Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum and Autumn Foliage Festival

Hirosaki, located in Aomori, will hold the Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemums and Autumn Foliage Festival from Friday, October 31 through Sunday, November 9, 2025, with Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden serving as the main venue.

First staged in 1962 as the Chrysanthemum and Maple Festival, the event has evolved into a major autumn attraction that combines traditional chrysanthemum displays with seasonal illumination and public art. The festival highlights the park’s extensive tree collection—about 1,100 maples and roughly 2,600 cherry trees—which produce the vivid autumn colors that have long been a symbol of Hirosaki’s fall season.

Highlights

Special Autumn Foliage Illumination

In addition to the regular nighttime lighting of the castle keep, watchtowers and gates, organizers will stage a special illumination of the maple and cherry foliage. Traditional-style lanterns featuring neputa paintings (Nishiki no Akari) and bonfire installations at the castle gates (kagaribi) will be used to enhance evening atmosphere. The special light-up is scheduled to run from October 31 into mid-November, typically from 16:00 to 21:00.

Large-scale Flower Art and Projection Mapping

An upgraded Genbu (a turtle-and-snake guardian figure), approximately 16 meters long and based on a 2024 installation, will be on display in the botanical garden. Projection mapping onto this work is scheduled nightly during the festival from 17:30 to 19:45.

Chrysanthemum and Floral Exhibits

The festival will feature a public chrysanthemum exhibition and several themed installations, including a giant chrysanthemum-decorated flower ring and a Pompon Mum Garden of round pompon-mum motifs covering the Sannomaru Garden.

A community workshop will also invite visitors to create an apple-blossom–style hanachōzu (flower water basin) that incorporates fresh chrysanthemums and locally grown apples.

Bamboo Illumination

 A professional bamboo-light production group will install illuminated bamboo features at the botanical garden’s north entrance and on the stone bridge near the East Inner Gate.

Limited-Time Autumn Foliage Boat

A sightseeing boat will operate on Hirosaki Park’s inner moat during the festival. Operating hours are planned from 9:00 to 17:00 (last boarding 16:30), subject to weather; fares are 1,000 yen for junior high school students and older, 500 yen for elementary students, and free for one preschool child per accompanying adult.

Evening relaxation and food stalls

 A designated area for low-key campfires and outdoor leisure will offer coffee and craft-beer vendors to create a relaxed space for visitors.

Student art installations

Members of the Hirosaki Municipal Tsugaru Junior High School art club will display flower-decorated animal sculptures near the Otemon and Higashimon entrances.

Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemums and Autumn Foliage Festival

Event dates: October 31–November 9, 2025
Hours:Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden open daily until 20:00 during the festival (last admission 19:30). Evening illumination runs roughly 16:00–21:00.
Lighting and projection mapping: Nightly projection mapping on the Genbu, 17:30–19:45; special illuminations begin October 31 and may continue into mid-November.
Venue: Hirosaki Park (main venue: Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden), Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture
Admission: Botanical Garden admission — Adults (high school and older) 320 yen; Children (elementary & junior high) 100 yen. Group rates (10+): Adults 250 yen; Children 80 yen.
Information and reservations available via the festival’s official webpage.
Official Website: https://www.hirosaki-kanko.or.jp/edit.html?id=cat02_autumn_momiji (Japanese)
Information and picture source: atpress