A Word from the Mayor
Mayor's greeting
Welcome to the municipal website of Hirosaki city.
Hirosaki City is located in the southwest part of Aomori Prefecture, the southern part of the vast Tsugaru Plain.
Visitors can marvel at the natural beauty that surrounds Hirosaki. From the city, you can see the Ohu Mountains and the Hakkoda peaks to the east, and Mt. Iwaki, the highest and most beautiful mountain in Aomori, to the west. The city touches Shirakami Sanchi, a World Heritage Site on the south. And the Iwaki River, which has the largest drainage area in Aomori Prefecture, runs across the middle of the Tsugaru Plain.
The Tsugaru Plain is called the 'rice granary' of Aomori. The fertile soil of the lowland of the plain produces a rich harvest. One of Japan's finest quality grains of rice, "Tsugaru Romance", is very popular.
Apples are one of the main agricultural crops in Aomori. About 40% of the total production of apples in Aomori, come from Hirosaki. You can see apple farms spread through out the highland of the Tsugaru Plain.
Hirosaki has four seasons that are distinct and beautiful. The climate is a Japan Sea climate with short, hot and humid summers, and heavy snow fall during long winters.
Hirosaki has a major festival, or "Matsuri", held every year for each season. In the spring, Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri is held at Hirosaki Castle Park, one of the best viewing spots for cherry blossoms in Japan. In the summer, Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri, featuring large, colored floats, is held. Hirosaki Castle Park impresses tourists and visitors with the Hirosaki Castle Kiku to Koyo Matsuri, (Chrysanthemum and Autumn Leaves Festival) in the fall and the Hirosaki Castle Yukidourou Matsuri, (Snow Lantern Festival) in the winter. Hirosaki also boasts many historical buildings, such as temples around the Zen temple area built in the Edo period, western style buildings built in the Meiji and Taisho era, and modern buildings designed by Maekawa Kunio, the famous Japanese architect.
Full Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train line opened for service in December,2010, and this year 2011, we faced the age of the turning point of the 400th anniversary of Hirosaki Castle.The memorial events on 400th anniversary are continuously held this year. Then you can see some events, whenever you come to Hirosaki.
We do our best to make Hirosaki an energetic city by making the most of its rich regional resources, so that the vitality of the city would be the pride of the residents, and the whole city will be filled with children's smiles and laughter. We would like to make Hirosaki an active and vibrant city that makes residents want to live and work, and visitors want to return again and again.
Hirosaki is an engaging city. We encourage you to browse our website and find the many charms of Hirosaki. I would like to invite and welcome you to Hirosaki.
Sincerely,
Noriyuki Kasai
Mayor