Takeda Castle (ruins)

photo by Hiroaki Kaneko · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by degurin · CC BY 3.0

In season it opens at 5:00 in the morning: you climb in the dark to see it rise out of the clouds.

No buildings remain (the tenshu, the main tower, and the other structures were dismantled in the 19th century), but the stone walls and the layout of the castle are almost intact, and that is why it is called the ‘castle in the sky’. The stones are laid with the anō-zumi technique, natural stones fitted together without being cut square, typical of fortresses of the late 16th century. From September to early December, on cold mornings after a clear night, the valley below fills with fog and the castle stays above it like an island; to see it at dawn, the entrance opens as early as 5:00 in that season. No public transport serves the climb: you get there on foot in 20–40 minutes by one of the two trails.

A mountain fortress perhaps founded in 1443 and rebuilt in its present form at the end of the 16th century by the last lord of the castle, Akamatsu Hirohide. Designated a National Historic Site in 1943, with the protected area extended in 2009.

ℹ️ Viewing fee 500 yen for adults, free up to junior high school. Hours: March–May 8:00–17:00, June–early December 5:00–17:00 (sea of clouds season), early December–3 January 10:00–15:00; closed from 4 January to the end of February for winter safety. No car park at the top: you walk up from one of the car parks in the valley.

🚉 Takeda · 15 min walk

Sources: city.asago.hyogo.jp · city.asago.hyogo.jp · asago-kanko.com

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