On April 18th, the Somei-Yoshino cherry trees in Hirosaki Park were in full bloom across the entire outer moat, reaching their peak.

Hirosaki Park is home to 2,600 cherry trees. Hirosaki City announces the current cherry blossom status for four locations: the park (standard trees), the outer moat, the west bank of the western moat, and the east bank of the western moat (cherry blossom tunnel). In an announcement on April 17, the Somei-Yoshino trees on the outer moat and west bank of the western moat were in full bloom. The park (standard trees) are currently 70% in bloom, and full bloom is expected on the 19th.

This year's Hirosaki Sakura Festival opened on April 12th, in response to the early blooming of the cherry blossoms. The outdoor stalls also started operating on the same day, and the illuminations began. The festival is a delight to the visitors who come to see the cherry blossoms. The festival runs until May 5th.

Since April 16th, when Hirosaki City announced that the south side of the outer moat was in full bloom, there have been a series of posts on social media introducing the cherry blossoms in the park with photos. Among them, a post of "Heart Cherry Blossoms," in which two overlapping cherry blossom branches form a heart shape in the sky, has received more than 7,000 reposts, and many responses were received to posts of the cherry blossoms reflected on the surface of the moat, the illuminations, and the food at the outdoor stalls.

A man in his 50s who was visiting from Tokyo as a tourist said with a smile, "This is my second time seeing the cherry blossoms in Hirosaki. Compared to other famous spots, there are more cherry trees here. They've been well-maintained and are beautiful everywhere. You can feel the skill to maintain that beauty and the love of the people of Hirosaki. I took so many photos that it's more than double that of other places."

Hirosaki City says the best time to see the "flower rafts," where snowflakes of cherry blossoms and petals float on the water, will be from April 20th, and that the "Hirosaki Seven Cherry Blossoms," seven varieties of cherry blossoms that bloom after the Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms, will be in full bloom from April 21st onwards.