murmurHirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum and Autumn Leaves Festival
Hirosaki City · Hirosaki Park (main venue: Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Hirosaki Tourism and Convention Bureau · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Oct 30 – Nov 8, 2026
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late October
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Late October to early November; dates are announced each year
- Venue
- Hirosaki Park (main venue: Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden)
- City
- Hirosaki City, Aomori
About
As the leaves turn in Hirosaki Park, home to some 1,100 maples and 2,600 cherry trees, this festival fills the old castle grounds with autumn color. It grew out of leaf-viewing gatherings where people brought chrysanthemums they had grown to show and judge, and it began in 1962 under the name Kiku to Momiji Matsuri. Today the main venue is the Hirosaki Castle Botanical Garden, with flower-art displays and a chrysanthemum show by local growers. After dark, special illuminations light up the autumn leaves, giving the park a completely different mood, along with bamboo lantern art and projection mapping. For a limited time, sightseeing boats also run on the castle's inner moat. Admission is charged for the botanical garden.
Sources
- OfficialHirosaki Tourism and Convention Bureau www.hirosaki-kanko.or.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.