Maruoka Castle — Attraction in Sakai

I had a wonderful experience visiting Maruoka Castle, one of Japan’s oldest surviving castle keeps. The lady at the entrance of the Castle was so thoughtful and caring, she took the time to explain the deep history of the castle, its original construction techniques, and how it has endured for centuries. One fascinating fact is that Maruoka Castle was originally built in 1576 and is unique because much of its structure was assembled without using any nails or screws, relying on clever joinery instead. Even after it was badly damaged by the Fukui earthquake in 1948, it was carefully reconstructed using as many original materials as possible, preserving its authenticity.

Another charming part of the castle is the letters displayed along the stairways and walls. Many are heartfelt notes of thanks and appreciation, while others are lighthearted and funny, and they bring a smile to your face. If you can’t read Japanese, I highly recommend using a translator so you don’t miss out on the warm and sometimes silly messages that make the castle feel alive and connected to the community. This combination of living history and heartfelt contributions makes Maruoka Castle feel like much more than just an old building, it feels like a treasured piece of the people’s...

📖 This is one of the “12 remaining Tenshu” (historical castles). In there you will be able to get to know more about its unusual techniques to build it, history of how they restored the castle after earthquake, and most importantly to touch and feel the building yourself, from the base of well-fitted stones up to the wooden structures, it’s literally an art given the technology back then 400+ years ago.

🎟️ Entry ticket contains castle visit along two other indoor museums (History museum and the “Brief message from the heart museum”)

It’s definitely an underrated castle to visit in Japan, highly recommended.

🅿️ Parking: It’s easy to get a parking slot down at the entrance during weekdays, there’s 40 parking space. Further parking spaces are located at the other museum which is just 3mins walk away. (You may visit the official website to...

(visits: 1) (castles 60+) pretty decent castle. More popular than I was expecting. Lots of people there for a castle this size. Had English brochure. But no other English. Nice castle park. The castle itself is 45o yen which is a bit pricey for the amount of stuff to see, but you get a nice book mark type ticket. Pretty nice. I have been to castle ruins that were nothing but a few rocks in the woods and they charged 450 yen.

I heard this is the oldest original castle in Japan and I think that's why it's popular. But I also recently heard they found some construction here that dates much younger than originally thought, and I think this castle has lost its "oldest" it original crown.

Good view at the top, but sorry, Fukui doesn't look that awesome from here. No rivers or close up mountains like you would see from the top of...