点评:Listed by the Japan Castle Foundation as one of the “100 Fine Castles of Japan” it is a hirayama-style Japanese castle constructed in 1611. Also referred to as Takaoka Castle (鷹岡城 or 高岡城). Hirosaki Castle is widely considered to be one of Japan's most beautiful castles.
The main tower was built on top of a hill for easier defense and surrounded by defensive walls, moats, and yagura towers. It was stated that Hirosaki Castle "keep" was originally a 5-storey tower but it was struck by lightning and burned down. The current structure was rebuilt as a 3-storey tower. There are 5 gates and 3 turrets plus a few water moats.
Unfortunately for us there were quite massive renovation being carried out on the castle stone walls and we were not allowed to scale the castle tower, and its interior is expected to remain closed to the public for next few years. Instead there is a raised platform where we can only take photos of the entire tenshu (the main center of the castle) from a distance of about 70m away.
Within the castle grounds there are a castle tower, three turrets, five gates, and three moat systems. And these are surrounded by the massive Hirosaki Park. In mid-April the park surrounding the castle is filled with cherry trees, a top viewing spot. However it was early-summer for us so it was only green, and more green.
We skipped the Botanic Garden but spent more than an hour here visiting the various spots and left next to visit the Hirosaki Kankokan.
And that’s castle #26 for us..
翻译:该城堡被日本城郭协会列为“日本百大美丽城堡”之一,是一座建于1611年的平山式日本城堡,亦被称为高冈城。弘前城被广泛认为是日本最美丽的城堡之一。
其主楼建于小山之上以便于防御,周围有防御墙、护城河以及多座望楼环绕。据说,弘前城的“天守阁”最初是一座五层楼高的塔楼,但后来遭雷击而烧毁。现在的建筑则被重建为三层楼高的塔楼。城堡共有5个城门、3座角楼,还有几道护城河。
遗憾的是,当时城堡的石墙正在进行大规模修缮,我们不被允许登上天守阁,预计在未来几年内其内部也仍将不对公众开放。取而代之的是一个高台,我们只能在距离天守阁约70米远的地方拍照。
城堡区域内有一座天守阁、三座角楼、五座城门以及三道护城河,这些都被广阔的弘前公园所环绕。每年四月中旬,城堡周围的公园里樱花盛开,是绝佳的赏樱胜地。不过我们去的时候正值初夏,所以满眼都是绿色,只有绿色而已。我们跳过了植物园,但在这里花了一个多小时游览各个景点,之后才离开去参观弘前観光館。
对我们来说,这便是第26座城堡了..。