Places in Japan: Odawara Castle

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: Odawara Castle
• Where: Odawara, Japan
• Hours: 09:00AM – 05:00PM
• Cost: Adults, ¥500; students, ¥200
• More Information: Official website

Directions

Getting to Odawara Castle is very easy with a train station located very near the castle.  For those driving a major highway leads to Odawara as well.

Parking

When I drove to the castle I did have to drive around a little bit to find an open parking space. All the parking is pay lots and is on the expensive side starting at about 1,000 yen an hour.

Narrative

One of the most easily accessible feudal castles that my family and I have checked out in the Tokyo area is Odawara Castle.  The castle is located less than 2 hours by train from central Tokyo.  My family I just made the drive over which took about an hour from where we live in western Tokyo.  After we parked we walked into the castle grounds to find the entrance.  The first place we happened to walk into was Hotoku Ninomiya Shrine.  Before walking into the shrine spring water was available for the faithful to wash their hands and face at:

This Shinto shrine was built back in 1894 and has a pool with mini koi fish in it and a cafe:

From the Shinto Shrine we continued to walk over towards the entrance to Odawara Castle.  Along the way we passed the remains of fortress walls that once surrounded the castle:

According to the nearby signboard these fortress walls collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake:

We soon came upon the entrance to Odawara Castle:

Looking at the fortress walls in person helped me appreciate how difficult it would be for an army to capture such well defended castles in Japan:

According to the marker at the site this part of the fortress walls was restored beginning in 1993:

Here is a wider angle view of the gate and the castle walls:

We stopped by a small gift shop and museum near the gate.  Inside some samurai armor was on display:

From the English reading material given to us, it said the first castle built on the site dates back to as early as the 1300’s by the the Kobayakawa clan. In 1495 the Odawara Hōjō clan consolidated their control over the Kanto Plain region to include Odawara Castle.  Five generations of the Hojo Clan would rule the region until they were defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Battle of Odawara in 1590.  Hideyoshi was able to defeat the Hojo clan without storming the highly defended castle by using a three month siege that forced the castle’s surrender.  Hideyoshii would go on to be credited with being the first person to unite all of Japan under one ruler.  Odawara Castle would next be ruled by another future ruler of Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu while the Hojo clan leaders had to commit suicide.

As we walked up to the main castle keep we noticed the Odawara Castle Ninja Centre:

I paid the admission fee for my family and we went inside.  There is a ninja house inside the building that has visitors search for secret passages that would be used by ninjas:

They also had various ninja skill challenges for kids:

My kids did have fun visiting the Ninja Centre, but for anyone else visiting without kids, they may be less impressed.  After my kids used up a good portion of their energy at the Ninja Centre we then walked up towards the main keep of Odawara Castle:

As we walked up towards the keep we noticed these two large stone blocks:

According to the nearby sign it said the stone blocks were once part of the entrance gate and was mined in a quarry in the nearby Hakone volcano:

Here is the path leading towards the castle’s keep:

Here is the entrance gate into the keep:

Once on top of the hill the main keep is quite impressive to see:

According to the marker at the site, the main keep was destroyed during the Meiji period and rebuilt in 1960.  The restoration of the keep however was not completed until 2015:

Inside the keep there is a museum of various items that would have been used in the castle that can be seen:

There is also a good model that shows what the castle complex would have looked like 400 years ago:

The best part of touring the castle’s keep is to go to the top floor and take in the views of the Odawara area. Here is the view where the slopes of the Hakone volcano can be seen descending down into the ocean:

Here is the view looking towards the Hakone volcano area where the stone for the castle’s walls was quarried at:

I could also see where Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s forces supposedly built their own fortress when they were conducting their siege of Odawara Castle:

Here is the view looking back out towards the nearby ocean:

Here is the view looking down into the main courtyard in front of the castle’s keep:

Here is the view looking into downtown Odawara:

Looking into the town I could see the train station located very near the castle:

Here is a panorama of the view looking towards the ocean:

After viewing the keep we then went and explored another museum located adjacent to the castle’s main courtyard.  This museum had many samurai swords and armor on display:

It is an extra fee to come into this museum so if you are not into samurai history it may not be worth extra fee.  However, my kids and I enjoyed looking at all the armor and weapons on display:

They also have a short samurai video experience for visitors to watch as well which my kids enjoyed:

Here is one final look at Odawara Castle before we decided to head back home:

Conclusion

For anyone living in the Tokyo area I highly recommend taking a trip out to Odawara Castle.  It is a beautiful castle that is easy to visit.  Additionally a visit to Odawara can be done in conjunction with a visit to the nearby tourist hotspot of Hakone.  For those visiting Tokyo and looking for a day trip outside of the city, Odawara Castle’s easy train access makes for a great destination.