Maruoka Castle

I'm fascinated by Japanese history and the hundreds of castles are a big part of it. Many castles have been destroyed by fire, war, or disasters and are in ruins, and quite a few have been reconstructed.  There are twelve original castles: Himeji, Matsuyama, Matsumoto, Hikone, Matsue, Hirosaki, Bitchu Matsuyama, Inuyama, Kochi, Maruoka, Uwajima, and, Marugame. I had previously visit seven of them and while on this long weekend trip to western Japan, I was able to visit Maruoka in Fukui Prefecture.

This was my first view of the castle, as I walked toward it. It is high on the hill with many steps to get to it.

To protect the old wood, you must take off your shoes to tour the castle. 

This castle town model is on the first floor of the castle and is very detailed.  I looked at it from all angles.

The old wood is really gorgeous.

Each floor had signs like this.  The signs are in Japanese, but the kanji characters had hiragana characters above, so I could understand some of it. The hiragana is probably done for the benefit of children, but it also benefits foreigners.

The steps from one level to the next were incredibly steep. The ropes were helpful.

It was a clear day when I was there so I was able to see out in all directions.

What goes up, must come down.  Going down the steps was scarier than going up.

After touring the castle itself, I was able to walk around the grounds and see the castle from the outside.

After visiting Maruoka Castle, I walked back to the train station in order to travel to the next castle.

If you are interested in Japanese Castles, you can find links to other castle visits I've made on my Japanese Castle page.