Just south of the historic center of Hirosaki is a unique street that seems to slip off the regular tourist radar. Zenringai (or Zenrin sanjūsan-ka-ji), which translates to the “forest of Zen temples,” is just what its name suggests: an avenue with 33 Japanese Buddhist temples, all part of the Sōtō school of Zen. While temple towns abound across Japan, it is rare for Buddhist temples of a single sect to be condensed in one neighborhood like this. It started out when daimyo lord Tsugaru Nobuhira relocated Chōshō-ji Temple here in…
