Bitchu Takamatsu Castle Ruins

This castle site is about a 10 or 15 minute walk from the train station. It’s an interesting little park area.

J-castle’s website gives this as the history of this castle - 

The original castle was built by the Ishikawa clan, one of the highest ranking retainers of the Mimura clan in nearby Matsuyama. In 1575, the Mimura and Ishikawa were conquered by the Mori who placed Shimizu Munehara as lord of the castle. During Hideyoshi's campaigns in the area in 1582, he forced Shimizu to surrender (aka: commit seppuku) after he successfully built canals to divert the Ashimori River and flood the castle grounds trapping Muneharu in his own castle. This plan was particularly successful because the castle sits in a relatively wet lowland area and the attack took during the rainy season. The castle was put under control of the Hanabusa family, retainers of the Ukita until it was decommissioned under the one castle per country law.

As I left the castle grounds, I saw this huge torii! I decided to walk toward it instead of going directly back to the station.

I don’t know what this is about.

Okayama Castle

I visited this castle a few years ago, when it was closed for repairs. If I didn’t know it was the same castle, I never would have guessed it!

This is what J-castle writes about it - 

Ukita Naoie began construction of the castle in 1573 but it was not completed until 1597 by his son Hideie. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Kobayakawa Hideaki was given control of the castle but he died just two years later. Ikeda Terumasa's second son, Ikeda Tadatsugu (a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu), became the new lord of the castle. The Ikeda family continued to rule until the Meiji Period. This was another one of the great castles of the Edo Period but was unfortunately destroyed in the air raids of 1945.

There is no charge to walk around and see the outside of the castle.The admission fee for entry into the renovated castle is 400 yen.

The inside of the castle is new and polished, like a beautiful new museum.

The top floor has views in all directions.