Castles of Japan · Volume 03
Explore 16 selected castles in Hokuriku & Tokai. Photographs, historical timelines, architecture and official sources help you discover each site.
No. 033 — 048 · 16 castles
Browse this volume ↓
Find a castle that speaks to you
16 castles
No castles found. Try a shorter name or reset the filters.
No. 033ToyamaRuins & historic sites
Maeda Toshinaga’s retirement castle survives as Takaoka Kojo Park, with much of its moat system intact. Water boundaries and connecting earth bridges are the key to understanding it.
Explore this castle
No. 034IshikawaRuins & historic sites
The Noto Hatakeyama developed Nanao across both mountain and foothills. Terraced stone walls and ridge enclosures reveal a place of residences and government as well as warfare.
Explore this castle
No. 035IshikawaRuins & historic sites
The Maeda family’s castle combines surviving buildings with traditional timber reconstructions. Alongside white walls and lead-covered roofs, varied masonry reveals successive periods of construction.
Explore this castle
No. 036FukuiOriginal keep
A compact keep with stone roof tiles rises above the Sakai Plain. Its timber structure tells both an Edo-period story and a later story of recovery after an earthquake.
Explore this castle
No. 037FukuiRuins & historic sites
This medieval stronghold combines a valley town with a mountain fortress behind it. Mansion sites, gardens and a reconstructed street reveal the lives of townspeople as well as warriors.
Explore this castle
No. 038GifuRuins & historic sites
Layers of stone walls appear at the end of a mountain approach. The changing levels of the enclosures, rather than a keep, reveal the scale of this stronghold.
Explore this castle
No. 039GifuReconstructed buildings
Gifu Castle links a mountain stronghold with residences below, and is closely associated with Oda Nobunaga. Its 1956 reconstructed keep is closed for renovation as of September 2026.
Explore this castle
No. 040ShizuokaRuins & historic sites
This Hojo stronghold guarded the Hakone route with earthworks rather than a monumental keep. Its patterned ditches reveal careful defensive design in a castle built largely from earth.
Explore this castle
No. 041ShizuokaRuins & historic sites
Moats and stone walls in central Shizuoka recall Tokugawa Ieyasu’s years as retired shogun. Reconstructed gates and turrets introduce a much larger castle landscape.
Explore this castle
No. 042ShizuokaReconstructed buildings
Kakegawa pairs a reconstructed wooden keep with a surviving Edo-period palace. After looking at the tower, explore the rooms where the domain was governed and its lord lived.
Explore this castleNo. 043AichiOriginal keep
A surviving wooden keep stands above cliffs beside the Kiso River. The journey from the entrance inside its stone base to the upper timber floors is as revealing as the view.
Explore this castle
No. 044AichiReconstructed buildings
The Owari Tokugawa castle is known for its golden roof ornaments and reconstructed Honmaru Palace. Its keep, palace and surviving turrets represent different periods of construction and preservation.
Explore this castle
No. 045AichiReconstructed buildings
Best known as Tokugawa Ieyasu’s birthplace, Okazaki introduces the history of Mikawa. Moats and walls around the 1959 reconstructed keep reveal more of the former castle.
Explore this castle
No. 046AichiRuins & historic sites
Two converging rivers and steep cliffs formed the main defences of this compact castle. The site of the 1575 siege shows how a river could serve as a moat.
Explore this castle
No. 047MieReconstructed buildings
A white wooden keep stands above imposing walls beside the inner moat. The site combines Todo Takatora’s castle design with a keep built through local initiative in the 20th century.
Explore this castle
No. 048MieRuins & historic sites
Stone walls alone reveal the scale of this castle on a low hill. Known locally in Japanese as the Matsusaka Castle ruins, it preserves the stronghold developed by Gamo Ujisato.
Explore this castle