Ogaki Castle

md a 9 months ago

An interesting and lesser known stop for fans of Japanese history and war. Some English is available here, but it is primarily Japanese as you should expect. An English pamphlet is available with your very reasonable admission ticket. The castle seems small at first, but you will learn it was much bigger and more significant in its time.

アオキサマー 11 months ago

This is a really nice little castle with a lot of history! While not the original structure, the current one was meticulously rebuilt after being destroyed in World War II. It's amazing to see the comparison photos. They worked so hard to get all the details correct! There are a few English explanations outside, but if you can't read Japanese, I don't think there were any English desprictions inside. It's only ¥200 to enter though, so I think it's still worth it for you! The cherry blossoms and light-up are gorgeous here, and there are many picnic spots in the surrounding park. There are often food stalls nearby as well.

Amy Mander 5 years ago

Out of all the Castle's I visited in Japan, Ōgaki Castle was my favourite one. In the 16th century, Ogaki Castle (Ogaki-jo) was an already known existing fortress, yet truly became a dominant and strategic castle when it was built more upon in 1585 at the command of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan at that time. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, recognised the importance of the site and had the donjon built. In 1936, the castle's structure was made of a four-tiered, four-storied donjon with many turrets and castle gates, however the structure was later destroyed by fire in the air raids of 1945 during WWII. The castle was then rebuilt to how it stands today in 1959. Today the castle is just as beautiful with lush garden grounds to walk around and during Cherry Blossom season the trees around the statue dominate the castle providing a truly fascinating view. Inside the castle hosts a museum on the first to third floors, which exhibits the history of the castle and it's people, as well as a the fourth floor being an observation level. A quiet and scenic route around the castle grounds provide plenty of photo opportunities and allows you to take a moment to step back in time and imagine the people who walked before you in this castle. Throughout the grounds there are key landmarks with the history of the battles fought yet they are in Japanese so I would recommend visiting the gift shop as you enter for a leaflet that is available in English. The entry fee is 100 yen and the castle is closed on Tuesdays.

Scott Combs 5 years ago

It was a nice simple castle in the area. It was near the shopping district and the station. I liked how I could see this castle before returning to Nagoya. The people were all nice and is was a nice time.

Dorothea Belanová 5 years ago

Very nice castle surrounded by a quiet park and with a nice view from top floor. There is a small exhibition of weapons, some of them are available to try, e.g. bow.