Hikone Castle is a prized castle that was built during the Edo period, including four towers and horse houses that are designated as national treasure towers and important cultural treasures. Why not visit the famous castle, which marks the time of 400 years, while also enjoying the view of Lake Biwa.
Hikone Castle, a famous castle that Shiga is proud of. With a connection to Naomasa Ii, Hikone Castle is one of the most watched castles at the moment with the aim of registering the World Heritage in 2025. Fortunately, he never got involved in the war, so he left the quaint of the time of the Edo period and is now familiar as a symbol of peace.
Ii Naomasa's eldest son, Naotsugu, started construction at Tsukijo in Hikone Castle, and he built it over the course of about 20 years until his second son, Naotaka. By about the year 1622, the Omote palace, the gate, and the castle town were almost completed. It is said to have been built by cleverly reusing stone walls and old wood from other abandoned castles, such as Nagahama Castle, built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and is also a recycling castle that is proud of in modern times. The tower that rises above the highest place is a national treasure, the four towers and the large-scale horse houses that are extant only at Hikone Castle among the castles across the country are designated as Important Cultural Properties.
There are several entrances to enter the castle, but the route from "Sawaguchi", which is easily accessible from JR Hikone Station, is recommended. The white-walled building, which appears as the "Iroha Matsu" travels along the middle moat, is the "Sawaguchi Tamon Yagura" of Important Cultural Properties. A tower is a building to protect your castle when the enemy strikes, and to make an attack or monitor the movement of the enemy.
The L-shaped elongated building that appears in succession is the "horse house". It is said that a dozen or so horses dedicated to the lord of the lord were always on standby, and it is a large-scale structure that can accommodate 21 horses. The beautiful roof of the shingle is also not to be missed.
At the end of the crossing of the Omotemon Bridge over the Inner Moat, the space surrounded by the stone wall was once where the main gate rose, and where there was a "Masugatakoguchi", which was designed to thoroughly stop the enemy from entering the castle. In preparation for the battle you don't know when it will happen, there are measures of defense throughout the castle, and the risk hedging is perfect! To go up the stone steps from the main gate to the castle tower, but pay attention to the fact that the width is not uniform and cannot rise rhythmically. This is to disturb the enemy's steps.
At the time when the stone steps continue and are out of breath, the most important cultural property to be awaited is the "Tenbinyagura" , which is reportedly the relocation of the major gate of Nagahama Castle built by Hideyoshi.
The reason that the orientation of the roof is different between the left and right is also transmitted to the Edo shogunate, where Ieyasu is located on the east side, and to the capital of Kyo, or to Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle on the west side. In the state of emergency, the central bridge of the tower is dropped, and the mechanism of blocking the enemy's way. Also pay attention to the different way of stacking stone walls on the left and right sides of the bridge. The somewhat unbuilt stone wall on the right side was piled in the early Edo period, and the neatly stone wall was in the late Edo period, so you can see the evolution of masonry technology up close. The inside of the tower is OK to visit by all means.
It passes through the time bell, which has been informed of its fixed time since the Edo period, and the Choshoan where you can take a break with matcha and Japanese sweets, and then to the "Taikomon Yagura" to protect the last fort, the Honmaru. The fact that there was a drum for signals is the origin of the name, and it is an unusual construction that has a corridor with no wall on the back and a high column between the pillars.
When you pass the Taikomen Yagura, a national treasure and a castle tower are in front of you! There used to be the palace of the feudal lords and the "tsukimi yagura", but now only the castle tower and paving stones remain. There are about 200 castles with old and new castle towers in the whole country, but only five surviving castle towers are designated as national treasures: Himeji Castle, Matsumoto Castle, Inuyama Castle, Matsue Castle, and Hikone Castle! Three species of barge with different designs (Kiridzumahafu, Irimoyahafu, and Karahafu), as well as highly ornamental black lacquer flowerhead windows can also be seen on the second and third floors, and small but beautiful tower. It was relocated from Otsu Castle built by Hideyoshi.
The inside tour of the castle tower is OK. The stairs are so steep that they shrug off, but they take the courage to go to the top floor. The simple construction of the castle is not a place for the lord to live, but a building prepared for the war. There is a small hole for attack "Teppō-zama" that is not visible from the outside, and a "Ya-zama" for bows and arrows cut into rectangles. There is also an attack Teppō-zama among the hidden room-like small rooms "Hafunoma" that make use of the inner space of.
From the window of the castle tower, you can see the streets of Hikone, Lake Biwa, the site of Sawayama Castle by Mitsunari Ishida, and so on. With a good view, you realize that Hikone Castle is a castle (Hirayama Castle) on a hill.
After touring the castle tower, follow the road on the left to the front to the west of the castle. In the spring of cherry blossoms and autumn of autumn leaves, it is a relaxing spot where you can bring a lunch box and enjoy a picnic. From here, the tower towering above the robust stone wall is amazing! Let's look at it by all means.
Hikonyan is famous nationwide as a character from Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture.©HIKONE
There is a reason for the appearance of a cat wearing a helmet. It is derived from a beckoning cat legend that he saved the feudal lord, Naotaka Ii, who completed Hikone Castle, from a thunderstorm by beckoning in front of a temple, and is wearing a red helmet after the Akemi armor that was credited as "Ii no Akazoroe".
Hikonyan makes daily appearances in the front square of the Tenshu and at the Hikone Castle Museum. For the detailed schedule of the appearance, please check the schedule posted on the local sign in addition to the official website (https://hikonyanfan.net/). Pictured in front of the Omotemon Bridge. You can also see the Ii family version of "Tobita"-kun, which is the birthplace of Shiga Prefecture!
After Hikone Castle, let's also extend our feet to "Genkyuen(Genkyuen-Rakurakuen)", which faces the inner moat. It includes the Shimoyashiki and pond stroll style daimyō gardens, which were built half a century after the completion of the castle by Naooki Ii, who served as head of the Hikone Castle. On a sunny day without wind, you may see the “reflection tower” in which the Hikone castle tower is reflected on the water surface of the pond.
Address: Konki-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture
TEL:0749-22-2742
Price: Entrance 1000 yen (common with Hikone Castle, single ticket is 400 yen)
Opening hours: 8:30 to 17:00 (9 to 16 at Hoshodai, last admission at 16:30)
Closed: No Closed
Access: 15-minute walk from JR Hikone Station
It is about a 15-minute walk from Hikone Castle to "Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road", a tourist street that reproduces the scenery of a castle town from the Edo period. Along the streets of Castle Road, there are shops of local gourmets, including the famous Omi beef shop "Ōmi niku senseitei kyara", as well as the long-established Japanese confectionery shop "Itojū-kaho", and souvenir shops. Please stop before and after Hikone Castle sightseeing.
Address: Honmachi, Hikone City, Shiga
Open hours and regular holidays: vary by store
Access: 15-minute walk from JR Hikone Station
Hikone Castle is located in the eastern area of Lake Biwa. It is about 10 minutes from the Meishin Expressway Hikone IC if you are by car, and about 15 minutes walk from JR Hikone Station if you use public transportation. If it is from Tokyo, it is a 4-minute access from the Tokaido Shinkansen/Maibara Station on the JR Biwako Line New Rapid Service.
Address: 1-1 Konki-cho, Hikone-shi, Shiga
TEL:0749-22-2742
Price: 1000 yen for admission (common with Gengyoen)
Opening hours: 8:30 to 17:00 (last admission is 16:30)
Closed: No Closed
Access: 15-minute walk from JR Hikone Station
The commercial cultural facility "Umi no Skole" in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture is a spot you would like to visit for Nagahama sightseeing, located just off the Black Wall Square and the Nagahama Otemon-dori shopping street.
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