Hirosaki Sakura Festival x Sakura Miku 2021 Announcements
As cherry blossoms bloom across Japan again this year, the third collaboration between Sakura Miku and Hirosaki city in Aomori has been announced! With more beautiful visuals to promote it, we look forward to hearing what the event will entail. Lucky fans will be able to head to Tohoku in person to enjoy the event, so for more details, look no further (well, okay, look a little further down the page…).
※The following translations are unofficial
Visuals for 2021
The following visuals will be used for various purposes (all of which will be revealed in the following sections!):
Art by へちま / Hechima | Art by もりちか / Morichika
Collaborations with local products
One of the coolest parts of this year’s collab is the selection of collaborations between Sakura Miku and local produce of Aomori! Hokkaido is known for its seafood among many other things, but what do you know about Aomori’s own impressive specialties?
Kudo Bread products list:
English Toast – ￥130
- Cherry blossom bean paste and milk whip flavour
- Will be available to buy in convenience stores, supermarkets and drug stores across all six prefectures in Tohoku
Note: I wasn’t sure exactly what’s so “English” about this “toast” (considering it’s not actually toasted, and I’d only ever heard of “French toast”) but it turns out that the original English Toast, made exclusively by the company 工藤パン (Kudo Bread), is made of two slices of bread, originally with margarine and granulated sugar sandwiched together. It’s actually recognised by the British Embassy, hence why the Union flag is used on the packaging. Okay, that sounds like a pretty British/English thing in all fairness.
Marble Strawberry Special – ￥130
- Strawberry jam and milk whip flavour
- Will be available to buy in convenience stores, supermarkets and drugstores across all six prefectures in Tohoku
The “special” range of cakes from Kudo Bread are fluffy sponge cakes with fruit creams and jams sandwiched inside!
Tamura Farm products list:
Aomori Apple Juice – ￥300 per bottle
- 100% apple juice, 200ml bottle
- Available in-store in Aomori and also by mail order from April 16th 2021! For mail order, you’ll be required to buy 6 bottles of juice at ￥2,000 plus shipping fee.
Jonathan Apple Preserve (confiture) – ￥800 each
San Fuji Apple Preserve (confiture) – ￥800 each
- For mail order of the preserves, if you want them via mail order, it’ll be for two sets of 1 each of Jonathan and San Fuji apple preserves. Please check here for mail orders of Tamura Farm products.
Event details
- Dates: April 23rd ~ May 5th 2021
- Price of entry: dependent on where you want to go/ how big your party is –
Castle keep: Adult – ￥320 | Child – ￥100 (Group fee = ￥250 per adult, ￥80 per child)
Botanical gardens only: Adult – ￥320 | Child – ￥100 (Group fee = ￥250 per adult, ￥80 per child)
General ticket*: Adult – ￥520 | Child – ￥160 (Group fee – ￥470 per adult, ￥130 per child)
*(includes Honmaru, the botanical gardens and Fujita Memorial Garden):
※Group rates only apply for groups of 10 people or more.
- Location: Hirosaki Park
Address:
〒036-8356 青森県弘前市下白銀町１ / Japan, 〒036-8356 Aomori, Hirosaki, Shimoshiroganecho, １
It’s said that it should take about 2 hours to go around the entire area, and there will also be special lighting features added at night for visitors who come later!
※Please note that drinking and selling alcohol in the park is prohibited
※Eating and drinking must only be done in designated areas of the park, as a way to ensure the local wildlife and nature isn’t damaged.
** Update on May 5th 2021 **
A series of Sakura Miku-themed stamps, featuring the promotional illustrations shown above are now available at the Japan Post online store! You could use them to brighten up a letter or postcard to someone, or keep them for the aesthetic factor if you so wish. They can also be bought at post offices throughout Hirosaki!
Hirosaki Cherry Blossom 2021 Sakura Miku stamps – ￥1,500
- Contains 1 set of 10x sticker-type ￥89 stamps
Buy here: https://www.shop.post.japanpost.jp/shop/g/gCS9961112366/
※Please note that postage of the stamps to you is ￥520 to anywhere in Japan (￥360 for postage, ￥150 for handling fees). Postage to overseas is not offered at this time.
※You are allowed to buy up to 5 sheets of stamps per person, per transaction.
Even though last year’s event had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, it seems that the festival will be going ahead in 2021, but with counter measures introduced to stop the spread of the virus. As always, please make sure not to head to any events if you feel any symptoms of a cold or virus, make sure to wear face masks, socially distance where possible and sanitise hands regularly.
~Tanudama
Links
Event announcement on the piapro blog
Hirosaki Sakura festival & information
