Kumamoto Castle (熊本城) 熊本城
The restoration finishes in 2052: a walkway six metres up takes you inside the building site.
Katō Kiyomasa built it between 1601 and 1607, and it is famous for its concave curved dry-stone walls, which look climbable from below and turn vertical halfway up. The 2016 earthquake devastated it: the keep became usable again in 2021, the five-storey tower of the 飯田丸 stayed standing, propped on just twelve corner stones (the ‘miracle wall’), and its base was rebuilt in 2024 with 246 load-distribution plates. The 宇土櫓, the only multi-storey tower surviving from the 1607 original, was dismantled for conservation by 2025 and will be reassembled between 2028 and 2032. The walkway was built specifically to show the building site instead of hiding it, and will stay until 2042; the building site until 2052. The earthquake of 28 July 2026 added damage to the walls and towers, and the castle reopened on 13 August after sixteen days of closure for safety checks.
Kumamoto
Sakura Machi Bus Station, Kumamoto Castle / City Hall
