Fujita memorial garden was built in 1919 during japanese Taisho era for the villa of Kenishi Fujita. It boasts a total area of 21,800m² and is one of the largest japanese styled gardens in the Tohoku region. It was open to the public in July 1991.
Kenichi Akashi was an entrepreneur born in Hirosaki in 1873 (meiji era) and passed away in 1946 (showa era). He was adopted by the Fujita family at the age of 5, and at age 19 he attended Meiji Law School in Tokyo and became an apprentice of Minzo Kumano, a law professor. In 1928 he became the first president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and thus began playing a major role in japanese business. He is also remembered for his generous contributions for educational works and public causes such as founding the Fujita Scholarship foundation and the donation of the Hirosaki Civic Auditorium.
The garden itself is divided into an upper and a lower section, the main entrance is located at the upper garden. There we have a western style building “Yokan” and a japanese style building “Wakan” the first functioning as a cafe and the latter having a restaurant inside it for visitors to enjoy, there is also spectacular view of Mount iwaki from inside the Wakan.
Connecting both levels of the garden there are multiple sets of stairs in different points of the garden, each providing a unique view of the garden lower level and many pleasing paths to explore on a leisurely walk.
Arriving at the lower level garden the visitor can enjoy walking through many bridges and artificial lakes, surrounded by carefully arranged trees and stone lanterns creating a spectacular scenario, which can also be enjoyed from Shofu Pavilion, a tea room located in the lower ground.
It would be impossible to list all charms of the garden, it certainly is a most remarkable experience, when traveling to Hirosaki, a visitor should definitely make a point of visiting this scenic spot, and just as Hirosaki park it transforms with the seasons making the experience new and refreshing for returning visitors.
