Japanese Castles

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.

Check out these links to see posts about Japanese Castles I've visited. I've listed the name of the castle and the prefecture.  In the case of castles I visited more than once, I also listed the date of the trip. (Prefecture map at the bottom to find locations of the castles).

Amagasaki Castle, Hyogo

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Okayama

Bitchu Takamatsu Castle Ruins, Okayama

Chiba Castle, Chiba

Edo Castle, Tokyo 

Fukui Castle Ruins, Fukui 

Fukuchiyama Castle, Kyoto 

Fukuyama Castle, Hiroshima

Fukuoka Castle Ruins, Fukuoka

Funai Castle, Oita

Fushimi Castle, Kyoto

Gifu Castle, Gifu  

Hamamatsu Castle, Shizuoka 

Hiji Castle, Oita

Hikone Castle, Shiga

Himeji Castle, Hyogo (August 2018)

Himeji Castle, Hyogo (January 2022)

Hiroshima Castle, Hiroshima 

Ibaraki Castle, Osaka

Iga Ueno Castle, Mie

Ikeda Castle, Osaka

Ina Castle Ruins, Aichi

Inuyama Castle, Aichi 

Iwakuni Castle, Yamaguchi

Kai Ueno, Yamanashi

Kakegawa Castle, Shizuoka 

Kakegawako Castle Ruins, Shizuoka

Kanazawa Castle, Ishikawa 

Katsuren Castle Ruins, Okinawa 

Kawagoe Castle Ruins, Saitama

Kawashiwakubo Castle Site, Shizuoka

Kishiwada Castle, Osaka

Kiyosu Castle, Aichi

Kofu, Yamanashi 

Kokura Castle, Fukuoka

Komatsu Castle Ruins, Ishikawa 

Komoro, Nagano

Koyama Castle, Shizuoka

Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto

Marugame Castle, Kagawa 

Maruoka Castle, Fukui 

Matsue Castle, Shimane

Matsumoto, Nagano

Matsuyama Castle, Ehime  

Mie Castle Ruins, Okinawa

Mihara Castle Ruins, Hiroshima

Miyao Castle Ruins, Hiroshima

Nagahama, Shiga

Nagoya Castle, Aichi (September 2017)

Nagoya Castle, Aichi (August 2025)

Nagoya Castle Hommaru, Aichi 

Nakagusuku Castle Ruins, Okinawa

Nakatsu Castle, Oita

Nakijin Castle Ruins, Okinawa

Natsukawa Castle, Okayama

Nijo Castle, Kyoto (January 2020)

Nijo Castle, Kyoto (March 2012)

Nirayama Castle, Shizuoka

Niwase Castle, Okayama

Numazu/Sanmaibashi Castle Site, Shizuoka

Odaka, Aichi

Odawara Castle, Kanagawa 

Ogaki Castle, Gifu 

Okayama Castle, Okayama (January 2022)

Okayama Castle, Okayama (December 2025)

Okazaki Castle, Aichi

Omono Castle Ruins, Okinawa

Osaka Castle, Osaka

Sagara Castle connection, Shizuoka

Shimabara Castle, Nagasaki 

Shuri Castle was destroyed by fire in October 2019 and is being rebuilt

Shuri-jo, Naha, Okinawa (March 2015)

Shuri-jo, Naha, Okinawa (January 2015)

Shuri-jo, Naha, Okinawa (January 2013) 

Sonobe Castle, Kyoto 

Suemori, Aichi

Sumpu Castle Park, Shizuoka

Tahara Castle, Aichi

Takamatsu Castle Ruins, Kagawa (March 2016)

Takamatsu Castle Ruins, Kagawa (May 2016) 

Takasaki Castle, Gunma

Takashima, Nagano 

Tanaka Castle, Shizuoka

Tatatsuki, Osaka

Tottori Castle, Tottori

Tsurumaru Castle Ruins, Kagoshima 

Ueda, Nagano 

Urasoe Castle Ruins, Okinawa 

Usuki Castle, Oita

Utsunomiya Castle Park, Tochigi 

Wakayama Castle, Wakayama

Yamanaka Castle Ruins, Shizuoka (October 2024)

Yamanaka Castle Ruins, Shizuoka (January 2025)

Yonago Castle Ruins, Tottori

Yoshida, Aichi 

Zakimi Castle Ruins, Okinawa