.

Kamenoya (Lunch) (Goshogawara)

Founded around 1895, the restaurant began as a soba/udon noodle stall and became a symbolic presence in Goshogawara. The local ramen “Tenchuka” was created after customers asked for tempura to be added to Chinese soba noodles.

Osamu Dazai Museum “Shayokan” (Goshogawara)

“Shayo Kan” was built in 1907 by Osamu Dazai’s father, Gen’emon Tsushima. Dazai was born two years later. The house is a blend of Japanese and Western style, with a gabled roof and Aomori hiba (Japanese cypress) used in its construction.
Dazai Osamu Memorial Museum “Shayokan”

Former Tsushima Family Shin-zashiki (Goshogawara)

The house was built in 1922 as a new residence for Dazai’s elder brother and his wife. Osamu Dazai lived there after evacuating during war. It is the same Japanese-Western style building as the Shayo Kan, and Dazai wrote many of his works in this house.

The Red-roofed Café Ekisha (Goshogawara)

The red-roofed Café “Ekisha” is a coffee shop that utilizes the old station building of Tsugaru Railway Ashino Koen station. The quaint station appeared in Dazai’s novel “Tsugaru,” and entertain visitors with the remnants of the past.