Become enveloped by apples in Fujisaki, the birthplace of the fuji apple | STORY

Become enveloped by apples

FUJISAKI

Fujisaki is the birthplace of the fuji apple, the most widely sold apple variety in the world. Largely without hills or plains, the apple orchards spread out endlessly, enveloping the town, station, and even the baseball stadium.

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1 Full of apples

A station with no attendant in the middle of an apple orchard!

The town of Fujisaki is surrounded by apple fields, and there are apple fields between private houses. The JR Gono Line train that runs through Fujisaki also runs where apples are likely to be reached. In particular, "Hayashizaki Station" is right in the middle of the apple field. It is a simple station with no ticket gates and a small waiting room on one platform. The scent of apples also drifts, and you can hear the sound of the radio that the farmer is playing while working.

Hayashizaki Station: One station past Fujisaki Station on the JR Gono Line. 3 minutes by car.

Red and green apples are both cute!

The best time to come and look at the apples is after they have reached their full size, just after October begins. For Fuji Apples that turn pure red, late-October to the beginning of November is best. Red and green apples are both cute and make for great pictures, so be sure to take a photo to capture your very own Fujisaki! (Be sure to ask the farmers if it is ok to take a picture of the apples from up close.)

What is a fuji apple?

The Fuji apple was born in 1962 at Fujisaki's Horticultural Research Center The name comes from the 'Fuji' of Fujisaki. Juicy and crunchy with the right amount of acidity and a sweet balance that comes bit by bit is superb. Fuji apples are the no. 1 most-produced apples in not just Japan, but the entire world. There are now even more variations: "Bagged Fuji" that are wrapped individually in bags, "Sun Fuji" that grow under the warmth of the sun's light, and "Leaf Fuji" which are grown without cutting off leaves that take up sunlight, making the apples even sweeter.

Eat an apple dessert while leisurely waiting for the train

One delight of traveling here is visiting the Fujisaki sweets shop Entremets Sato and eating their Fuji Apple Cream Pie while waiting for the train. Passing the time has never been so sweet!

Witness an apple flower orchard at the beginning of May! Be healed by the lightly sweet fragrance!

Apple trees grow lovely flowers pink and white, similar to the cherry blossom tree also in the rose family. The flowers blossom at the beginning of May, and most reach full bloom by the middle of the month, surrounding Fujisaki town in a field of flowers.

The farmers here created an Insta-worthy spot!

This giant object that can be seen from the street is an apple? The farmers decided to prune their cypress trees to look like an apple out of their own personal interest. The shape of the trees actually changes during apple harvesting season, so it is essential to know how to decide where to prune a tree. This is a cute photo spot made by pruning branches.

The Apple-shaped Tree: Fujisaki Karaito, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture.
30-minute walk from Fujisaki station on the JR Gono Line.

Fuji Genboku Park

Fujisaki has aggressively harvested apples since long ago, and in 1938 they created the Horticultural Research Center. After that, the research center moved to Iwate Prefecture, but a new research center and the only agricultural high school in Japan that teaches apple science was built on the center's old grounds. The agricultural high school closed in 2019,but several of the trees that descended from the original Fuji tree (Fuji Genboku) are raised healthily here. local farmers are carefully cultivating the trees. The trees' apples have an interesting flavor that is much wilder than the current fuji variety.

Fuji Genboku Park: 7-10 Shitabukuro, Fujisaki
On the grounds of the Old Hirosaki Vocational High School Fujisaki Schoolhouse
30-minute walk from Fujisaki station on the JR Gono Line.

Flesh-red apples behind the Apple Stadium
Kurenai no Yume Apple!

In the apple field behind the Apple Stadium surrounded by apples at 360 degrees, a new species born in Fujisaki, "Red Dream," is being tried. "Kurenai Yume" was born in 2010 at a university facility in Fujisaki after 30 years of research. It is a delicious sweet and sour apple with red flesh.

2 Animal guardian 'dogs'

At Kumanogu Shrine
Not a guardian dog, but a bear?

Kumanogu shrine (Mizuki Castle ruins) is built on the site where a castle stood long ago. At the torii gate to the shrine, there is a climbing dragon and a descending dragon. If you follow the path to the main shrine, you will find a guardian… bear?! Komainu are stone guardian lion-dogs found at shrines across Japan, but there is a guardian bear here instead. Is it a bear (kuma) because the shrint is called Kumanogu? Additionally, next to the guardian bear, there is a cute young guardian bear as well.

Mizuki Kumanogu: Mizukichinai, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture
20-minute walk from JR Gono Line Kitatokiwa Station

A magical familiar?
The plump guardian pigeon!

Instead of a guardian dog, this shrine has a guardian pigeon! A stone statue of a pigeon is at the shrine. The god of Hachimangu uses pigeons as familiars. Pidgeons, friendly with their round bodies, add to the shrine grounds' mystical and dignified atmosphere, but they also make it feel warm and fluffy. By the way, different animals are used as familiars depending on the god. For example, Tenjin has oxen, Inari has foxes, and Kasuga Shrines have deer.

Yazawa Sho-Hachimangu: 8 Fukutomi Yobangakoi, Yazawa, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture
30-minute walk from Fujisaki Station on the JR Gono line.

3 Wander through Fujisaki's history

The origin of The Ando Clan, Fujisaki Hachimangu

This shrine was built in 1092 and is a symbol of Fujisaki. Fujisaki Castle, used by the Ando Clan as their headquarters during the Heian Period, used to be located here. The same Ando Clan would later become the Ando pirates and hold much influence during the Kamakura period. We recommend this spot to anyone who loves learning about history.

Fujisaki Hachimangu: 69 Fujisaki Shihonmatsu, Fujisaki
15-minute walk from Fujisaki Station on the JR Gono Line.

Enshrined within, a hero who protected from flood Seki Shrine

Established in 1645. Sekihachi Taro-zaemon Yasutaka, a hero who was sacrificed to finish constructing a dam to use water from the nearby river, is enshrined here. This sacrifice was an old custom where people were offered to the gods by burial or drowning to complete construction on bridges, castles, and dams. There is a depiction of the sacrifice painted on an ema horse votive tablet in the shrine, and an ancient ginkgo tree over 400 years old also stands on the shrine's grounds.

Seki Shrine: 39 Yokomatsu, Fujisaki
25-minute walk from Fujisaki station on the JR Gono line

Kashima Shrine's legend of the Fuji

Bishamon (A Buddhist deity who is worshiped as the god of fighting and victory) was first enshrined here when Sakanoue Tamuramaro (a warrior active during the Heian Period) was sent by the imperial court to subjugate the indigenous Emishi people of northern Japan during the Heian period. Flowers are said to have bloomed (saki) on a wisteria (fuji) cane that Tamuramaro stuck into the ground here. The village became known as Fujisaki because of this legend. On the grounds, a rare guardian dog with long hair waits to greet visitors.

Kashima Shrine: 15 Fujisaki Wakamae, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture
10-minute walk from Fujisaki Station on the JR Gono Line

＼ANOTHER SPOT／

An establishment of Fujisaki Entremets Sato Sweets Shop

Established in 1924 and currently run by the 4th generation owner. The photo on the left is "Poison," an apple compote filled with vanilla crème on top of a gateau au chocolat cake. On the right is a fresh choux swan, which uses makes the swans that migrate in this area its main motif.

Entremets Sato Sweets Shop: Opening Hours: 8:00-19:00 / No set closed days / Tel. 0172-75-2234; 27 Fujisaki Muraoka, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture

Fujisaki is a fly-by spot for swans

Every year from December to March, many wild birds visit the Hirakawa river that flows through Fujisaki, including swans. Ko-yamarukun is a warm facility on the riverside where you can observe the wild birds. Be sure not to miss Fujisaki in the winter too!

Swan Tourism Facility Ko-yamarukun: Usage permitted: December 1st to March 31st / Opening Hours: 9:00-16:00 / Tel. 0172-65-3100(Fujisaki Lifelong Learning Division); 13-4 Fujisaki Okamoto, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture / 10-minute walk from Fujisaki station on the JR Gono Line

A full lineup of all of the delicious foods of Fujisaki! Fujisaki Shokusai Terrace

Here you can find a lineup of locally grown fruits and vegetables, bentos and home-made dishes, sweets, and more on sale. We can also recommend their healthy lunch menu. There is a rest spot and a terrace where you can view Mt. Iwaki on the second floor.

Fujisaki Shokusai Terrace: Opening Hours: (Produce direct-sale market) 9:00-18:00 / Closed: Summer and New Years
(Restaurant) 11:00-14:00 (Last order) (Café) 9:00-16:30 (Last order) *Restaurant and café are closed every Wednesday
Tel. 0172-65-3660 / 65-8 Sagakiwada, Fujisaki, Minami Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture / About 25 minutes on foot from "Kita-Tokiwa Station" on the JR Gono Line