No. 3 Battery (Daiba Park) seen from the Rainbow Bridge walkway: a green island ringed by stone walls, with the buildings of Odaiba behind (June 2022).

Shinagawa Daiba (coastal batteries)

品川台場

Tokyo

Coastal battery (daiba)Next 100 Fine Castles No. 113

What makes this castle distinctive

The name Odaiba comes from these: gun platforms the shogunate built in the sea to face the Black Ships. Two of the islands still stand in Tokyo Bay.

Why?

Daiba means a gun battery, literally a "platform place" for cannons. Alarmed by Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate built them off Shinagawa to defend Edo from the sea. Because they belonged to the shogunate they were called O-daiba, with an honorific "o," and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Port and Harbor says that is how the area got its name.^[2][1]

Three things not to miss

The gun emplacements of No. 3 Battery (Daiba Park)

Where: The raised edge along the shore of Daiba Park (No. 3 Battery).
What to look at: The bases where cannons were mounted, lined up facing the sea.
Why it's interesting: A daiba was not a castle where a lord lived but a military post for firing on ships approaching from the sea. This raised gun line overlooking the water is where that purpose is easiest to feel.^[3][4][5]
Can you see it?: Visible from outsideVisible inside Daiba Park. However, the park is closed all day from September 24 to October 9, 2026, and from October 10 to December 20 it is open only during an art exhibition's hours (10:00–17:00), closed on Mondays and some other days.

Guardhouse, powder magazine and hearth sites

Where: The center of Daiba Park (No. 3 Battery).
What to look at: The foundation stones of the jinya garrison building, the stone gunpowder magazine set into the bank, and the remains of the cooking hearths.
Why it's interesting: The batteries were guarded in turn by daimyo (feudal lords) closely tied to the shogun's family. With the guardhouse, powder store and cooking area grouped in the middle of the island, you can picture samurai living out here on the water while keeping watch.^[3][1][5]
Can you see it?: Visible from outsideVisible when Daiba Park is open (note the restrictions above).

No. 6 Battery, still an island

Where: In the sea west of No. 3 Battery, visible from Daiba Park and the Rainbow Bridge walkway.
What to look at: The tree-covered island and the stone walls around it.
Why it's interesting: While No. 3 Battery is now joined to land, No. 6 still stands as an island in the sea. It has become a haven for plants and wild birds and, as a site of scientific value, is closed to the public for conservation.^[3][2][1]
Can you see it?: Partly visibleYou cannot land; it can only be viewed from outside.

At a glance for visitors

Nearest station: 15 min walk from Odaiba-kaihinkoen Station (Yurikamome)
Climb: Not confirmed
Time neededEditors' estimate: Allow about an hour to walk from the station, loop around Daiba Park and return.
Access: Partly open
Only No. 3 Battery (Daiba Park) can be entered on foot. No. 6 Battery is closed to the public for conservation and can only be viewed from outside. Because of the TOKYO ATLAS art exhibition, Daiba Park is closed all day from September 24 to October 9, 2026; from October 10 to December 20 it is open only during exhibition hours (10:00–17:00) and closed all day on Mondays (Tuesdays after a Monday holiday); and it is closed all day from December 21 to 27 for dismantling. The Continued Top 100 Castles stamp is at the Marine House (park information center, 1st floor) in neighboring Odaiba Marine Park.

Checked: 2026-10-03

View on map Open in Google Maps Tokyo Seaside parks: history of the Daiba batteries Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Port and Harbor: the roots of Odaiba

The story of this castle

Historical record

Not a castle, but a sea battery

Shinagawa Daiba is a completely different kind of place from a castle where a lord lived and governed. It is a set of gun batteries: islands built up from earth in the shallow sea off Shinagawa and lined with cannons to stop foreign ships from approaching Edo. There was no keep or palace, and it was chosen for the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles list in its own category as a daiba.^[1][2][6]

Historical record

Built in haste under Egawa Hidetatsu

When Perry arrived at Uraga in June 1853, the shogunate immediately rethought the defense of Edo Bay. Egawa Hidetatsu (also known as Tan'an), the hereditary magistrate of Nirayama in Izu and an expert in Western gunnery, surveyed the bay with others, and a plan was drawn up, drawing on Western books on fortification, for 11 batteries in the sea from Shinagawa to Fukagawa. Work began at the end of August that year and went on day and night.^[1]

Historical record

Six batteries completed

Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were finished in July 1854, and Nos. 5 and 6, along with the Gotenyama-shita battery on the shore, in December. Nos. 4 and 7 were abandoned partway, and work on No. 8 onward never began. As many as 5,000 laborers are said to have worked on the project, at a cost of 750,000 ryo. The completed batteries were guarded by daimyo close to the shogun's family until just before the shogunate fell in 1868.^[1]

Historical record

Two survived the landfill

In the Meiji era the batteries passed to the navy and then the army. As Tokyo Port expanded, Nos. 1 and 5 were buried under Shinagawa Pier and No. 2 was removed because it blocked a shipping lane. Of the unfinished No. 4, only faint traces in the land and stonework remain around today's Tennozu Isle. The two survivors, Nos. 3 and 6, were designated a National Historic Site in 1926.^[1][2]

Historical record

One a park, one a wild island

No. 3 Battery opened as a city park, Daiba Park, in 1928, and is now joined to the Odaiba shore so you can walk in. No. 6 Battery remains in the sea, protected as a natural island rich in plants and birds, and no one may land on it. In 2017 the two were chosen together as "Shinagawa Daiba" for the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles.^[1][3][2]

People of this castle

Chose the battery sites and directed construction

Egawa Hidetatsu (Tan'an)

江川英龍(坦庵)

1801–1855

Hereditary magistrate (daikan) of Nirayama in Izu, also known as Egawa Taro'zaemon and by his pen name Tan'an. He studied Western gunnery under Takashima Shuhan, and after Perry's arrival he was put in charge of choosing the sites for the Shinagawa batteries and casting cannons, personally directing the work until six batteries were completed.

Senior councilor leading the shogunate when the batteries were built

Abe Masahiro

阿部正弘

1819–1857

Lord of Fukuyama who became a senior councilor (roju) of the shogunate at 25 and its chief councilor soon after. He led the shogunate's response from Commodore Perry's arrival in 1853 to the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa that opened Japan to the United States.

Built

Tokugawa Ieyoshi

徳川家慶

1793–1853

Built

Tokugawa Iesada

家定

1824–1858

Timeline

1853
Perry arrives at Uraga in June; construction of the batteries begins in August^[1]
1854
Nos. 1–3 completed in July; Nos. 5, 6 and the Gotenyama-shita battery in December^[1]
1873
The batteries pass to the Navy Ministry (to the Army Ministry in 1875)^[1]
1926
Nos. 3 and 6 are designated a National Historic Site^[1]
1928
No. 3 Battery opens as Daiba Park^[1]
2017
Chosen as No. 124 of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles^[4][6]

Buildings and remains

The keep today

No keep was built

A coastal battery that never had a keep (listed as none by the Japan Castle Foundation).

The site today

No. 3 Battery is open as Daiba Park, connected to land, with gun emplacement, guardhouse, powder magazine and hearth sites. No. 6 Battery remains an island in the sea, conserved and off-limits. The other batteries were lost to landfill or removal.

Main buildings

Site onlyNational Historic Site

No. 3 Battery (Daiba Park)

An island ringed by stone walls and banks, with gun, guardhouse, magazine and hearth sites. Now joined to land.^[1][3][5]

Site onlyNational Historic Site

No. 6 Battery

Remains an island in the sea; closed to the public for conservation.^[1][3]

Lost

Nos. 1, 2 and 5 and the Gotenyama-shita battery

Nos. 1 and 5 lie buried under Shinagawa Pier; No. 2 was removed for a shipping lane.^[2]

Key facts

Type: Coastal battery (daiba)gun batteries built in the 1850s–60s to defend the coast
Period: Early modern (1570s–1871)Editorial article
Keep (tenshu): No keep was builtthe castle never had a keepEditorial article
Built by: Tokugawa Ieyoshi, Tokugawa IesadaJapan Castle Foundation
Built: 1854Japan Castle Foundation
Remains to see: Stone walls, Earthen rampartsEditorial article
Designation: National Historic Site (Shinagawa Daiba: Nos. 3 and 6) (1926)Editorial article
Selection: Next 100 Fine Castles No. 113Japan Castle Foundation

Visiting

Access

Partly open

Only No. 3 Battery (Daiba Park) can be entered on foot. No. 6 Battery is closed to the public for conservation and can only be viewed from outside. Because of the TOKYO ATLAS art exhibition, Daiba Park is closed all day from September 24 to October 9, 2026; from October 10 to December 20 it is open only during exhibition hours (10:00–17:00) and closed all day on Mondays (Tuesdays after a Monday holiday); and it is closed all day from December 21 to 27 for dismantling. The Continued Top 100 Castles stamp is at the Marine House (park information center, 1st floor) in neighboring Odaiba Marine Park.

Address

1-10-1 Daiba, Minato, Tokyo (Daiba Park)^[3]

Checked: 2026-10-03

Nearest stations and how to get there

Odaiba-kaihinkoen Station (Yurikamome)Yurikamome Line

about 15 min walk · Not confirmed

According to the park managers, Daiba Park is about 15 minutes on foot from the station, heading east along the waterfront of Odaiba Marine Park.^[7]

Checked: 2026-10-03

By car / parking

Not confirmed (see the park's access page for Odaiba Marine Park parking)^[7]

Checked: 2026-10-03

Grounds opening hours

Normal hours not confirmed. Restrictions apply from September 24 to December 27, 2026, as described above.^[5]Checked: 2026-10-03

Time neededEditors' estimate

Allow about an hour to walk from the station, loop around Daiba Park and return.

Steps, slopes and footing

No. 3 Battery has a raised edge along the shore, where the gun emplacements are; the guardhouse, magazine and hearth sites are in the middle of the park.^[3]

Wheelchairs and strollers

The park managers publish a barrier-free map (PDF) for Daiba Park; its contents are not confirmed.^[3]Checked: 2026-10-03

Toilets and rest

Not confirmed

English signs / audio guide

The park's official site has an English version, and Daiba Park has introduced "QR Translator" codes that show the history in multiple languages.^[3]

Seasons

Not confirmed

Photography

Filming and photo shoots are handled by the park management office (9:00–15:00). Rules for personal photos are not confirmed.^[3]

Works, closures and restrictions

Because of the TOKYO ATLAS art exhibition, Daiba Park is closed all day from September 24 to October 9 and from December 21 to 27, 2026. From October 10 to December 20 it is open 10:00–17:00 only, and closed on October 13, 19 and 26, November 2, 9, 16, 24 and 30, and December 7 and 14. Parts of the park are also restricted for surveys.^[5][3]Checked: 2026-10-03

Around the castle

Garden

Odaiba Marine Park

A seaside park that wraps around the inlet together with Daiba Park. The Shinagawa Daiba stamp for the Continued Top 100 Castles is on the 1st floor of the Marine House (April–September 9:00–19:00, October–March 9:00–18:00, December 29 – January 3 9:00–16:00).^[4][3]

Checked: 2026-10-03

Editors' guide

An editorial guide based on sources and confirmed information — not a first-hand visit report.

Who will enjoy it

For anyone interested in the end of the shogunate and the Black Ships, those curious where the name Odaiba comes from, and visitors who want a bit of history on a Tokyo sightseeing trip. Don't expect a castle with a keep; enjoy it as a coastal battery.

What makes it interesting

On No. 3 Battery, compare the gun sites on the raised seaward edge with the guardhouse and powder magazine in the middle. Then look out at No. 6 Battery in the water and imagine a row of such islands across the bay.

Before you go

In autumn 2026 Daiba Park is often closed because of an art exhibition (closed all day September 24 – October 9). Check the official park notices before you go. You cannot land on No. 6 Battery.

Ways to enjoy it

Looking down from the Rainbow Bridge walkway shows the shapes of Nos. 3 and 6 clearly. Inside Daiba Park you can read the history through the QR Translator codes as you walk.

Photos

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Open questions

Shinagawa Daiba is a late-Edo coastal battery, not a castle; the Japan Castle Foundation's list gives its type simply as "daiba." The terrain field is therefore left as unknown.
Eleven batteries were planned and six were completed: five in the sea plus the Gotenyama-shita battery on the shore. The Bureau of Port and Harbor says five were completed in the sea, so counts depend on how they are tallied.
The figures of 5,000 workers and 750,000 ryo come from a Shinagawa Historical Museum fact sheet quoted by the park managers; estimates of the modern equivalent vary.
Daiba Park's normal hours, toilets, parking, seasonal highlights and the details of Abe Masahiro's role could not be confirmed.