Hirosaki Chrysanthemum Festival
On Halloween we took another ITT tour to Hirosaki Castle during the Chrysanthemum Festival. Hirosaki Castle was originally built in 1611 as a 5-story structure. However it was struck by lightning in 1627 and rebuilt in 1810 as the current 3-story structure. Currently they are doing some work to the foundation of the castle, so they have actually moved the entire castle over several feet, and will move it back when they are finished with the work to the foundation. Besides the castle, the grounds are beautiful and include beautiful gardens, buildings, bridges, walls and gates. The grounds are also filled with both cherry trees, and maple trees. Hirosaki is known for it's beautiful Cherry Blossoms in the spring, and amazing colors in the fall.
It was definitely a chilly day. We were overjoyed to find a warm little soba restaurant near our bus's parking lot:
We had so much fun on this trip. As we were walking around we met an elderly Japanese man who told us his great-grandfather was a Hirosaki Samurai. There is so much culture, history, and beauty that we get to experience here, and we are loving it.
These mannequins covered in chrysanthemum clothes were amazing. Also this is our attempt at a family picture :D
That's a better picture
The castle being struck by lightning
This is NOT the castle. When we saw it we thought "Well that's anticlimactic!" Turns out this is just a guard tower."
Pulling the castle attempt 1
Attempt 2
Attempt 3 - they finally got it to move
We were able to watch a show with several dances. The dances were fun to watch. The music was less fun to hear:
These gates were amazing. The walls and doors are so thick!
If you see a bridge in Japan, chances are it will be painted red. I love it!
The castle! Definitely not anticlimactic.
We had been wanting to see some fall colors and we definitely were not disappointed:
We had so much fun on this trip. As we were walking around we met an elderly Japanese man who told us his great-grandfather was a Hirosaki Samurai. There is so much culture, history, and beauty that we get to experience here, and we are loving it.
What wonderful experiences your family is having, and such a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful locale! And those red bridges definitely have an ICONIC look to them. ;) It's so interesting to see your pictures of places that are so old--I think that living in America, we get used to places that aren't very old. It's fascinating!
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