Aomori the city was supposed to be part of the itinerary but it ended up jam packed with Hirosaki tourist attractions that I just had to drop it in the end. From Morioka, the bullet trains heading north all stop at Shin-Aomori station, which is NOT in the city center. If you are going to Aomori, you can transfer to the local orange Ou line. If, like me, your destination is Hirosaki instead, then you hop on the same train line but going south. Both the local Ou line and the bullet train are included in the Tohoku East rail pass. Morioka to Aomori is just an hour on the shinkansen. Shin-Aomori to Hirosaki is around 45 minutes.
Hirosaki’s train station is where all of your onward itineraries will be originating from so you can take a pick of destinations from here depending on your time constraints. In my case, I decided to cross out the field paddy art off my list first. For this, you have the option to take either the bus or the old slow train. I opted for the latter and was charged JPY440 (~PHP170) each way. There is no ticket counter at the art installation field so make sure to buy a round trip ticket. Get off at Tambo Art Station, which you will reach in 35 minutes. The station itself is some sort of a waiting shed in the middle of rice fields.
You will then see a parking lot behind it and then a tower adjacent to that. That’s Inakadate Village Rice Art Venue 2. The admission fee is JPY300 (~PHP115). You have the option to climb three stories to the viewing deck or just take the elevator. Tripods are not allowed. I don’t know if selfie sticks can be smuggled in, but the security personnel are always there at the top so I didn’t risk it. You have two art fields to look at: one made with rice paddy and predominantly green and yellow; the other, made of pebbles and mostly black and gray. The display that day was based on a manga called Jisan Basan Wakagaeru.
The two village rice art venues are linked by minivan with nine available seats and it is free, but the timing is rather erratic. The 1st rice paddy art venue is connected to Hirosaki station by bus. As for me, I decided to go back via train since it was already drizzling and I believe I’ve been impressed enough. The day is long and I still have two other tourist attractions to visit. Hirosaki station offers free WiFi so you can check bus options there. For Hirosaki Castle and Neputa Village, there are several buses available. These two are just right across the other. I ended up on bus number 43, JPY 200 (~PHP80), a 10 minute ride. Around 20 minutes if you walk.
Now this was a surprise because I wasn’t expecting much. This town is best known for its annual Nebuta Festival which I missed. It usually takes place in August if I am not mistaken. It is a parade of illuminated lantern floats featuring warrior and dancer figures dancing to the beat of synchronized drums. For those who cannot make it to the festival, they have come up with what they call Neputa Village which features a year-round display of the lanterns used. They also offer mini seminars about history and even ask you to participate in the drum beatings. Unfortunately, those lessons are only in Japanese.
The place doubles as a warehouse of sorts and you will find several individuals working on lanterns there. Think of it as an immersion, some sort of behind-the-scenes that you can check out. Of course, the colorful lanterns are displayed all throughout the venue and those are what really capture your attention. The end of the route leads to a beautiful garden where I hung out a bit before heading to the exit where the souvenir store is located. They sell everything from tote bags to food. Once done, you just cross the street to get to the Hirosaki Castle grounds. I suggest heading to the northern gate. Just follow the moat and the green bridge.
The grounds of this castle is huge and full of flora. You can easily spend half a day just taking a stroll here. I recommend the northern entrance so you can end your tour at the southern gate, where most of the buses heading back to Hirosaki Station make a stop. There’s also another Starbucks there if you get hungry. The castle itself is so small, a miniature of others you might have already visited around Japan. It is cute, and there is a gorgeous view of a mountain in the background, even though it was swarmed in fog when I was there.
[HIROSAKI] Rice Field Art, Neputa Village, Hirosaki Castle
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