Themes
Start with castles that have a keep and are walkable from a station. Easy to read, rewarding even on a short visit.
In-depth article
Hirosaki, Aomori
弘前城
An original Edo-period keep is moving on rails right now: shifted aside 11 years ago so its stone base could be rebuilt, it is on its way back in 2026.
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Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima
会津若松城
The only castle in Japan today where you can see a keep roofed in red tiles.
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Matsumoto, Nagano
松本城
A black keep built for war is joined to a red-railed moon-viewing turret built in a time of peace.
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Inuyama, Aichi
犬山城
Atop a cliff over the Kiso River stands a keep built before the Edo period, and you can walk all the way around its top-floor balcony looking down on the river and the Nobi Plain.
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Hikone, Shiga
彦根城
A castle of reuse: its National Treasure keep is said to have come from Otsu Castle, and other buildings and even wall stones from other castles.
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Himeji, Hyogo
姫路城
A 400-year-old main keep and its three smaller keeps still stand linked by covered corridors, never burned by battle or by bombing.
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Fukuyama, Hiroshima
福山城
Walk around to the north side, and the white keep turns into a wall of black iron.
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Marugame, Kagawa
丸亀城
A small original keep, about 15 m tall, is lifted high by tier upon tier of stone walls, walls that collapsed in 2018 and are still being rebuilt today.
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Matsuyama, Ehime
松山城
The keep was finished the year after Perry's Black Ships arrived, and its roof tiles bear the hollyhock crest of the Tokugawa clan.
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Uwajima, Ehime
宇和島城
Both the Edo-period keep and an Edo-period wooden model of it, built at one-tenth scale, survive.
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Kōchi, Kochi
高知城
The lord's palace is still attached to the side of the keep, and the whole Edo-period main enclosure survives intact.
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Shimabara, Nagasaki
島原城
A castle said to be far too grand for a minor lord held off the insurgents of the Shimabara Rebellion.
In-depth article
Kumamoto
熊本城
From a walkway 6 meters above the ground, you look down on stone walls toppled by an earthquake and the repairs happening right now.
