Early Autumn Japan Nov 2016 - Inuyama Castle 犬山城

After spending the night at Nagoya, we were up early next morning to take the train to head to Inuyama. Destination was to Inuyama Castle which is somewhere between Gifu and Aichi Prefecture. We went via Meitetsu Line which means JR Pass not usable here and stopped at Inuyamayuen. Train journey was about 40 minutes ride and cost about ¥600.

train station

getting our bearings

Luckily, there were signs to point us to the right direction. The walk to the castle was a scenic one. I think the distance was about 2km from the station to the castle.

Inuyama Castle (on the far left ontop of the hill)

feels slightly like autumn

zoom lens in play

getting nearer

after walking for 20 mins

Inuyama Castle

Clear blue skies, cool weather and nice view made the trek to the hill interesting. Soon, we reached the shrine that eventually leads up to the castle.

at the foot of the castle

pass through the tori gates

The view of the castle was certainly rewarding. Very beautiful. Inuyama Castle is one of the 12 surviving original castles in Japan that was constructed before the Edo period. The castle was built by the Oda clan. Visiting hours are from 9am to 430pm and entrance fee is ¥550.

Tenshu (main donjon)

front view

highest level

One could climb up the castle and get a bird's eye view from the balcony. But I chickened out because the high steps looked abit terrifying. If you are interested, just go to the front steps and take off your shoes and place them in plastic bag provided. Then you may proceed to climb up those scary steps.

how's the view from the top?

autumn colours

Meanwhile, I'll just explore the ground while my friend went up.

view from Inuyama Castle ground (is that Kiso river?)

Found myself a sakura tree on the castle grounds. Not bad, eh?

Sakura blooming with Inuyama Castle in background

We took a different route on our way back to the train station. Passed by many shops and some were pretty interesting. There seemed to have many flower shops in Inuyama. Mostly felt like a sleepy town.

looking back at the entrance to Inuyama Castle

flower shop

cafe

shop selling dango

soy glazed dango

Yup, bought myself a dango and it was quite nice. I think it was ¥100 for a stick. But, had some trouble looking for a rubbish bin after that. Haha!