Kamei Castle, Mihara Castle, Hiroshima Castle

Renewed Kamei Castle, Mihara Castle, Hiroshima Castle

2019/11/12

These three castle have been on JCastle for some time, but I have renewed the profiles and photos from a trip last autumn. Hiroshima Castle is great to visit any time, but it has great fall colors in November. Kamei Castle and Mihara Castle also offer more than you might expect. They have lots of stone walls and are fairly accessible to train stations on a major line. If you're in the area, stop by and check them out for yourself.

Hiroshima Castle / 広島城

The main keep is typical of early concrete reconstructions, but the reconstructions around the main gate are very nicely done in wood and much more interesting. Take your time to walk around the Obikuruwa area behind the keep. There are nice views of the moats and stone walls. Despite the fact that the main areas were crowded there was only one other person enjoying this quiet area of the castle.

Kamei Castle / 亀居城

The stone walls were much more impressive and the site was more extensive than I had expected. This is definitely a castle worth visiting. Some of the walls have obviously been rebuilt and look in a cleaner condition while some walls look more like they've been untouched giving them a more ancient castle ruins atmosphere. Some of the rebuilt wall structures however don't quite look faithful to the original to me. For example the convenient road alongside the main baileys and the stone walls along the road up. When the buildings were demolished or moved in 1611, the site was abandoned. Much of the walls fell into ruin and were buried over the years, but continuous surveys and studies have rebuilt the castle to what you see today.

Mihara Castle / 三原城

I've seen some people rate this very low because of the train station built right in the middle, but the massive stone walls and moat are quite impressive. If you visit you should also see the stone walls south of the station and the Funairi Yagura park area. There are also some other minor ruins north of the station too beyond the moat, but I did not have a time or daylight left to search them out (after Niitakayama Castle and Takayama Castle (Hiroshima) I didn't have much energy left either).

Loading map...