I was not aware that Thurs was a Sat, Sun, or holiday. There was supposed to be a schedule bus around 10am to go to Hirosaki Apple Park.
The next scheduled was not for another hour and a half. So, I did a little shopping at the 100 yen store and bought more than anticipated. Was able t stach everything in the room before the bus came. A short ride to the outskirts of town to the apple orchard that i the park. There are several varieties planted but ony 2 can be picked at any given time. While we waited for the next guide, there was the souvenir shop with theusual assortment of products, hand made goods, souvenirs etc. I did not recognize most of the manufacturers of he alcoholic beverages. I did noticeone brand I had heard of before and they made a few items from Aomori apples. The brandy is not something we drink so I got the wine. The bottle washavey for its size so it means its good, right. There was also a cafe but it was not time for me to indulge in a sit down meal.Headed back to the train station to catch one to Goshogagwara. It was odd this station, 45 minutes by direct Gono line north, does not support IC cards. I had to pony up the yen, was given a notice to take back to my last station to clear up the confusion that now existed on my Suica. I followed along as I saw people buytheir return tickets ahead of time. I was going to do this as well because I planned to leave early and not get into the situation where I miss the last train back. As I strolled to the area near the Tachineputa Museum, there were several food stalls set up on either side of the street. In an additional area, a few more food stalls were organized at a nearby lot. The parade started at the top east corner of the route. However, the tallest of the floats were all housed at the museum so I got to see them roll out and stage at the beginning. I had planned to visit the museum but now I didnt need to. There were nebutas in the mix with the taller brethren. Atsumore? I believe that was their chant as they walked the streets. I think this was the most enjoyable of the 3 festivals I attended. It had a mix of different floats and the atmosphere felt a little more intimate compared to the big feel of Aomori. Hirosaki flt smaller in the size of the neputas and the scale of the city. I leapt away from my electrical box about an hour after the start. The next train would not depart fo another hour and people were already lined up. However, no one was allowed on the tracks until 30 minutes before. By then the lines had grown but I was not going tostay to find out. Being of the initial 15, I immediate got onboard and made my way to the lead car through the inside of the previous cars. I distracted myself with logging the previous days adventures while the car filled and finally left.
