Aomori, Hirosaki, Goshogawara in April

Hi

We are a group of 4 friends traveling to Aomori from April 24 to 28.

Our itinerary is as follows: (plus a few of my questions)

Apr24 (Wed)
- hotel check in
- free day in Aomori

Apr25 (Thurs)
- Hirosaki area — do I need to reserve a rapid train ticket? I'm worried that the normal train lines will be packed because of peak season.
- Hirosaki Castle (cherry blossoms)
- Hirosaki Apple Park

Apr26 (Fri)
- Goshogawara area — same question, do I need to reserve a rapid train ticket to Goshogawara?
- Takayama Inari Shrine (tori)
- Ashino Park (cherry blossoms)

To get from Ashino Park to Takayama Inari and back, is it more convenient for us to just take a cab? If so, is it easy to hail one to and from Takayama Inari?

Apr27 (Sat)
- Aomori area
- Jomon Prehistoric sites
- Aomori Museum of Art
- Aomori Gyosai Center (fish market)
- Nebuta Museum Warasse

April 28 (Sun) AM
- travel to Tokyo

Thank you!