Takeda Castle Ruins

Travel Reports by jioruji

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November 23, 2016 - Takeda Castle Ruins

The Takeda Castle Ruins are some beautifully preserved remains of the Izushi Castle - as it was originally named - on top of a 353meters high mountain. In the days that the keep was still standing it must have been impressive. Now the ruins are mainly known for the appearance that they only take a few times a year: as a castle floating on the clouds.

It was cold. Very cold and quite dark. Darker than you are used to in this country where screaming neon signs are never far away.
We were on our way to the �gCastle in the Sky�h, as the Japanese tend to name it after Mr. Miyazaki�fs movie (while he in turn might have based his design on the castle remains).
The Takeda Castle Ruins are not that hard to reach. However, people do say that the image of the castle floating in the air can only be seen in the early morning. And that makes it hard to reach at the correct timing.
So we took a nightly bus tour from Osaka that was set to arrive before early morning, in the dead of night.
While the idea behind such a bus tour is great, the timing was somewhat off. We arrived way too early. The positive thing is that we arrived when the ruins were still illuminated. Lights go out at around 5:30AM to prepare for a beautiful sunrise. At least that�fs the intention. In reality we walked the ruins once while illuminated, and when the lights were turned off there was nothing but darkness. And rain. Cold rain. So due to this rain it was also impossible to enjoy any sunrise, nor the shrouding in clouds. Mind you, the mist created almost the same gloomy atmosphere. But here�fs the other pickle: you�fre standing ON the ruins, not at a panorama platform to admire them�c

Ideally the valley should be filled with clouds.

Let me be honest, even in this horribly cold and wet weather, the ruins were beautiful and had something mesmerizing and mysterious. There were already quite some tourists present before darkness turned to light, but the ruins are spacious enough so it didn�ft become a bother. In this sense I can definitely recommend taking a detour to this place. I know I will definitely go back to admire them from a panorama view and maybe to hike a bit in the surroundings. But unfortunately this trip at this particular moment will be mainly remembered as being cold. So very, very cold.

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List of Posts:
2017/03/11 - Reversible Destiny at Yoro & Ogaki
2017/01/28 - Miyama - Kabuki-no-Sato -
2016/11/26 - Yatsubuchi-no-Taki
2016/11/23 - Takeda Castle Ruins
2016/11/19 - Menfudo Limestone Cave
2016/07/31 - Wagashi in Kyoto
2016/07/23 - Norikura Heights
2016/07/01 - Hakodate
2016/06/30 - Onuma Park
2016/06/29 - Exploring part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park
2016/06/28 - To central Hokkaido
2016/06/27 - Historic Village of Hokkaido
2016/02/03 - Himeji: the real castle and the fake one
2015/09/25 - Izu Peninsula: Atami, Shimoda & Cape Irozaki
2015/07/23 - Sendai
2015/07/22 - Mount Zao
2015/07/21 - Matsushima
2015/05/30 - Climbing Mount Iwawaki
2015/03/22 - Beppu
2015/03/21 - Kunisaki Peninsula
2015/03/20 - Takachiho
2015/03/19 - Kumamoto
2015/01/12 - Satsukiyama - Minoh hike
2014/11/01 - Aizu-Wakamatsu
2014/10/31 - Sadogashima
2014/10/30 - Kurobe Gorge
2014/01/25 - Fushimi Inari hike
2014/01/04 - Hidden Nachi Falls