Hirosaki Apple Town: Harvest Experiences in Japan's Top Apple Region

Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture is an "apple kingdom" that produces about 20% of Japan's apples. In the autumn harvest season you can enjoy apple picking at locations across the city and taste freshly picked apples straight from the tree. With scenery in which the whole town seems to take on the colour of apples, and an abundance of local dishes made with apples, you can savour the appeal of the orchards and the old castle town together.

Hirosaki and the History of Apple Growing

Apple growing in Hirosaki began in the early Meiji era. Kikuchi Tatee (1846-1918), a native of Takajo-machi in Hirosaki City, recognised that the Tsugaru region was well suited to apple cultivation and spread its cultivation, laying the foundation for the development of Aomori Prefecture's apple industry; he is known as the "founding father of Aomori apples". In 1875 (Meiji 8), Tatee distributed apple saplings, which had been handed out free of charge by the national government, mainly to former samurai families scattered throughout the Tsugaru region, and had them grown on a trial basis. The fact that apples are now widely cultivated across the Tsugaru region is said to have had its beginning in this distribution of saplings. A climate with large temperature swings and well-draining soil also suit apple growing, and a wide variety of cultivars such as "Fuji", "Tsugaru" and "Orin" are raised here.

Apple Picking and Hirosaki Apple Park

When autumn comes, you can enjoy apple picking at sightseeing orchards in the city. While listening to the staff explain how to tell a good apple from the rest, you can pick apples at their seasonal peak with your own hands. Note that the harvest experience at Hirosaki City Apple Park uses a system in which what you pick is weighed and paid for, so you cannot eat the apples on the spot during the experience.

At Hirosaki City Apple Park, some 2,300 apple trees of about 80 varieties are planted, and along with the harvest experience you can enjoy processed products such as apple sweets and cider. The scenery of the apple orchards spreading out against the backdrop of Mt. Iwaki is superb, and there is also a cider workshop within the grounds.

Experiences

• Apple Picking: Pick directly from trees at orchards from early August to mid-November
• Apple Park: Hirosaki City Apple Park for variety tasting and learning
• Cider Factory Tours: Local cider tasting at Hirosaki Cidre Kojo Kimori

Food

• Apple Pie: About 40 shops in Hirosaki each offer their own recipe
• Fresh Apple Juice: Multi-variety freshly pressed juice
• Spring Cherry Blossoms: Apple blossoms and castle cherry trees bloom simultaneously

Best Season and Access

The apple harvest experience at Hirosaki City Apple Park is normally held from early August to mid-November (planned). The varieties available for picking change with the time of year, and the experience is suspended once the apples run out. In spring, the pretty white apple blossoms bloom as well, and together with the cherry blossoms of Hirosaki Castle in the old castle town they create beautiful scenery.

For access, Hirosaki Station on the JR Ou Main Line is the base. To reach Hirosaki City Apple Park, take a Konan bus from JR Hirosaki Station for about 20 minutes, get off at "Tokiwazaka-iriguchi", and walk about 7 minutes. It can be enjoyed together with sightseeing in the castle town, including Hirosaki Castle. Strolling from shop to shop sampling apple pies is another speciality unique to Hirosaki, with a reputation for the distinctive character of each shop's flavour. Guide maps to the pies are also available at tourist information centres.

Apple Varieties and Harvest Timing

Aomori apples are harvested variety by variety in sequence from August through November. In the prefecture's production, "Fuji" accounts for about 50%, followed by "Orin", "Tsugaru" and "Jonagold". Harvesting begins with "Tsugaru", which turns bright red as the short northern summer draws to a close; October brings "Jonagold" (bagged fruit, grown with paper bags over it, from around 13 October, and unbagged fruit from around 15 October), and then "Orin", whose season is short and which is described as "a premium yellow you can meet only now". November holds the leading role in reserve: "Fuji". In other words, even the same "apple picking" will bring you face to face with completely different varieties depending on when you visit. If there is a variety you have your heart set on, it is safest to check with the orchard in advance before setting out.

A Year of Apples in Hirosaki

Autumn is not the only time the apple trees take centre stage. In spring, white blossoms cover the branches, and the Hirosaki Apple Blossom Festival is held at Hirosaki City Apple Park. In summer the leaves grow lush and green, and in orchards using the bagged-cultivation method, each individual fruit is worked on by hand. After the fruitful autumn, winter — when the orchards are closed in by snow — is the pruning season that determines the following year's crop. It is because human hands are at work throughout the year that a single apple comes into being. From the orchards of Apple Park you can look out at Mt. Iwaki, also known as Tsugaru Fuji, and the view in which the apple orchards and the silhouette of the mountain overlap is a sight unique to Hirosaki.

Hirosaki, the Town of Apple Pie

Hirosaki is called the "apple town" for more than just its harvest. Within the city, shops in a remarkable range of trades — Japanese confectioners, bakeries, senbei rice-cracker shops, restaurants, coffee shops and hotels — each bake their own apple pie. The "Hirosaki Apple Pie Guide Map" introduced by the Hirosaki Tourism and Convention Bureau lists forty kinds of apple pie in the city, and its great distinguishing feature is that the strength of sweetness, tartness and cinnamon flavour is each indicated on a scale of one to five. It is a device very much in keeping with an apple town, letting you walk the streets in search of your favourite slice. Related goods are sold at the Hirosaki City Tourist Centre, the Hirosaki City Machinaka Information Centre, Hirosaki City Apple Park, Fujita Memorial Garden (Taisho Roman Tearoom and Takumi-kan), and Hirosaki Bussan Parche.

Photography Tips

For photographs of apple orchards, the contrast between the red fruit and the green leaves is decisive. On cloudy days the soft light wraps around and brings out the colour of the fruit honestly, while on sunny days composing slightly into the light makes the edges of the fruit glow translucently. To capture the whole orchard, put Mt. Iwaki in the background and frame the mountain through the branches from a low position for a shot with the depth so characteristic of Tsugaru. During the harvest experience, capturing your hands cradling the fruit and the branch from close up creates a real sense of presence. Remember, though, that the orchards are working farms. Take care not to become so absorbed in photography that you pull on branches or trample the ground around the base of the trees.

Tips

October combines peak foliage with harvest season — the ultimate time to visit. Photo of apple orchards with Hirosaki Castle and Mt. Iwaki is stunning.

Practical Information

• Best season: The apple harvest experience at Hirosaki City Apple Park is normally from early August to mid-November (planned). The varieties available for picking differ by period, and the experience is suspended once the apples run out. Information on suspensions is posted from time to time on Apple Park's official X (formerly Twitter) account.
• Period / events: In November, the peak of the apple harvest, the Hirosaki Apple Harvest Festival is held at Hirosaki City Apple Park (in 2025 it was held from 1 to 2 November).
• Fees: Admission to Apple Park is free. The apple harvest experience costs 1,000 yen per kilogram (planned; 100 yen per 100 g including the experience guidance fee). As a guide, 1 kg of apples is about three apples. Reception is at the "Ringo no Ie" (Apple House) in the park from 9:00 to 16:00 (last reception), with guidance at 30-minute intervals. Groups of 10 or more require advance reservation.
• Opening hours: Apple Park is open all year round. The "Ringo no Ie" and the "Former Osanai Residence" may be used from 9:00 to 17:00, and you can still stroll around the grounds outside those hours.
• Access: About 20 minutes by Konan bus from Hirosaki Station on the JR Ou Main Line, get off at "Tokiwazaka-iriguchi", then about 7 minutes on foot (services bound for Soma Chosha or Nishimeya Village Office between the 9:00 and 15:00 hours stop there). By car, about 20 minutes from the Owani-Hirosaki IC on the Tohoku Expressway via Apple Road, or about 20 minutes from in front of JR Hirosaki Station. There is also a fixed-fare taxi linking Hirosaki Station and Apple Park (2,000 yen one way / about 30 minutes).
• Clothing and equipment: The paths in the park are earthen and undulating, so wear comfortable walking shoes. August and September bring severe lingering heat and November is cold, so dress for the season.
• Prohibitions and safety: Apples you pick are weighed and paid for, and you cannot eat them on the spot during the experience. Apple orchards are working farms. Please do not enter orchards that are not open as sightseeing farms without permission, or pick apples without permission. During events, the use of open flame within the grounds is prohibited, and because the car park fills up and the surrounding area becomes congested, visitors are urged to use public transport.

Getting There

• From JR Hirosaki Station to Apple Park by bus: about 20 minutes
• From Aomori Airport by car: about 45 minutes

*(Sources: Hirosaki City Apple Park "Apple Harvest Experience", "Apple Park", "Kikuchi Tatee"; Hirosaki City "Apple Kingdom"; Hirosaki Tourism and Convention Bureau "Apple Experiences (Hirosaki City Apple Park)", "Hirosaki Apple Harvest Festival")*