Friday, April 26,
2019 Aomori, Japan
With another blustery, rainy day….we put on several layers,
winter hat and gloves to catch the first shuttle off the dock at 8:30am.
It took us for a 20 minute ride to the 15 story Aspam (Aomori Shopping, Product, and Mansion) Building. Its pyramid shape gives it a unique modern look against the town of Aomori.
It took us for a 20 minute ride to the 15 story Aspam (Aomori Shopping, Product, and Mansion) Building. Its pyramid shape gives it a unique modern look against the town of Aomori.
We walked about a mile and a half into the town to find the
train station. Luckily we were able to get seats on the train ride to Hirosaki
Castle (a Samurai fortification), a 45 minute ride through the mountains.
(passing through a tunnel.) Hirosaki is about 22 miles from Aomori.
The train made several stops picking up folks along the way. There was standing room only by the second stop. Why were there so many people? Everyone was going to the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival, one of Japan’s famous cherry blossom spots. This year they were celebrating 130 years of cherry blossoms. WOW! Yes, back in 1889, cherry blossoms were celebrated. Amazing!
The welcome sign in the train station was getting ready for 2020....already :)
The train made several stops picking up folks along the way. There was standing room only by the second stop. Why were there so many people? Everyone was going to the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival, one of Japan’s famous cherry blossom spots. This year they were celebrating 130 years of cherry blossoms. WOW! Yes, back in 1889, cherry blossoms were celebrated. Amazing!
We got off the train ...it was a mass of people in every directions.
Standing room only on the local bus
We found the local loop bus, hopping on for a mere 100 yen($1.00) for a mile and a half ride to the Hirosaki Park, entrance into the castle grounds.
Silk blossoms blowing in the breeze
The main street of town was adorned with silk cherry
tree blossoms and sparkling lights. It was so festive.
We found the local loop bus, hopping on for a mere 100 yen($1.00) for a mile and a half ride to the Hirosaki Park, entrance into the castle grounds.
The cherry blossoms were at their peak! With the wind
blowing, the petals flowed through the air like snowflakes.
It was almost fairytale like….magical!
So many petals on the ground that it looked like snow!
We must have taken at least a thousand pictures…it was one of our most scenic sights of Japan.
It was almost fairytale like….magical!
We must have taken at least a thousand pictures…it was one of our most scenic sights of Japan.
It was interesting to note that the local flyer announcing
the festival compared the Hirosaki cherry blossoms as being as beautiful as the
Washington, DC cherry blossoms. Having seen both, they are an awesome sight to
see.
After walking through the park and capturing pictures of the
castle, we took a taxi back to the train station just in time to get on the
1:00pm train. We enjoyed the 45 minute ride viewing the huge acres of farm
land, patches of snow, and Fuji Apple Orchards. Fuji apples originated in this
area.
The train was not packed on our return trip so our views out the windows were unobstructed!
The train was not packed on our return trip so our views out the windows were unobstructed!
We returned back to Aomori to find that it had snowed! Yes,
it snowed on the 26th of April. Incredible!
What a fabulous day! Not a thing could have made it better!
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