Hachiōji Castle

photo by Mocchy · dominio pubblico (PD-self)

photo by Mocchy · dominio pubblico (PD-self)

A castle that fell in a single day, 23 June 1590; an hour's trail up to the Honmaru.

From the car park at the foot of the mountain you climb to the Goshuden, the lord's reconstructed residence, with dry-stone walls and a bridge over a stream: about an hour there and back. From there a mountain trail with uneven steps continues up to the Honmaru, on the summit, where only earthworks remain. The castle fell in a single day, 23 June 1590, under siege by the troops of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

A mountain castle built by the Hōjō clan in the late sixteenth century for Hōjō Ujiteru, third son of the daimyō (feudal lord) Hōjō Ujiyasu. It fell on 23 June 1590 to the assault of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops: its fall persuaded Odawara, the last Hōjō stronghold, to surrender shortly afterwards, ending the clan's rule over the Kantō. The Goshuden area was restored in 1990, on the four hundredth anniversary of the fall, reusing stones and paving found in the excavations. Since 2006 the castle has been on the list of the hundred castles of Japan (日本100名城) of the Japan Castle Foundation, at number 22.

ℹ️ Free entry and free car park (50 cars plus 4 coaches, with 2 spaces for disabled visitors and one courtesy space), open 9:00–17:00; over New Year (29/12–3/1) only the toilets and the car park remain usable. A tour of the Goshuden alone takes 60–90 minutes; the climb up to the Honmaru and beyond, in hiking boots, takes 2 hr 30 min–3 hr 30 min. The free volunteer guide service is currently suspended. ⚠️ In spring 2026 the municipality reported an Asian black bear (ツキノワグマ) near the Goshuden waterfall: it recommends bells or a radio on the trail, and asks visitors to avoid visiting at night because of the disturbance to nearby residents.

Sources: city.hachioji.tokyo.jp · jokaku.jp

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