UserWiki:RaymondW/VisitedCastles
From Jcastle.info
RaymondW's Visited Castles
Background:
| Castle | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Akashi Castle | I finally feel that I have done Akashi Castle properly after four visits. It was third time lucky last month before I was able to get inside one of the original yaguras (turrets). Tatsumi Yagura is open to the public on weekends in April, June, and October. I had to come back today to get inside Hitsujisaru Yagura, which is open to the public on weekends in March, May, September, and November. The volunteers who work there told us the other months are either too cold or hot to keep the turrets open. Given they sit outside the turrets, that is completely understandable. Inside the Hitsujisaru Yagura is a model of Akashi Castle and its surrounding castle town during the Edo Period. From the front as seen from JR Akashi Station, both Tatsumi Yagura and Hitsujisaru Yagura look roughly about the same size, but Hitsujisaru Yagura is actually a little larger and wider if seen from its north-south profile. It is roughly 1.5 times wider according to the volunteer guide at the Tatsumi Yagura last month. The volunteer guide today at the Hitsujisaru Yagura told us that Akashi Castle originally had 20 yaguras with four three-storey yaguras. According to one of the castle books that I have, some of these yaguras were built with materials taken from other castles such Funage Castle (Tatsumi Yagura), Fushimi Castle (Hitsujisaru Yagura), Takasago Castle, and Edayoshi Castle. There is also a Yakuimon-style gate from Fushimi Castle, which was first relocated to Akashi Castle before it was moved to Geshouji Temple in 1874. Having been inside both the original yaguras now, which are simple mini-museums with exhibits of original tiles (in the Hitsujisaru Yagura), explanations about the history of the castle (in both yaguras), and some replica castle maps, this castle site certainly deserves a solid 3.5 stars. If the upper floors of the yaguras were open to the public and there was an English pamphlet available (for purchase), then this could be bumped up to a four star site. Yes, from the train station, it does not look that special, but it does have lots of impressive stone walls, moats, and two original yaguras. Both the yaguras are constructed mainly from pine, and the volunteer guides are friendly and knowledgeable. | |
| Aki Castle | ||
| Ako Castle | I went to this castle in early March. It has been around two years since my last visit. More walls have been reconstructed. The local government is quite serious about restoring this castle with current building work focusing on fully reconstructing the Ninomaru Gardens. With work in progress, a visitor to the Ninomaru (Second Bailey) area can see a clear cross-section of how ishigaki (a Japanese stone wall) is constructed. It wasn't the best day for taking piccies, but it was nice to walk around this quiet castle ruin. Thank goodness I finished my visit before two busloads of tourists arrived at the site. | |
| Akutagawasan Castle | ||
| Amagasaki Castle | There are some reconstructed walls at this castle ruin site, but there was no sign explaining the historical significance of the site. Also, too much of the site is fenced off and inaccessible. I would not recommend castle fans to visit this site unless you happen to be in Amagasaki. Zero stars for this site. | |
| Arato Castle | ||
| Ashikagashi Yakata | For a Top 100 castle site, this is a huge disappointment. While the earthen ramparts and water moat enclosing the main bailey of this site remain intact with four extant gates (built or rebuilt in the15th to 16th century) make this a decent fortified ruin to visit, it should *not* be rated as a Top 100 castle. Instead, it would have been more appropriately placed on the Top 100 temple list. I have been to other similar castle ruins with roughly the equivalent amount of ruins, and they are not inscribed in the Top 100 castle list. There is very little that actually relates to the original fortified Ashigakashi Residence. Instead, it is more about Kongozanbanna Temple, and the numerous historic buildings related to this temple complex found on the grounds. There just isn't enough castle-related features like a castle / local history museum, extant or restored fortifications, a reconstructed palace or widespread and signposted ruins (not just the main bailey) to merit this site being in the Top 100 castle. Other more extensive castle ruins such as Naegi Castle or Tamaru Castle, which are not listed in the Top 100 castle list, have so much more to see and are much better signposted for castle-related features than Ashikagashi Yakata. | |
| Azuchi Castle | I went to Azuchi Castle Ruin first before making it over to Kannonji Castle Ruin on the last weekend of February. This is my fourth visit to this castle ruin, so I decided just to ride around the base of the hill and suss out the parts that I have not seen nor are regularly visited. If you are going to rent a bicycle, ride around the area a little, and you will see some of the canals lined with ishigaki created in the days of Oda Nobunaga. Also, go past the big Azuchi Castle sign on the main road heading towards Hikone. First, you will see the remnants of some kind of water moat (more like a pond now) and a bit of ishigaki. Go a bit further, and you will see an open space and a set of steps leading into the bush. Go up the steps, and you will find some ishigaki of some of the lower eastern baileys. They are heavily overgrown with bamboo and other trees. | |
| Bitchu Matsuyama Castle | I went to this castle in the afternoon after going to Kinojo Castle earlier in the day. You can get in both Kinojo and Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle in one day, but you will have to either have a folding bike or use the taxi. Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle is a very nice castle to visit. It's remote location and a lack of visitor means that you can really enjoy this little original castle in peace and quiet. When I went in March, part of the back section was still closed and so was the trail up to the Ohmatsu Castle Ruin a further 500m or so up the trail. | |
| Bitchu Takamatsu Castle | ||
| Chiba Castle | If I weren't passing through Chiba City on my way back to Tokyo from Sakura Castle, I would not have bothered with this castle site. It is quite disappointing. Having sussed out what others have said, I was mentally prepared for a fake concrete reconstruction where that was no such castle keep in its day. However, they could have had a much better museum inside this fairly big reconstructed castle keep. There was hardly anything in the castle museum about its design and history. No wonder it cost only 60 yen to get in. This is barely a one-star castle site for me. | |
| Echizen Ohno Castle | I visited this castle in mid-August. This castle exceeded my expectations. Prior to going, I had just expected a typical reconstructed concrete castle keep with very little to see in Echizen-Ono. While the castle is a concrete construction, the museum within was fairly informative about the castle and the surrounding castle town's history. As mentioned by another J Castle user below, the view from top of the castle is superb with a 360 degree view of all the surrounding mountains including several Top 100 mountains in Japan. The ishigaki (stone wall) foundation on which the castle was built is quite extensive for a medium-sized castle, actually bigger than its more highly rated Fukui cousin, Maruoka Castle. Some of the ishigaki around the main bailey have also been preserved. Unfortunately, there are no other original structures left, but two gates have been reconstructed, one at the bottom of the hill and the other one on the southern side of the Honmaru near a small stone-lined pond. There are a couple of samurai residences at the base of the hill, and this added to the experience of visiting Echizen-Ono Castle. My wife and I only had time to visit one of them, the Uchiyama Residence, located in the Third Bailey, which has been mostly built over. I have only been to a handful of samurai residences, but this is the best one that we have seen so far. Within the walled compound, there are two original houses, a garden, and three storehouses. The original wooden tiles of the Old House have been replaced by glazed tiles, but apart from that, it pretty much feels like it was from the late Edo Period / early Meiji Period. It was definitely the property of a rich and high ranking samurai. Entry to the Uchiyama Residence is only 200yen. There is also a temple quarter in this castle town for those interesting in sussing out temples. My wife and I went to Echizen-Ono by train. There are only a few trains a day from JR Fukui Station, so plan accordingly if you are going to go there using public transport. Buses are also another possibility to get to Echizen-Ono, but I never considered them because we used JR Seishun-18 tickets for this trip. | |
| Edo Castle | ||
| Fukuchiyama Castle | I finally made it inside this castle. My first visit here, a couple of years ago, was on a day when it was closed. Visitors beware. This castle is closed on Tuesdays or if the Tuesday is a public holiday, it will open and then close on the following day. The staff was pretty stoked when they found that a foreigner came all the way up to northern Kyoto to visit their reconstructed castle. This is quite a nice castle to visit with an okay museum. Of course, a working knowledge of Japanese is a must if you want to understand the displays. No photography is allowed inside the museum except for one small tatami room where you may put on the fake samurai helmets there. There were three helmets when I went. Entry into the castle museum cost 210yen. | |
| Fukui Castle | If you are passing through Fukui City and like ishigaki, this is one castle ruin worth visiting. The ishigaki surrounding the honmaru and its water moat are intact. As mentioned below by Furinkazan, the local authorities have also rebuilt a wooden bridge. As I was taking photos of the stone walls, one of the police officers who patrolled the area (the City Police Headquarters and the Prefectural Office are now in the original honmaru), gave me a brochure about the castle. Pretty cool stuff. The site is a mere five minutes from the JR Fukui Station. This site is worth a 2-star for its ishigaki and the reconstructed bridge. | |
| Fukuoka Castle | Prior to the construction of Fukuoka Castle, there was another castle nearby. Najima Castle, which was built by Kobayakawa Takakage in 1587, was about 5km away from Fukuoka Castle. However, the terrain restricted the expansion of the Najima Castle, so Kuroda Yoshitaka and his son, Kuroda Nagamasa, relocated to a new location and built Fukuoka Castle over a seven-period, starting in 1601. This was one of the largest castles built in the early Edo Period. It covered 2.46 million square metres and had 47 yaguras (turrets). According to one sign at the castle site, the experts still could not decide if a castle keep was actually built, but based on the size of the stone foundation, they estimated that it had a five-storey main castle tower with other lesser castle towers attached to form a multi-towered castle keep. This castle ruin has a couple of original yaguras left: the Tamon Yagura in the Minaminomaru (Southern Bailey) and the Kinen Yagura (Prayer Turret), located on the northeastern corner of the Honmaru (Main Bailey). There is also one original Honmaru gate, the Omote-Gomon, which was moved to Sofuji Temple in 1918 and is now the Sofuji Sanmon Gate. One of Najima Castle's original gates, a side gate, can also be found at Fukuoka Castle. It is a very easy castle site to visit as it is just a short subway ride from Hakata Station to Ohori-koen Station, which is just a few hundred metres from the restored Shimonohashi Otemon (damaged in a fire in 2000.) For castle fans who want to get their 100 Meijo Stamp, you will have to go to the Korokan. Entry is free, and it is a museum about a diplomatic embassy between China and Japan. The Korokan stood near Hakata Bay from the second half of the 7th century until the 11th century. Also, if you are interested in learning more about the two Mongol Invasions of Japan in the 13th century, there is the small but interesting Museum of Mongol Invasions near Maidashikyudaibyoinmae Station on the subway. It is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, but if you call ahead and make an appointment, they can open up the museum for you on a weekday. Since my previous visit to Fukuoka Castle in 2008, the local authorities have put up some new signs giving more detailed information about the castle and its history. Combined with the Korokan, this castle site is worth three stars as it has some original structures and good detailed signs in four languages including English. | |
| Fukuyama Castle | Ron S. is spot on the money about how if they had moved the JR train line further back, this castle would have seemed to be like a smaller version of Himeji Castle, being quite impressive on its little solitary hill. Of course, putting some thought into make the interior better and more authentic-looking wouldn't go astray either. I visited this castle again as part of a three-day to visit mainly a few castles in Hiroshima Prefecture early last week. This castle site looks great from the outside with two authentic structures left. I decided not to go inside the castle keep this time. Got better things to do. | |
| Fushimi Castle | I gave it two stars based on its appearance from the outside. You cannot go inside as it is closed and has not been opened the few times that I have been there. As a reconstructed castle keep, it is no worse and certainly better looking than some others. Of course, if you factor in authenticity and historical location, then it is only a one star castle. | |
| Futamata Castle | It takes around 50 minutes from Kakegawa Station to Futamata Honmachi Station on a one-carriage train on a little local non-JR train line. The castle ruin is around a 10 minute walk from the train station. Only three of the baileys, Honmaru (Main Bailey), Ninomaru (Second Bailey), and Kita Kuruwa (Northern Bailey) are easily accessible, signposted, and well-kept. Around the Honmaru and Ninomaru, ishigaki (stone walls) remain as well as the stone base of the castle keep. The Kurayashiki Bailey, can clearly be seen across the dry moat from the Ninomaru, but I decided not to venture inside as it was seriously overgrown, and there were signs up warning about the presence of poisonous snakes. By not going into the Kurayashiki Bailey, I also missed the Minami Kuruwa (Southern Bailey) linked to and located below the Kurayashiki Bailey. Some of the smaller baileys located west and below the Honmaru can clearly be seen on the path down to the Tenryu River, but these small baileys are overgrown with bamboo. One of these western baileys was so overgrown that I could not make it out. Several dry moats around the castle ruin can also be clearly seen. Surprisingly, some of the maple trees still have plenty of red leaves on them in late December. My girlfriend and I were the only ones there during the whole 45 minutes or so that we spent wandering around this castle ruin. For me, this is a 1.5 star site in autumn with the colourful red leaves and for being undiscovered by tourists. | |
| Gifu Castle | Some ishigaki have recently been found in the area where they think the palace once stood. The excavations are still ongoing. | |
| Gujo Hachiman Castle | ||
| Hachigata Castle | Visited this castle in November 2015. This castle ruin is quite an impressive Hojo castle with some deep ditches, earthworks, a few very small sections of original stone wall remnants and lots of rebuilt stone walls in the Chichibu Bailey. The actual castle site is massive, roughly on par with Sakura Castle (Chiba) and Yamanaka Castle (Shizuoka). The museum on site is pretty good, too, with an interactive CG display of what the castle looked like during the Sengoku Period and a model of the whole castle. | |
| Hamamatsu Castle | ||
| Hikone Castle | This is my local castle, taking only 40 minutes to get to JR Hikone Station from where I live. I went at the end of March. They are removing some of the trees behind the Tenbin Yagura, so now you can see clearly see a section of wall running up from one side of the Tenbin Yagura up to the Honmaru ishigaki. | |
| Himeji Castle | ||
| Hiroshima Castle | ||
| Hizen Nagoya Castle | This was the second biggest castle built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is only second to the original black Osaka Castle built by Hideyoshi. Unfortunately, this was a fairly short-lived castle, and was demolished by Tokugawa Ieyasu after he came into power. Karatsu Castle, completed in 1608, was built with some of the materials taken from this castle. Hizen Nagoya Castle was massive with six gates, and it covered 170,000 square metres. I spent about 2 hours walking around parts of this castle ruin, and I could not cover all the historical baileys on site in that time (missed the Daidokoro Bailey and the Yamazato Upper and Lower Baileys.) There is plenty of ishigaki left for the castle fans, and the layout of baileys can clearly be seen. Careful restoration work and archaeological surveys are ongoing. The local authorities have restored some of the stone walls, but mainly in a way that prevents further deterioration of the walls without making them look brand new and losing the ruins atmosphere at the site. At the time when Hideyoshi launched his two invasions of Korea (1592 to 1598) from this point, there were over 110 encampments belonging to the various daimyos involved in the invasion dotted around the peninsular where this castle was built. Entry to the castle site is free, and so is the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum. The museum has a lot of artifacts and models related to the castle, but it is geared mainly towards Japanese and Korean speakers with bilingual signs in Japanese and Korean. An English brochure of the museum is available. Unfortunately, I really had to rush the museum visit because the last bus back to Karatsu left at 3:48pm. Access by public transport is very limited and inconvenient. There are only several buses that go to the castle site from the Karatsu Bus Centre, costing 840yen one way. Most of the buses tend to run at far as Yobuko only, which is about 4-5km short of the castle site. Hizen Nagoya Castle is better visited by using your own transport if you want to have more time and a flexible schedule to do the whole castle site. For Hideyoshi and ishigaki fans, this is likely to be a fun three-star site for you. For castle fans who like to see more structures, then this site would probably not rate any higher than two stars. This is one castle that I will definitely re-visit if I'm back in northern Kyushu. | |
| Hyakusaiji Castle | There is certainly plenty of ishigaki (stone walls) at this castle ruin and now temple site. The photos for this castle profile features only ishigaki rebuilt for the temple. However, there are some original ishigaki dating back to when Oda Nobunaga took and burnt down the castle. Most of the stones were carted off to build Azuchi Castle, but some of the smaller and "unworthy" stones were left in place. Also, not shown are the earthwork remnants of the castle ruin including moats and earthen ramparts that can easily be found if you stray off the main stone stairway up the mountain. There are numerous baileys on either side of the stone stairs. One sign mentions that Nobunaga got some of his design inspiration from Hyakusaji. If you visit both castle ruins, you will notice that both of them have the central stone stairs will lots of baileys on either side of the main stone stairway. There is also another way to get to Hyakusaiji by public transport. You can take a JR train up to Notogawa Station and then catch an hourly bus to Hyakusaiji Honmachi. The bus ride takes roughly 40 minutes. | |
| Ichijodani Castle | ||
| Ichinomiya Castle | ||
| Iga Ueno Castle | ||
| Ikeda Castle | I went to this castle last week. It takes around 20 minutes from Hankyu Umeda to Ikeda if you take the express train which misses a bunch of stations between Umeda and Toyonaka. Ikeda Castle doesn't have much in the way of original ruins apart from some foundation stones laid out in the middle of the castle park, but what it lacks in original structures / ruins is made up for by having a bunch reconstructed defensive structures from the Sengoku period . Within the park, there are three styles of gates: three yakui-mons, one kabuki-mon, and one heijuu-mon. The kabuki-mon is built on the site where the archaeologists have undercovered the remains of a castle gate (koguchi). Leading to the Otemon (a yakui-mon) is a wooden bridge. The castle park is also enclosed by two types of walls: the white-wash type and the plain wooden type. Situated in the middle of the park next to a pond is the wooden castle keep shown in the photos on this website. Once again, this reconstruction is in line with earlier smaller Sengoku castle keeps / lords' palace with a turret. Overall, if you have an hour to spare and enjoy walking around a small castle park, this site is certainly worth a visit. There is one sign at the end of the bridge which is multi-lingual (Japanese / English / Chinese / Korean), and it gives a decent introduction to the castle site. All the other (more detailed) signs and displays are in Japanese. For me, this castle site is worth two stars because of the reconstructed gates and castle keep. | |
| Imabari Castle | Imabari Castle does have a very good museum. As Furinkazan has mentioned, there are lots of suits of armour there. If I recall correctly, there is a scroll painting of Tokugawa Ieyasu's Top 16 Generals along with some paintings of Toda Takatora. I have been to Imabari Castle twice, but unfortunately, each time I rushed it. The first time was so I could get to a camp site on Oomishima Island (part of the Shimanami Kaido) before dusk while on a bicycle tour in 2002 (focus on cycling and not castles) and the second time was when I tried to fit in both Imabari Castle and Iyo-Matsuyama Castle in one day two years ago. I definitely need to re-visit this castle and devote a good half day to properly enjoy it instead of doing it in just an hour or hour and a half. For me, this site is worth at least 3.5 stars. Furinkazan, do you know which museum or castle has the most important collection of samurai armour in Japan? I think Ueda City Museum in Nagano has a pretty good collection. Himeji Castle has also recently opened up its Watari Yagura (for a limited time during the current massive renovation), and inside must be around 20 suits of armour. | |
| Inuyama Castle | ||
| Ishigakiyama Ichiya Castle | For castle fans who like stone walls, this is a fine castle ruin to visit. You can easily visit this castle and Odawara Castle in one day. The photos put up by the administrator of this website show the site pretty much as it is. The ishigaki has fallen apart in places, but if you have a map of the castle (found in some castle books written in Japanese), it is pretty easy to navigate around this castle. For a spot to get a top photo of Odawara Castle, take the more direct road (actually little lane) up to the castle through the mandarin orchards. About halfway up, there is a very good spot to get a photo of Odawara Castle if you have a decent zoom lens on your camera. BTW, this is the second time Toyotomi Hideyoshi built an overnight castle to demoralize his opponents. The first time was with Sunomata Castle in present day Gifu Prefecture. | |
| Itami Castle | ||
| Iwakuni Castle | This castle exceeded my expectations. I knew that it was a concrete reconstruction with the castle keep moved to a more visible spot. The reconstructed keep is pretty impressive on the outside. Inside could have been done a little better with more wooden paneling to hide the concrete construction, but it is no worse than many other reconstructed castle keeps using modern materials. The museum has a pretty good display of Japanese samurai swords including one gigantic one that was over 1.5 metres! The view, like Gifu Castle, is amazing with the whole panorama of Iwakuni spread out below. Apart from the reconstructed castle keep, there is the base of the original castle keep plus original ishigaki to be seen. Some of these stone walls have fallen seriously into disrepair, and if you make it to the bailey lying just below the Kitanomaru, you will find blocks of stone just randomly lying around. This castle reconstruction and museum is worth a solid 2 stars, but taking into account the view, the castle town below with a samurai residence, some old gates, the famous Kintai Bridge, and a shrine in the former grounds of the palace located at the base of the hill, this is certainly a 3 star site and worth spending a good half day. If you have time, about 3km from JR Kuba Station is Kamei Castle Ruin. There are plenty of ishigaki (stone walls) to be seen here. By train, it is only around 15 minutes from JR Nishi-Iwakuni to JR Kuba. | |
| Iwamura Castle | This is not an easy castle to get to by public transport. It takes around 2 hours from Nagoya and almost 4.5 hours from Kyoto City if you are just taking local trains. Along with Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle and Takatori Castle, some people consider Iwamura Castle (721m) to be one of the Top Three Mountaintop Castles in Japan. There is an alternative list of the Top Five Mountaintop Castles, which includes a different set of five castles. Anyway, I digress. If you like your yamashiros, this is a pretty cool site to visit. There is less ishigaki here than at Takatori Castle, but the site is better maintained, so most of the stone walls and ruins are not covered by undergrowth. Plenty to see for the ishigaki fan. In absolute elevation, Iwamura Castle is higher up, but Takatori Castle has a bigger elevation difference between the castle town and the honmaru (around 400m.) Entry to the castle grounds is free, but if you want to visit the museum (where you can also get the 100 Meijo Stamp), it costs 300yen. I bought a reprint of an old castle map (300yen) and a castle booklet (in Japanese only, 300yen). The museum is okay featuring some old Matsudaira armour, weapons, calligraphy, documents, old castle maps, and paintings of the castle. It is around a 20-minute walk from the train station to the castle museum and trailhead. There are a few samurai residences which are open to the public. They are on the main street of the old castle town leading up to the castle. The castle site can easily be seen from the train station as there is a mock-up of a castle turret on one of the upper baileys. | |
| Iyo Matsuyama Castle | This is one of the twelve original castles left from the Edo Period. It is a magnificent castle which is often overlooked compared to some more famous extant castles like Himeji Castle, Hikone Castle, and the photogenic Matsumoto Castle. This was the last castle that I visited in my Ehime castle tour last month. It was the third time that I have been to this castle. The first time was back in 2002 when I took the cable car (aka Ropeway) up to the top of the hill and then did a quick squiz around the Honmaru (Main Bailey) before hitting the castle keep and then heading straight back down the same way like the majority of visitors. My second visit in 2010 was a bit more comprehensive as I started from the Ninomaru (Second Bailey) down at the base of the hill near the Ehime Prefectural Office and worked my way up, but I still had missed a few parts of the castle like the Ushitora Gatehouse, the Kuromon (Kuromon Gate) Ruins, and the kokuins (carved insignias) found on the some of the stone walls of the Honmaru and Ninomaru. This time I decided I wasn't going to miss anything and devoted a lot more time over two sunny days to suss out this wonderful castle properly. It is possible to visit this castle (the main bailey and castle keep up on the hill only) in about two hours like I did back in 2002, but you will miss out a lot of what this castle has to offer. The castle has retained a significant portion of the original castle land which has not been built over, unlike many other castle sites in Japan. From the massive Sannomaru (Third Bailey), which has been converted into a park, there is a panoramic view of the extensive layout of the castle with the Ninomaru ishigaki (Second Bailey stone walls) and its long tamon yagura (covered wooden gallery similar to a hoarding for European castles) in the foreground while some of the castle towers and keep are visibly perched on top of the hill in the background. The impressive thing about this castle is the number of original and reconstructed fortifications. With the exception of the Bagu Yagura (Bagu Tower), nearly 30 structures such as towers and gatehouses around the Honmaru have been reconstructed using wood in the traditional manner. Despite not being one of Tokugawa shogunate'stenkafushin castle, Iyo-Matsuyama Castle has kokuins galore. They can be found in the Ninomaru as well as mainly on a northeastern section of the Honmaru ishigaki. On one of the corner stones, near the Inuiichinomon Gate Ruin and Inui (Northwest) Tower, there are three kokuins on a single stone, something that I rarely see. Iyo-Matsuyama Castle also claims to have the longest curtain wall in Japanese castles at 230 metres in length, running up the hill from Ninomaru to near the Otemon (Otemon Gate) Ruin. Iyo-Matsuyama Castle is one of the very few castles in Japan which has retained some of its original structures other than the castle keep and so extensively rebuilt a lot of its towers and gates using traditional building materials. Check out the castle keep from near the Nohara Yagura as the stone wall is higher on this side and looks more imposing than from near the Bagu Yagura, where most tourists take their photos. The site is well signposted with bilingual signs in English and Japanese. There are volunteer guides, and their office is next to the cable car station. Some of the towers and gatehouses such as the Inui Yagura, Nohara Yagura, and Ushitoramon are not open to the public. I wonder if there is a special day or days when they are opened to the public. This is definitely a gem of a castle to visit if you are a Japanese castle fan. For me, this great castle ranks equal second with Hikone Castle behind Himeji Castle. | |
| Kakegawa Castle | This is a great reconstructed castle to revisit. Access is quite easy. It is just a 10 minute walk from JR Kakegawa Station. From the top of the castle keep, you can clearly see where Suwahara Castle Ruin is located to the east and Takatenjin Castle Ruin to the south. There is a helpful and friendly volunteer on the top floor who is quite happy to answer visitors' questions. There isn't much to see inside the castle keep. On the ground floor, there are some banners, a bronze statue of Yamanouchi, and some armour and weapons. At night, it was nicely lit up, too. Apart from the reconstructed wooden keep, there is an original palace which was rebuilt in 1861 after an earthquake. For me, this castle site is definitely worth four stars because of the wooden castle keep, the original palace rebuilt near the end of the Edo Period, and some original relocated castle structures nearby. | |
| Kamei Castle | ||
| Kameyama Castle | ||
| Kanayama Castle | ||
| Kanazawa Castle | I went to this castle on the weekend as well as visiting three other castle sites in Fukui Prefecture. It was my third time visiting this castle. Kanazawa Castle rocks! As Rebolforces has already mentioned below, the local government is consistently working on improving this castle site. The Kahoku Gate, which was being reconstructed when I last visited in 2009, is now completed. They rebuilt it based on old photos and original plans using authentic materials including four different kinds of timber. The reconstruction finished in April 2010. Apart from adding the Kahoku Gate to the list of original and reconstructed structures, the local authorities have also restored the Imori Moat and filled it with water as it was during the Edo Period. Next to the moat, they have rebuilt one of the bases of an outlying turret. Still, these guys are not done yet. They are currently renovating the Ishikawa Gate and a section of the northern wall. Also, they are rebuilding the Ninomon of the Hashizume Gate, restoring it to its original masagata style with a first gate(rebuilt awhile back) and the second gate (under construction and to be built in a yaguramon style), and a solid killing zone from three sides in the middle. One of the staff also told me that they will be clearing some of the trees and bushes obscuring the ishigaki on the western side of honmaru. This castle site is getting better and better. I was lucky with this visit as I could go inside almost all the structures: Sanjikken Storehouse, Gojikken Storehouse, Ishikawa Gate, and Kahoku Gate. Also, the castle is signposted in both Japanese and English, and there are plenty of educational displays explaining the construction of Japanese castles using traditional methods and materials. This is a fabulous reconstructed castle to visit. This castle is definitely worth a 4 star rating. | |
| Kannonji Castle | I went to this castle ruin on the last weekend of February. It's my second visit, but this time armed with a better map found on a Japanese website, I was able to suss out most of the castle site. As mentioned above by the site administrator, it is quite a sprawling complex. However, a lot of is overgrown and hard to find. Unlike Odani Castle Ruin in northern Shiga, the baileys at Kannonji are poorly signposted. Only the Honmaru and Hiraimaru have any signs. I was able to identify the following baileys with certainty based on the map that I had: Honmaru, Itoumaru??, Hiraimaru, and Ikedamaru?. These are all located in the northern part of the castle ruin. I think I also found the Sawadamaru?, but I could not be 100% sure. The other baileys like Sangokumaru??, Shindomaru??, and Sanimaru?? in the central and southern parts of the castle ruin were really hard to identify. I did come across some other baileys, but I could not reconcile them with what I saw on my map. If you want to see ishigaki (stone walls), there are ample remains in the baileys that I found on the northern side. To get to the Itoumaru (Itou Bailey), you need to get off the regular trail and trample through the bush above the Honmaru to get there. The two times that I have been to this castle, I have gone there by bicycle from JR Azuchi Station. I brought my own foldable bike, but you can easily rent one at a shop in front of the station. I accessed this castle from the Kuwanomi Temple? trailhead. Entry into the temple is 300yen. If you go to Kuwanomi Temple, the path that leads up to it about a third of the way up the mountain can be found about 500-600m from the museum which houses the reconstructed top two floors of Azuchi Castle. This certainly beats cycling 5km+ to the trailheads on the other side of the mountain. The path from Kuwanomi Temple will eventually take you to the gate ruin that leads into the Honmaru. Just before you go into the honmaru, you will find some steps leading down the hill on your right. Go down these steps, and you will find the remains of a well and more ishigaki. I did not notice this the first time that I went to Kannonji Castle. This castle ruin is not for everyone, but if you like your castle ruins, are happy with just seeing some ishigaki, stone stairs and some earthen banks, and like going bushwalking, then this is a great place to spend three or four hours. BTW, there is a lot more ishigaki left here than at Odani Castle Ruin, but Odani is much better signposted with each major bailey clearly marked and explained. | |
| Kanou Castle | There isn't very much here to see apart from some stone walls. If you are in Gifu City and have some time to kill, this castle ruin might be worth a visit. It is only around 15 minutes on foot from JR Gifu Station. I visited Kanou Castle Ruin last month as part of a three-castles-in-one-day trip. It was the final castle after Ogaki Castle and Inuyama Castle. A one star rating is about right for this site. I reckon only ishigaki (stone wall) fans will enjoy this castle ruin. | |
| Karatsu Castle | This castle with a reconstructed five-storey keep can easily be done in a day trip from either Fukuoka City or Saga City. For a reconstructed castle keep, the builders have made an effort to disguise the concrete interior by adding wooden panels to the walls and supporting columns. The museum inside has a nice model of what the castle keep looked like. It also splits in half to show the interior. There are also a few suits of samurai armour and their weaponry in the museum. This castle site is photogenic on a sunny day as it is built on a peninsular overlooking the protected harbour. There aren't many other structures remaining apart from the castle keep, two yaguramons (turreted gate), and a few reconstructed yaguras (turrets). The reconstructed Kita Yaguramon at the north end of the Honmaru (Main Bailey) houses the souvenir shop. One of the outer turrets has been rebuilt and can be found in the city not far from the bus centre. It is the Tatsumi Yagura in the former Sanomaru (Third Bailey). Only a little corner of the Sanomaru is left. Parts of the Sanomaru ishigaki and the water moat, which separated the Sanomaru from the original castle town, can also be found in front of the Karatsu City Hall. Some of the structures of original Karatsu Castle completed were built with materials taken from the demolished Hizen Nagoya Castle. Right now, Karatsu Castle is undergoing some restoration with parts of the Honmaru walls being repaired and half of the bailey (Ninokuruwa) below the Honmaru is closed to the public. The restoration work around the castle started in 2008 and is ongoing with no date mentioned for its anticipated completion (as far as I could make out from the Japanese signs.) This is a solid three-star castle site with a great view of the ocean and surrounding coastline. | |
| Kaseyama Castle | ||
| Kawagoe Castle | This is a fine palace to visit. It is one of only four original castle palaces left at Japanese castle sites. I went there a few weeks ago when I was in Tokyo. Apart from the actual palace, there isn't a lot of Kawagoe Castle's fortifications / structures left. Only part of the Nakanomon Moat, one of the outer moats, and the site of where the Fujimi Turret used to be can be seen now. The rest of the castle site has been pretty much been built over by modern day Kawagoe. For castle fans who collect the 100 Meijo stamps, there is a display of what all the 100 stamps look like in one of the rooms in the palace. There is also a pretty good book (in Japanese only) about the castle with lots of old period maps and a map of the original castle overlaid on a map of present-day Kawagoe. | |
| Kawamura Castle | ||
| Kawashima Castle | ||
| Kinojo | This must the oldest castle site that I have visited in Japan. There isn't a lot to see here. There are some ishigaki, particularly ones with the water gates for rain run offs. As Eric has mentioned on his website, the views from this castle ruin are spectacular, and like him, I highly recommend you do walk right around the whole perimeter of this castle site. There is ongoing reconstruction work. Getting up to this castle is easy if you have a car or a motorbike. I took a train to the JR Hattori Station and then got to the castle on my folding bike. It isn't that far, but on some stretches, the gradient certainly exceeded 10%. I reckon some of them could be as much as 14%. I have done similar climbs on my crossbike touring other parts of Japan. I rate this castle a two star for its ruins / reconstructions and three stars for its magnificent views. | |
| Kishiwada Castle | ||
| Kitanosho Castle | As already commented on below by Furinkazan about the paucity of structures, ruins, and things to see, this must be one of the most disappointing and smallest castle sites that I have ever visited in Japan. Apart from the statue of Shibata Katsuie and a few stone blocks, there is nothing here almost zippo. The castle ground has been pretty consumed by modern Fukui City. Of course, at one stage, it had a 9-storey castle keep and is famous for Shibata's suicide after his forces lost the Battle of Suzugatake. Still, they could have built a small museum nearby to promote this site better. With almost nothing here, this castle ruin should be renamed Kita No Show. If Fukui Castle is a one-star site, this site must surely be a no-star site. | |
| Kiyosu Castle | This place is really trying to cash in on the current NHK Gou drama series. Where there used to be just a small dirt field at the back of the castle last autumn, a visitor can now see a Gou Drama Museum, a souvenir shop, and several food stands. This has a very distinct commercial amusement park feel to it. In addition to the stand alone castle ticket (300yen), you can now get the combo ticket for both the castle and the drama museum (700yen). Good for fans of the drama series, but I passed on the combo ticket. | |
| Kochi Castle | Kochi Castle is a fabulous castle to visit. It has plenty of stone walls, actually more than I had expected. In some ways, it is like Marugame Castle, but a lot of its ishigaki are hidden by the trees while the stone walls at Marugame can clearly be seen. As mentioned already by other JCastle users, it is the only Japanese castle which has all its buildings in the main bailey intact from the Edo Period. It is also one of four Japanese castles with an original palace from the Edo Period. Inside the castle keep is a museum which has a very detailed model of what Kochi Castle looked like during the Edo Period. Like many other castles built in the late Sengoku Period and early Edo Period, it used some recycled materials from other nearby castles in its construction. The castle keep from Urado Castle (at the site of the present day Sakamoto Ryoma Museum) was moved to the eastern side of the Third Bailey and became one of its turrets. Unfortunately, this structure along with almost all the other structures in the outer baileys has been demolished. The exception is the Otemon (Main Gate). I was in Kochi for three days, so I took the opportunity to go and visit a few Chosokabe (Chosogabe on all the English signs that I saw in Kochi) castle ruins nearby. |
