A castle keep perched on a hill above the Kiso River, with a presence you can feel from far away. This — Inuyama Castle — is in which my whole castle-hopping journey began. And, as always, today was the best.
My Castle Debut: A Few Things Just Lined Up
It all started with some business in Nagoya. It wasn’t going to take long, so I figured — if I’m going all the way to Nagoya, why not sightsee somewhere on the way home?
While I was vaguely mulling this over, I happened to be watching NHK’s taiga drama (a year-long historical series) “Toyotomi Brothers!”, which I look forward to every weekend. The closing segment introduces places connected to the Toyotomi brothers — and there it was, Inuyama Castle. “That’s the one!” I thought, instantly.
Since I was going anyway, I started reading up on it — the types of stone walls, the structure of the keep, the castle layout (nawabari)… the more I learned, the more fascinating it got. And above all, it just looks incredibly cool. Before I knew it, I’d decided “Castles are way too interesting!” and made my castle debut. ✌️
So, What Kind of Castle Is Inuyama?
Inuyama Castle stands on a small hill by the Kiso River. Its keep (tenshu) is a boro-style tower — picture a sturdy building with a little watchtower perched on top — and it’s said to be the oldest of its kind still standing. It’s also one of Japan’s five “National Treasure” castles (kokuho).
Here’s the really interesting part: until 2004, it was the only privately owned castle in Japan. The Naruse family, lords here since the Edo period, looked after it all that time. What must it be like to own a castle…?
The nearest stations are Inuyama-yuen or Inuyama. Early March was a little chilly, but it was beautifully sunny — just walking around felt great. And Inuyama Castle right there in view the whole time… almost too luxurious.
Looking Up at the Keep, and That Scary Balcony
Since it sits on a small hill, you climb gently — with the odd steep stretch — until the ticket office comes into view.
Pass through the gate and you’re suddenly in the honmaru (the central compound), in which the keep appears — boom! For such a compact honmaru, there’s so much to see that I could barely move forward (laugh).
Anyway, I went inside and climbed the stairs. The top floor is a calm space lined with red carpet — though the floor up there is really small. Outside, there’s a kaien (an open balcony that wraps all the way around the top), and the railing is low. On top of that, the wind was strong that day, and I found myself wanting to press my back against the wall. The view is amazing, but my feet kept inching backward (laugh). Pretty scary, honestly.
Warning: You’ll Buy Too Much Castle Merch
My best find this time was the Famous Castles bookmark (300 yen), bought at the ticket office. It lists famous castles all over Japan, and just completing it would make a worthy goal. There’s a stamp page at the back, too, and having it makes me go, “Okay, in which to next?”
By the way, I don’t stamp the bookmark directly. I stamp a separate sheet of paper and only paste in the ones that come out clean. Because — I really don’t want to mess it up (laugh).
I also completed the full set of 10 castle cards. At 100 yen each, you get to enjoy Inuyama Castle through the four seasons, and it doubles as a donation toward preserving the castle. How generous… so naturally, all ten. ✌️ I picked up the gojoin (a commemorative castle seal on washi paper) too — yay!
And these are all sold in different places, so do your homework before you go — or you’ll regret it…!
Famous Castles bookmark → ticket office
Castle cards & Japan-100-Famous-Castles stamp → management office (2nd floor of the Honmaru gate)
Gojoin → Inuyama Castle-mae Tourist Information Office (outside the entry gate — no ticket needed to get there!)
Castle merch really is scattered all over.
The Castle Town, and the View from Inuyama Bridge
After soaking up the castle, I headed down to the castle town (jokamachi). I peeked into the history museum and saw the diorama, too — very satisfying.
Everyone in town was enjoying street food and looked like they were having a blast ⭐️ But I was short on time and basically breezed through, so the street food is homework for next time.
Walking through the town with the keep behind me, the nearest station becomes Inuyama. But having come all this way, it felt like a waste not to see the castle across the Kiso River — so I walked back to Inuyama Bridge (one minute from Inuyama-yuen Station; I really should have come this way first, laugh).
On the bridge, the wind was fierce again — scarier than the keep!
And the view from the bridge: the Kiso River sparkling, and through that fresh breeze (more like a gust strong enough to blow you away), the keep standing tall and proud… So glad I went back!
Wrapping Up
And that’s how my castle hopping began, with Inuyama Castle. The more I learn, the more fascinating it is; the more I look, the cooler it gets. I hope to make my way through the 12 surviving original keeps (genson juni tenshu), little by little. For now — obviously — Inuyama is number one! Maybe I’ll start my own little castle ranking.
🗺️ See the route I walked → Inuyama Castle Route Map
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