Discover Kuroishi

The municipality of Kuroishi offers a range of themes to help you plan your trip: traditional merchant architecture, Tsugaru crafts, Kokeshi culture, and seasonal apple picking. The sights range from a large merchant house and a garden with a storied history to woodcraft and an annual festival. Each stop has its own distinct focus.

Merchant Architecture and Garden Art

Takahashi House in the municipality of Kuroishi is a typical large merchant house of the Tsugaru region and is designated an Important Cultural Property. Its features include a passageway called the niwa, a large gate that can be raised, an open ceiling, and lattice windows. A Komise awning runs along the side facing Nakamachi Street. The term niwa helps visitors understand the house through its interior layout, not just its street-facing exterior.

Sake breweries and storehouses also line Nakamachi Street. The view thus shifts from a single merchant house to a streetscape featuring several types of traditional buildings.

The Narumi Family Garden is in Kuroishi’s Nakamachi Traditional Building Preservation District and features the Ōishi Bugaku style. It is said to have been created in 1887 at the request of Bunshirō, the third head of the Narumi family. Its designers are named as Teiju Obata, the fourth master of the Bugaku school, and his student Teigetsu Ikeda, the fifth master. The account of its origins links the garden to the Narumi family and the Bugaku school.

Kokeshi and Tsugaru Crafts

The Tsugaru Kokeshi Museum in the municipality of Kuroishi displays around 4,000 Kokeshi dolls collected from across the country, along with various wooden toys. The exhibits include a valuable Kokeshi doll carved by Morihide Taro and painted by Shiko Munakata. Alongside the breadth of the collection, attention is also drawn to the work on one individual piece: the wood carving and painting are attributed to two named artists.

At the Tsugaru Traditional Crafts Hall, craftspeople demonstrate traditional Tsugaru handicrafts. Visitors can view, touch, and try the crafts themselves. If you are interested in workshops, check their availability before your visit. The hall’s central Komise Plaza also has a foot bath with areas for adults and children, as well as stone seating.

The two venues have different focuses: the museum centers on its Kokeshi dolls and wooden toys, while at the Crafts Hall you can experience traditional crafts through demonstrations, touching the work, and trying it yourself.

The Festival and Apple Picking Throughout the Year

The Kuroishi Komise Festival takes place in the municipality of Kuroishi every year on the second Saturday and Sunday in September. The program includes Tsugaru shamisen, Tsugaru folk music, and brass band performances by local high school students. Check the details for the relevant year before you travel. The Kuroishi Tourist Apple Orchard is also in the municipality and is open from early September to mid-November. Visitors can pick and enjoy fresh apples there, with panoramic views stretching across the Tsugaru Plain to Mount Iwaki. For planning your dates, the timing is specific: the festival weekend falls within the orchard’s stated opening period. Confirm the orchard’s current seasonal dates before your visit.

Discover more destinations: Aomori, Goshogawara, Mutsu, Oma, Ajigasawa, Hachinohe, Akabonai, Sotogahama

For the broader travel overview: Aomori Prefecture.