HyogoFood

Tour the Great Hall's shoin-style interior spaces and learn about Sasayama Castle's history in this wood-reconstructed building

About this spot

Sasayama Castle was built in 1609 through a major shogunal construction project commissioned by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Designed by Todō Takatsugu, a master castlewright, it is an impregnable fortress and has been selected as one of Japan's 100 Celebrated Castles. The Daishoin at the castle's center was a grand shoin-style palace building that burned down in 1944 but was faithfully reconstructed in wood in 2000. The imposing upper chamber with its high-ranking formal setting and the stately tatami-floored halls convey the samurai culture of the era just as it was. Videos and exhibits inside help you learn about the formation of Sasayama Castle and the castle town. The stone walls and moats have retained much of their original appearance, and climbing the tenshu platform in the inner citadel offers a sweeping panorama of the castle town spreading across the basin and the Tamba mountain range beyond. This is the perfect opening spot for a date, where you can grasp the entire history of this charming town at once.

Tips

From JR Sasayama-guchi Station, take a Shinkiyo Green Bus for about 15 minutes and get off at "Nikai-machi," then walk about 5 minutes. By car, it's about 10 minutes from the Tannan Sasayama-guchi IC on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway; the Sanno-maru West Parking Area (paid) is convenient. A combined admission ticket for 4 facilities (600 yen for adults), which includes Anma Family Historical Museum, is a great value if you plan to visit 2 or more. Note that the museum is closed Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a holiday). The 100 Celebrated Castles stamp can be obtained at the Daishoin reception desk.