Fantastic recreation of a 14th century castle. The grounds are sort of maintained. The main yard where visitors & schools mainly go is well looked after, but the perimeter walls and parapets, not so much. Heaps of school groups on the day we visited. Five levels, no photographs permitted on level 1. Limited english translations on information cards, so google translate, a guide or do some research before you come. The history is primarily of the local area, from the appointment of the first ruling family all the way through to the Boshin war. After the souvenir store, don't exit, walk to the end of the corridor, take off your shoes and there is another segment, which in part talks about the reconstruction of the castle. No lift between floors, if you can't climb stairs then you can't visit the tower. But plenty of elderly were there, slowly making their way up. The views from the top are fantastic. Souvenir shops at the end has an extensive range of gifts, from ninja swords to handmade items from local craftsmen. Highly recommend a visit if your nearby. A good way to spend a...
Read moreVery beautiful castle for an Autumn visit. I also believe in Spring it is surrounded by cherry blossoms. Included in the ticket price for the castle is entry to the tea ceremony garden, where for an extra 800 yen you can actually have some tea and dessert. What really disappointed me about this castle was the lack of translation available. That sounds so pretentious going to a foreign country and expecting English everywhere, but the Japanese government wants to encourage tourism outside of the major cities. Through the castle grounds most signs had English, Chinese and Korean (as well as Japanese of course). But inside the castle was only Japanese. I love history, and the history of this castle is very interesting, but trying to Google translate every single thing is annoying. Even if I could purchase an audio guide I would be happy. At the end of the day I would definitely still go. I also timed it badly as I thought I could go to the museum next to it for a bit more info of the area, but I didn’t realize it...
Read moreFor whoever love historical place and enjoy a historical travelling, it is a must visit place in Aizuwakamatsu. This place is full of history and you will learn more about the history of Aizuwakamatsu in this castle. You only need to pay ¥ 410 to enter the castle, or ¥500 for a package to enter the castle plus enjoying green tea in a green tea house. However, you can not take pictures or videos inside the castle. You can go up in the third floor and you can take pictures in the balcony. From the third or the top floor, you will be able to see Aizuwakamatsu city from above. There are telescopes in the balcony, and you need to insert ¥100 coin to use it and look at the enture city through the telescope. It was amazing!! Also, this place is not too crowded so you can still...
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