Deal of the week: Super-cheap Shinkansen pass
We'll always have Hirosaki Castle Park in the springtime. We all know that train travel in Japan is super-fast, super-efficient and super-expensive. Equally, the historically strong yen makes it even more costly for visitors looking to stretch their travel horizons beyond Tokyo's concrete sprawl. Until now.
Following the March 11 earthquake last year, tourism and travel chiefs are anxious to lure travelers back to Japan and the latest carrot at the end of the stick is looking pretty tasty -- it's called the JR East Pass.
For only ¥10,000 yen (US$ 123), Japan Rail (JR) East is offering a three-day unlimited train pass on any of its lines and routes, including the Shinkansen bullet train, from Tokyo all the way up to Aomori Prefecture in the far north.
The three days can be within a 10-day window, meaning there's no need to rush. As a point of reference, a single fare from Tokyo to Aomori typically costs around ¥16,000.
Tourism officials are hoping incoming tourists will head toward the quake-hit Tohoku region and there's a "Destination Iwate" campaign on the JR website to encourage just that.
Don't be put off going to Tohoku by fears of radiation or devastation. Though the Iwate coast was hard hit by last year's tsunami, the rest of the prefecture, along with neighboring Akita and Aomori, is completely unaffected and desperately anxious to welcome travelers.
Visiting in the next few weeks? Use your pass to head for Japan's best late cherry blossom blowout in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.
Late bloomers
If Japan's cherry blossom season was designed by blockbuster producer Michael Bay, it would look like Hirosaki Castle Park in the spring, just without the giant wiseass robots.
Instead, visitors can enjoy massive explosions of fluffy blossoms from nearly 26,000 trees. So many blossoms that the afterimage on your retinas is nothing but pale pink, pink and more pink.
You may have already missed Tokyo's cherry blossom season, but way up north the trees are just counting down to full bloom through to the first week of May.
The castle town is not Japan's record holder for the highest concentration of trees -- that's World Heritage site Yoshino-san in Nara Prefecture, with 30,000 spread over its mountain namesake. But the impact of Hirosaki's forest of cherries squeezed along the moat and castle grounds is just as breathtaking.
The fortified 17th-century castle creates a unique visual element and the traditional black and red bridge at the entrance is possibly the most photographed spot in the park.
The primary reason the trees have such an overwhelming effect -- besides their sheer volume -- is that they are intentionally trimmed to grow lower to the ground than usual and to branch out. That means masses of blossoms right at eye and camera level.
Other attractions in or near the castle are several old samurai residences, Chosho-ji Temple, the Festival Float Pavilion (late summer festivals are all about huge, lighted parade floats in this area) and some rare Meiji-era Western-style buildings. But really, in spring, it's all about the trees.
Cherry blossom bliss is several hours from Tokyo even on the speedy Shinkansen -- 3 hours and 10 minutes to Aomori, with Hirosaki about 45 minutes beyond that.
The cherries' peak days there coincide with the Golden Week holidays, April 28-May 6. That means crowds and higher hotel prices in certain areas, of course.
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Golden pavilion
Or use your pass to visit Japan's newest World Heritage site: Hiraizumi.
Just two hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen (and on the way to or from Aomori), the town was once called the "Kyoto of the North" and was home to the powerful gold-coveting Fujiwaras.
Sadly for them, Minamoto Yoritomo's forces burned it (and them) to the ground in the 12th century, but the Golden Pavilion (Konjikido) still survives in the grounds of the Chuson-ji temple complex.
It sits inside another building to protect all that gold from the elements, so don't get confused looking for something shiny. You will need to purchase an ¥800 ticket to get into the pavilion. It's worth it.
Your JR Pass also gives unlimited access to Hiraizumi's Runrun bus system around the town on the day you've validated it. This is good because Chuson-ji is up on a hill.
If you can time your visit right, come for the pageantry of the Yoshitsune Festival from May 1-5. The parade of mounted samurai warriors honors one of Japan's most beloved tragic heroes.
Kitakami, only a short way north from Hiraizumi, may look like a quiet rural city, but it's all about demons.
In the ancient Chinese and Japanese calendars, the northeast, where Tohoku lies, was the "demon's direction." People believed the veil between the supernatural and mortal worlds here was very thin and the entire region is rich in tales of demons (who are not always bad) and monsters.
Kitakami is known for its Oni Kembai, or demon sword dancers, and its demon museum. The Oni no Yakata (House of Demons) is a large, modern and extremely well laid-out museum with lots of fun bells and whistles to celebrate Japan's demon cults, rituals, masks, festivals and dances.
Unfortunately the locals take their demon history a little too seriously and placed the museum on the mythical site of the first Oni Kembai dances. Demons like to dance in the middle of nowhere. Who knew?
Though the entrance fee is only ¥500, the 20-minute taxi ride will probably set you back around ¥3,000. There are just four or five buses a day heading to the museum from Kitakami Station.
Staff say many visitors take a taxi there and the bus back to save money. There's a bus timetable at the museum information window.
If you have any interest in Japanese supernatural folklore, Oni no Yakata is well worth the cost. The city is also famous for its cherry blossoms along the river at Tenshochi Park.
Hit the road
The JR East Pass is available until June 21, 2012. The offer and the pass expire on June 30. The 10-day window starts from the first day of your pass. That's important. Schedule your travel days carefully.
Japan is carved up into several regions for train travel. This pass does not cover the south of the country -- that's JR Tokai -- so Kyoto and Osaka are out. Travelers can apply online before and after they arrive or drop by designated JR East stations: Tokyo, Ueno, Shinagawa, Shinjuku and several others. There's a complete list online.
Lastly, you must bring your passport, as this is only for visitors to Japan, not foreign residents.
All the details are on the JR website.
Getting there
Hirosaki: 45 minutes from Aomori Station on the JR Ou Line. From Shin Aomori, the Shinkansen terminus, it's 30 minutes by JR Ou Line express or 50 minutes on the local train. Trains leave every hour. Grabbing a cab from Hirosaki Station is the easiest way to the castle.
Hiraizumi: To/from Tokyo or Aomori, take the Shinkansen to Ichinoseki Station and transfer to the Tohoku Line. Hiraizumi Station is just eight minutes away.
Kitakami: Shinkansen to Kitakami Station.
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