The gate rebuilt in 2020 weighs 320 tonnes: the largest of its kind in Japan.
Built from 1601 onwards by Shimazu Iehisa as the residence of the Satsuma domain for 270 years, the castle (also known as Tsurumaru-jō) lost its keep and main gate in a fire in 1873. The Goroumon, about 20 metres high and wide and with a total weight of about 320 tonnes (the largest gate of its kind in existence in Japan today), was rebuilt in wood through a public-private project between September 2017 and March 2020, becoming visible again 147 years after the fire.
A castle site designated a National Historic Site (史跡) and included in 2006 among the 100 Famous Castles of Japan (日本100名城), despite having no surviving keep. The Reimeikan museum, opened in 1983 on the site of the former keep, now houses the prefecture's historical documentation centre.
ℹ️ The Goroumon forecourt and the surrounding walls/moat are a public area, accessible at all times; the Reimeikan museum has its own opening hours and ticket, to be checked on the official site.
🚉 Kinsei-chou · 6 min walk
Holidays in Japan? Plan them with us.Over 2,000 real places, a day-by-day itinerary.FreeOpen the map →Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
Nearby
Shiroyama300 mphoto by Kimon Berlin · CC BY-SA 2.0
Yamakataya Department Store500 mphoto by そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tenmonkan800 mphoto by Odyssey · CC BY-SA 2.0
Io World Kagoshima — city aquarium1000 mphoto by Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0