The final examination of the "33rd Hirosaki Castle Miss Sakura Contest" was held on April 9th at the Hirosaki Cultural Center (Shimohiragincho, Hirosaki City).

Focusing on four major festivals such as the "Hirosaki Sakura Festival" and "Hirosaki Neputa Festival", this contest selects "Miss Sakura", a public relations activity in Hirosaki City for a year in and out of the prefecture. In addition to Mayor Noriyuki Kasai, who is the chairman of the judging committee, five people will judge, and a total of three people will be decided, one for Miss Sakura Grand Prix and two for Miss Sakura. Each of the 14 people who passed the first screening was given a PR time of 1 minute each, and there were participants who talked about their dreams of launching an apparel brand and appealed their study abroad experience in the United States.

The Miss Sakura Grand Prix was chosen by Aimi Yashima from Hirosaki. He is currently a 4th year student at Hirosaki University and has won the grand prix at "Miss Hongdae" last year. "I was sad that someone from outside the prefecture said that Hirosaki was "Hiromae." I applied because I wanted to know more about Hirosaki," he said. Regarding the Grand Prix award, he said, "I'm really surprised that I didn't think I would be selected. I want to carry on with the thoughts of the participants who participated in the judging together, and I want to do my best with the three people."

Mao Hanada, who was selected as Miss Sakura, is from Hirosaki and is currently a 4th year student at Aomori Chuo Gakuin University. A few years ago, her older sister had participated in the contest, and she was interested in it before. "It's an annual event to take a family photo in front of Japan's oldest Yoshino cherry tree in Hirosaki Park. I'm so happy that I can promote my favorite hometown full of memories," Hanada said. Mr.

The second Miss Sakura was chosen by Miho Uno from Kuroishi. After graduating from Hirosaki Chuo High School, he went to work outside the prefecture and reaffirmed the charm of Hirosaki. We also responded happily to the request from the judges, "smiling at the mayor." “There are many people outside the prefecture who don't know the charm of Hirosaki. I want to think of ways to get them to know more,” says Uno.

The opening ceremony of the Hirosaki Sakura Festival, which will start on the 22nd of this month, will be the first of the three. Mr. Yashima expresses his enthusiasm, "Because this is the start of one year's activities, I want to keep up my mind."