Marugame Castle — Attraction in Marugame

The park itself is free, including the steep walkway up to the castle (somehow it makes me miss staircases). You only pay to go into the castle, which is also where all the stamps are. The castle itself is small, but the park, the surrounding walls and the gates make for a great experience. Be mindful of the closing time though, as it is fairly early.

There's a free parking lot where the museum is (but it was closed today, sadly). Although the parking lot was almost full when I arrived, there was no sign of any tour buses. So I still got an overall quiet experience, which was much appreciated.

Don't forget to visit the little gift shop at the bottom of the uphill walkway, as they have a cute little fan shop, as well as some Yadon/Slowpoke merch (mascot of the...

There are only a handful of original Japanese castles still standing and although this example is relatively small, Marugame displays traditional Japanese construction of the period. The stone mason, responsible for building the foundation walls, was very highly skilled and known for building walls so steep and smooth, they were nearly unscaleable. However, he informed the Lord that given pieces of iron, to form hand worn "claws", he could easily climb any wall. Climbing claws were fashioned and the mason easily scaled the castle walls. Fearing that this skill might leak out to his enemies, the Lord asked the mason to inspect construction at the bottom of a 65' deep well, then had stones dropped, killing the mason. Sometimes its not wise to brag about...

Sakura at Marugame Castle in Kagawa Prefecture-Japan. Different views of Marugame Castle during the Cherry Blossoms matsuri in Kagawa Prefecture-Japan. Featuring: A cherry blossom view of Mount Iino (飯野山) is seen from Marugame Castle. This mountain is also called Sanuki Fuji because it resembles Mount Fuji. And it is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, standing at 422 meters above sea level. Sanuki is an ancient name of Kagawa, so Sanuki Fuji means a mountain like Mount Fuji in Sanuki. I really enjoyed this sakura spot. The climb to the top is a bit steep but rewarding in the end. There is a nice atmosphere here,...