In Japan, an entire castle is being moved: one meter at a time. per day

Working in turns, teams of 80 people pulled 30-meter ropes to move the keep of Hirosaki Castle, mounted on rails, in Aomori, at the northernmost tip of Japan's main island of Honshu.

On Saturday, about 1,800 participants selected through a public lottery towed the building 1.13 meters. On Sunday, it was moved another 1.09 meters.

"Over the past two days, we received about 8,000 applications for 1,800 spots, which is roughly four times the number of available places, so not everyone could participate. People came not only from the city, but from all over Japan and abroad, including many from Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America," said Kensuke Hayasaka, head of Hirosaki's Parks and Green Spaces Division.

To preserve the structure, participants used "hikiya"—a traditional technique that allows the entire three-story keep to be moved roughly 70 meters without being dismantled.

In 2015, the city launched a public participation program, marking the first citizen-led castle relocation effort and the first time in a century that this method was used to move a castle.

"Since the keep is a national cultural heritage site, we did not dismantle it," Hayasaka said, explaining that "hikiya" is a building-moving method that has existed in Japan since ancient times.

Repair work on the castle wall, damaged by an earthquake in the Sea of Japan in 1983, was completed in December 2024, with all 2,185 stones returned to their original positions.

This year, authorities once again called on the public to help move the keep back into position.

One volunteer, 61-year-old Motoharu Nakata, traveled about 1,352 km from Hiroshima to take part in the event.

"I took part in this 11 years ago, too. It's very moving to be able to participate again," he told reporters.

The manual relocation campaign, which is largely symbolic, will continue throughout August, moving the keep by a total of 5 meters.

Heavy machinery will be used to complete the 73-meter move of the structure by the end of the year.

Hirosaki is one of only 12 surviving original castles in Japan and the only one in the Tohoku region.

Built in 1611 and rebuilt in 1810 after a lightning strike destroyed the original structure, it is the centerpiece of a park visited by two million people every year during cherry blossom season.

Due to restoration work, the keep will not reopen to tourists until 2033.