In The Land Of Ninjas: Ueno Castle In Mie - Access And Highlights

What is Ueno Castle?

Ueno Castle (otherwise known as Iga Ueno Castle) is a Japanese castle in Iga city, Mie. Please note that Ueno in Iga city is not the same as the Ueno in Tokyo. Iga city is actually a town known for ninjas in the Chubu region (while Tokyo is in the Kanto region).

Ueno Castle was built 400 years ago in 1608 by the warlord Todo Takatora who ruled the area. Todo Takatora was known to construct many castles and, aside from the Ueno Castle, he constructed magnificent structures such as Uwajima Castle and Imabari Castle in Ehime and the Sasayama Castle in Hyogo.

The highlight of the Ueno Castle is the third-floor tenshu (*1) with its beautiful white walls. The roof of the tenshu is said to look like a hoou (*2) resting its wings and the castle is referred to as the 'white hoou castle'. The original Ueno Castle constructed by Takatora was once destroyed by a storm in 1612 and the stone walls and moat are the only things that remained from the original structure today. The building standing now was reconstructed in 1935.

In this article, we have collected information about the famed castle in the Chubu region, facts and access methods to the Ueno Castle.

*1 Tenshu: The tallest part of the castle. It is also the symbol of the castle.
*2 Hoou: A mythical bird that looks like a peacock.

Basic Information About Ueno Castle

Ueno Castle is closed annually from December 29th to 31st. Otherwise, it is open all year round from 9:00-17:00. Last entry is at 16:45.

Entry fee is 500 yen for adults, 200 yen for elementary and middle school students (tax included).

Getting to Ueno Castle

In order to get to Iga Ueno Castle, you would first have to get on the bullet train to Nagoya Station from either Tokyo or Osaka. From Tokyo Station to Nagoya Station, it takes around an hour and 40 minutes and costs 10360 yen. From Shin-Osaka Station to Nagoya Station, it takes around an hour to an hour and 20 minutes and costs 5830 yen.

At Nagoya Station, you will transfer to the JR Kansai Main Line Limited Express bound for Kameyama. Get off at Kameyama Station and transfer to the JR Kansai Main Line bound for Kamo and get off at Iga Ueno Station. At Iga Ueno Station, transfer to the Iga railway Iga line bound for Ueno city where you will get off at Ueno-shi Station. It takes around two hours and a half from Nagoya Station and costs 1920 yen.

Ueno Castle is approximately a ten-minute walk from Ueno-shi Station.

For more information regarding getting to Nagoya from Tokyo, please refer to Ways To Travel From Tokyo To Nagoya! A Thorough Comparison.

Highlights of Iga Ueno Castle

Stone Walls

These imposing stone walls that stand 30 meters high are said to have been constructed over 400 years ago. This is one of the tallest stone walls in Japan, nearly matching the stone walls of Osaka Castle which come in at 32 meters high. The historical atmosphere of this spot made it a perfect location for the movie ”Kagemusha” by the director Akira Kurosawa.

Tenshu - The Castle Tower

The Tenshu has distinct white walls that glisten and a unique curved roof. It is a pleasure to look at from its outside, but the inside has a record of the history of the castle along with documents related to Takatora Todo. It is a great place to visit in order to have a better understanding of the castle.

Out of the many artifacts, the war helmet that is said to have been given to Todo Takatora by the leader of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (*3) has great historical value. Checking out the Toukannari Kabuto helmet at the tenshu is highly recommended.

*3 Toyotomi Hideyoshi: one of the top three warlords of Japan during the Sengoku period along with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was born in a poor family of farmers but was taken in by Nobunaga for his intelligence. After Nobunaga's death, he unified Japan.