Fujita Memorial Garden

Fujita Kenichi was born in Hirosaki, went to Tokyo, became the first chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and in 1919 built himself a second home back home — bringing gardeners up from Tokyo to lay out 21,800 square metres on the escarpment west of Hirosaki Castle. The site drops sharply, so the garden is in two halves: a formal upper garden beside a Western-style house of the period, and a lower garden of pond, stream and moss reached down the slope.

On a clear day Mt. Iwaki closes the view. The Western house holds a café, the Taisho Roman Kissashitsu, which serves several of the apple pies Hirosaki is known for — the city has an official apple pie guide map listing dozens of versions, and this is the easiest place to compare a few. In winter only the Western building opens, and entry is free.