Well worth the extremely reasonable admission price and even more worth it when paired with a visit to the Kawagoe City Museum across the street. I suggest visiting the museum first and then visiting the palace. There is a beautiful garden that can be viewed from the windows of the palace and makes for some gorgeous photos especially for those who are renting kimono.
My husband and I weren’t sure of what to expect when we chose to visit on a whim and were pleasantly surprised to find out that they have package pricing to visit both the castle and the two museums across the street which are a perfectly complimentary trifecta. The staff were very helpful and friendly despite us being beginners in the language. We spent around half an hour walking around the mostly empty palace and admiring the architecture which we felt was plenty of time for a thorough visit.
Please be aware that outdoor shoes are not allowed and must be removed prior to entering. We also found the COVID protocols to be satisfactory with plenty of sanitiser available, masks and temperature check required and most windows being open with resulted in ample...
Read moreThe popular tourist spot "Koedo Kawagoe" was once a prosperous castle town, and it still retains the streetscape of the Edo period. Kawagoe Castle is also highly regarded for its location as a fortress in the north of the Edo period, and the Honmaru Palace is the only building left in Kawagoe Castle. The original Kawagoe Castle was built in 1457 by the Muromachi period general Uesugi Motomori and his retainers Ota Michizane and Michikan. The only building that still exists today is the Honmaru Palace built by the then feudal lord Matsudaira Naranori in 1848 during the Edo period. It is the only remnant of Kawagoe Castle. In addition to Kochi Castle, the only remaining Honmaru Palace is the Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Palace, which is a prefectural designated tangible cultural property building. The only area open to the public now is a part of the Honmaru Palace of Kawagoe Castle during the period when Matsudaira Yamatomori was the lord of the castle, such as the entrance hall, the large hall, etc., and the relocated and restored family...
Read moreHonmaru Goten (本丸御殿) is the only surviving palace building of Kawagoe Castle which was originally built in 1457 under the direction of Ieyasu Tokugawa, Japan's Shogun at that time. Due to Kawagoe's importance as a trade city and a strategic point of defense north of the capital, throughout the Edo Period, 21 lords, all closely allied with the Tokugawa Shogunate resided at Kawagoe Castle. The palace building lies adjacent to the Kawagoe City Museum, a small but informative place to discover lots of interesting facts about 'Ko Edo' (Little Edo). Parking is available in front of the Museum (other side of the street) and you can get a stamp for free parking if you enter the museum. For less than $5 you can get a combined ticket for the museum and the palace. The warehouse district is just a 15min walk from the museum so I left the car parked visited the museum, palace, and warehouse district in about three hours - well...
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