On October 8th and 9th, a monitor tour project "Tekuteku Architecture in Hirosaki" was held to explore modern architecture in Hirosaki City. The organizers are Hirosaki City and the Hirosaki Tourism and Convention Association.

This project visited 10 modern buildings in 2 days, including the Aomori Bank Memorial Museum and the former Hirosaki City Library. The guide is Tokyo resident and Twitter account, Fujisawa Uruu. According to Mr. Fujisawa, in February of this year, a map he created that introduced 19 buildings in Hirosaki City became a hot topic on Twitter, so he was approached for this project.

The six participants were selected from among 50 applicants. All residents outside the prefecture. Some of them were visiting Hirosaki for the first time, and there were also 19-year-old participants.

During the tour, participants will post photos they took freely with the hashtag “Hirosaki Tekuteku Architecture”. Mr. Fujisawa said, "I was surprised to find that there were more various posts than I expected. Each participant has a different point of view, and I can enjoy it just by looking at the timeline."

During the tour, we also visited the penthouse of the Aomori Bank Memorial Museum, the basement and rooftop of the Hirosaki City Hall, and the assembly hall, which are not usually open to the public. “If we were to develop it as a tour product, we needed the added value of putting it in a place that you wouldn’t normally be able to see,” said Mr. Fujisawa.

After the two-day tour, participants had various opinions, such as, "Even if you don't like architecture, you can enjoy it," and, "Information has not been properly communicated." Fujisawa says, "It's rare in Japan to have buildings from different eras like Hirosaki in a city outside the prefectural capital. One of the attractions is that they are all within walking distance."

In Hirosaki City, four monitor tours will be held including this one, with themes such as "Edo architecture tour", "Maekawa Kunio architecture tour", and "Temple and Shinto architecture tour". It is said that it is also considering the development of selling it as a travel product.