The last stop on my 5-day Tohoku trip is Hirosaki area on the west side of Aomori Prefecture. This region is called "Tsugaru" and is famous for not only their Neputa lanterns but also for Tsugaru style shamisen music and Kogin-zashi embroidery.
In this blog post I will cover many locations, so here's a summary list of locations mentioned:
- Tsugaru-Han Neputa Village
- Hirosaki Park (Chrysanthemum and Autumn Foliage Festival)
- Hirosaki Park branch Starbucks
- Fujita Memorial Garden + Taisho Roman Tea Room
- Kuroishi City, Neputa lantern making at Irodori
- Hoshino Resort Kai Tsugaru: Apple Afternoon Tea, Shamisen performance and mini lesson, Apple Onsen, Kogin-Zashi embroidery
Arriving at Hirosaki Station
I pretty much immediately fell in love when I arrived at Hirosaki station. This city is just bursting with culture and is so welcoming! You can see elements of the Tsugaru region everywhere around the station, from statues, to walls and even vending machines! Just wandering in and around the station was a lot of fun. They also have a grand piano at the station and tons of super talented people are always playing there.
Tsugaru-Han Neputa Village
Before we dive in, a quick distinction between Aomori City and Hirosaki City's festivals:
Aomori City's festival is called Nebuta Festival spelled with a b. Their floats are large 3D rectangular floats.
Hirosaki's festival is called Neputa Festival spelled with a p. Their floats are large fan shaped floats with drawings on them. The fans spin at the base to showcase the artwork 360 during the parade. Smaller lanterns come in 3D shapes like the goldfish one shown below.
Hirosaki Park + Chrysanthemum and Autumn Foliage Festival
Starting on November 1st, the autumn foliage at Hirosaki Park is at peak colors and they are really as if its on fire. The colors are so highly saturated it's incredible and I've never seen anything quite like it. On top of that the Chrysanthemum festival is free and it has such a gorgeous display in the river, on the lawn, on statue like structures, just everywhere! I've seen a few Chrysanthemum displays in Tokyo and I just have to say they aren't quite as pretty as the one here in Hirosaki.
Starbucks - Hirosaki Park Store
Taisho Roman Tea Room
Just down the road from Starbucks, right inside the entrance of Fujita Memorial garden is this tea room. It is another iconic architectural/historical spot for Hirosaki. It was built in 1921 for business man Kenichi Fujita. Taisho stands for the years between 1912-1926 where the Taisho emperor ruled. Roman is short for 19th century European "romanticism". As a whole it's a trend of thought and cultural events that represented a liberation and a new era.
The gorgeous sun room in the back features large panel windows that look out into the garden full of autumn foliage. Here you can do an apple pie tea set or apple pie tasting set of 6 different type of pies.
- Pick pieces of paper with colors and patterns that you love
- Glue the paper into the frame
Hoshino Resort Kai Tsugaru
So I really splurged on this one. Hoshino resorts cost about ¥45,000/night to stay at but honestly it is absolutely worth it. I decided to splurge because of all of the amazing experiences it offers, on top of that I was celebrating one year living in Japan! Walking into the lobby I was already so impressed. The hotel has a lot of design elements that represent the region, from Neputa lanterns to Kogin-zashi embroidery patterns.
There are free shuttle busses running multiple times a day from JR Owani Onsen station to Hoshino Resorts. Please check their website for the schedule.
Apple Afternoon Tea
The meal experience
The meals are served at given times and you can book in advance on their website. I choose 7:30pm so I can watch the Shamisen performance at 9pm right after. The dining area is on the 2nd floor with a semi-private room layout. I love it because I was traveling alone and it gave me some privacy.
Dinner is a 9-course endeavor serving:
- Appetizer: Tuna and sea urchin with black garlic paste (Aomori is known for garlic)
- Soup: egg, sea urchin, shrimp and mushrooms
- Assorted delicacies (7 items): sushi, rice cracker, baked sweet potato, chestnut and spinach, seasonal vegetables etc.
- Sashimi: Tuna, scallop, red sea bream
- Pickled dish: mozuku seaweed
- Fried dish: Fried foie gras and radish tempura, assorted vegetable tempura
- Steamed dish: baked mushroom and scallop
- Earthen pot steamed rice
- Dessert: unbaked cheese cake with apple and assorted berry sauce
Shamisen performance and trial play
At 9pm each day, their resident Shamisen master, national champion, Kohei Shibuya performs with one of his students. He is originallly from Kuroishi and plays Tsugaru style shamisen. This style shamisen is a heavier instrument and played while held at a 45degree angle. The performance lasts about half an hour, but afterwards you can go up and the champion himself will teach you how to play a simple tune from "Sakura".
Apple Onsen
Another absolute highlight from this trip was dipping in an apple-filled onsen! Although this resort only has one public bath per gender, the bath is so gorgeous with all of the apples! it's just a really modern-sleek design but still keeping the traditional elements.
Owani Onsen Station
No comments:
Post a Comment