Visit Nara

The only castle in Nara, the grounds are free to enter and beautiful in all seasons, especially spring and autumn when the colors of nature contrast with the gray stone walls. A five minute walk from Kintetsu Koriyama Station, you pass the outer moat and enter the grounds through the restored main gate, which gives you a sense of its original grandeur. Just past the gate is a Meiji-style government office for restoration work, which has bathroom facilities and a drink machine, but nothing to see.

Paths lead through manicured topiary gardens past Yanagisawa Shrine and towards the remains of the castle keep, which was built in 1580. Restoration is ongoing, so you can’t enter the actual castle. In the Sengoku (Warring States) period (1467 - 1590), the castle was occupied by warlord Hidenaga Toyotomi who rapidly expanded the castle, ordering stones to be collected from surrounding temples; the resulting walls even incorporated stone Jizo figures, one of which, called Sakasajizo, can be seen buit upside down into the North wall.

From mid-March to early April the grounds are illuminated nightly for the cherry blossom festival and goldfish are put on display. If you continue up the road past the castle, you will reach Le Benkei, a Michelin starred French restaurant. Down the hill, you can visit the traditional streets of Koriyama town and the Goldfish Museum. A little further afield is the beautiful Zen Jikoin Temple. You can easily spend a leisurely day exploring the area.