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Inuyama Castle

historyThe classic — done right

One of five castle keeps in Japan designated National Treasures, set on a wooded bluff above the Kiso River. Its top floor is ringed by a railed gallery, and the keep stayed in the hands of one family rather than a city or the state.

FromMeitetsu Nagoya Station
~25 minMeitetsu limited express, direct
Get off atInuyama-yuen Station (Meitetsu Inuyama Line)
On foot
Inuyama Castle

Directions ↗

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Inuyama Castle keep, upper floorHyppolyte de Saint-Rambert / CC BY 4.0

The riverside paththe walk in from Inuyama-yuen along the Kiso River, the keep showing above the trees
The keep from the fronttiled roofs over a white plaster body, with the watchtower stage set on top
The top-floor gallerya railed walkway running right around the outside of the highest storey
The view from the topthe Kiso River and the Nobi plain opening out beyond the tiles
The old main streetthe castle town running south from the gate, townhouses and shops along it

How to actually get there

Meitetsu Nagoya → Inuyama Station (Inuyama Line limited express, about 25 minutes).
Inuyama → Inuyama-yuen Station (Inuyama Line local, one stop east).
Inuyama-yuen Station → Inuyama Castle gate (walk about 15 minutes along the Kiso River, then up the hill).
Leave south through the old castle town and finish at Inuyama Station.

Meitetsu limited express from Nagoya, then one stop on: Meitetsu Nagoya to Inuyama takes about 25 minutes by limited express, and every train on the line calls at Inuyama. Stay on the Inuyama Line for one more stop to Inuyama-yuen, the next station east, and you come out on the Kiso River side of the castle hill.
Out through the castle town to Inuyama Station: Walk south from the castle gate down the old main street and you reach Inuyama Station, where limited expresses back toward Nagoya and Gifu call. Trains run late into the evening, but the keep shuts in the late afternoon, so the castle's hours rather than the timetable decide when the day ends.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

From the ground the keep reads as three roofs; inside it holds four floors, with two more below. The lower body is a wide, plain box, and a small watchtower stage sits on top of it — the form castle historians call borou-zukuri. It stands at the north edge of Inuyama on a bluff with the Kiso River running below, the far bank once the province of Mino. Five original keeps in Japan carry National Treasure status, and this is one of them. The castle also goes by the name Hakutei-jo, borrowed from a fortress on the Yangtze.

How to enjoy it

The keep opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:00, with the last entry at 16:30. Arriving at opening gets you up to the top gallery before the floor fills, and it leaves the castle town for the walk back rather than the walk in. Cherry blossom in spring and autumn colour are the two seasons the grounds are known for.

Background & history

The castle is traced to about 1537, when Oda Nobuyasu, an uncle of Oda Nobunaga, is said to have built it. Its position over the river made it worth taking, and Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu each held it in turn. Under the Tokugawa it passed to the Naruse family, who kept it through the Edo period and did not give it up afterwards either. Only in 2004 did the keep leave the family, transferred to a foundation set up to hold it.

Before you go

Cash: Admission to the keep is 1,000 yen for adults and 200 yen for primary and junior high school students, as posted by the castle at the time of checking. Carry cash.
Good to know: The castle is closed from 29 to 31 December and open the rest of the year. Entry stops at 16:30, so a late-afternoon arrival can miss the keep altogether. The gallery around the top storey is outdoors, and wind and rain are felt up there.
Another way: From the west exit of Inuyama Station, walk north through the old castle town and up to the gate. This is the shop-lined approach, and every limited express stops at Inuyama, so it is the simpler arrival if you would rather not change trains.
After you get off: From Inuyama-yuen Station the walk is about 15 minutes. Follow the Kiso River upstream on the town side, then turn up the hill to the castle gate. The wooded bluff carrying the keep stays on your left for most of the way.