Maruoka Castle

photo by Tomio344456 · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by アラツク · CC BY-SA 4.0

Collapsed in the 1948 earthquake, rebuilt in 1955: now it is closing again until 2027.

You look up at a roof covered with slabs of local stone instead of ceramic tiles, the only case among Japan's surviving castles. The tenshu, with two storeys and three levels in the style of an independent watchtower, collapsed entirely in the 1948 Fukui earthquake and was rebuilt in 1955 reusing 80% of the original materials: stones and beams were marked and put back in their place rather than replaced.

Built in 1576 by Shibata Katsutoyo, it is one of the twelve Japanese castles that preserve a tenshu dating from before the Edo period (現存12天守), and the only one in the Hokuriku region. Official research in 2019 revealed that the current tower does not date from the sixteenth century, as was believed, but was rebuilt during the Kan'ei era (1624–1644): the legend of its antiquity has fallen, the substance has not – it remains an Important Cultural Property and is one of the 100 famous castles of Japan. Since 1990 it has also been one of the hundred places selected for cherry blossom viewing.

ℹ️ Standard hours 8:30–17:00 (tickets on sale until 16:30), open all year with no closing days; adult ticket 450 yen, including admission to the letters museum. ⚠️ Status checked on 05/09/2026: the tenshu is undergoing a major seismic restoration scheduled from December 2025 to November 2027, with an area of the site closed off from 11 May to 31 July 2026 and a limited partial opening of the tower announced for September–October 2026; if you visit during the rest of the period, you will find the surrounding complex open but not necessarily the inside of the tower. Reachable by Keifuku bus line 31 from Fukui Station or from Awara Onsen Station.

🚉 霞町 · 2 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · maruoka-castle.jp · fuku-e.com

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