8 New Castle Profiles by Andrew A

2020/04/25

Andrew A has submtted some fantastic profiles for castles around the greater Kansai area, including Kuroi Castle and Shingu Castle, two places I've wanted to visit for a long time.

Hyogo Castle / 兵庫城

Not much to see here but the canal is on the list of sightseeing for Kobe. Most of the castle area is under an Aeon Mall.

Kaibara Jinya / 柏原陣屋

This is a great site and town. It is the cleanest place I have seen so far in Japan. This little town is a mixture of Edo and Meiji. There are several building built in Meiji. I really recommend this site!

Kitabatakeshi Yakata / 北畠氏館

Kiriyama Castle is on top of the mountain and Kitabatakeshi Yakata (residence) is at the foot of the mountain. If you are going by train you will need all day cause only a few trains per day. There is a bus from Ise-Okitsu station but not many. It was quicker for me to walk. I go off the train at Hitsu station the station before Ise-Okitsu station and walked about 45 min. to the entrance to the hiking trail. Went through Kiriyama-jo then down the mountain to Kitabatakeshi Yakata and walked about 1 hr. to Ise-Okitsu station. It was worth the trouble. So glad I got to see it!

Kuroi Castle / 黒井城

This is a great mountain top castle. They have done a lot of clearing and you can see the layout of the castle well. There is also a great 360° scenic view of the surrounding area.

Miki Castle / 三木城

Not so much to see at the castle but there are some nice things to see around the town. There is a museum for tools near the castle. Miki is known in Japan for it's metal work for chisels, saw blades, etc. You can also still see some of Hideyoshi's positions around the castle.

Nabari Jinya / 名張陣屋

Part of the Edo Period palace remains

Shingu Castle / 新宮城

It is a little far and there is not much else around but it is worth the trip out to it. There are still a lot of stonewalls left and the site is well kept up.

Tanabe Castle (Wakayama) / 田辺城