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100 Famous Castles RTA (033-034/100): Koriyama Castle & Hiroshima Castle

2025年7月13日 21:33

This article is part of the "100 Famous Castles RTA" series. If you have arrived at this article directly, please refer to the Index page as needed. The previous entry is here.

'25/4/29: Koriyama Castle (No. 72) - 033/100

On this day, which was the last day of the first half of the Golden Week holidays, I decided to conquer two castles in Hiroshima. The process for selecting these two castles was as follows.

I had considered Takeda Castle and Nijo Castle as targets for this holiday, but since they would likely be crowded, I wanted to save them for the non-consecutive days of the 30th, 1st, and 2nd.
Also, taking advantage of my base in the Kansai region, I wanted to attack areas west of Okayama at a realistic pace.
Combining these factors, I checked if I could book a round-trip Shinkansen to Hiroshima and a rental car, and to my surprise, everything was booked quite easily.

So, I arrived in Hiroshima before 9:00 AM. I picked up my rental car and headed north for over an hour to Akitakata City. This Koriyama Castle was the base of the Mori clan before they took hegemony over the Chugoku region. Since they couldn't afford to play a dominant game yet, it was a mountain castle built to hunker down and defend. Thinking back, I am truly glad I came during a cool season.

The Mori guys are doing great
In front of the History and Folklore Museum

From the castle ruins parking lot
I'm going to climb this now

As you can see, it is a genuine mountain castle all the way to the top. I repeat, summer is dangerous.

First, I paid my respects at the graves of Mori Takamoto, Motonari, and the rest of the family at the foot of the mountain.

Returning to the main route, I headed toward Motonari-ko's grave.

Grave site
The leaning tree was apparently depicted in paintings from the Edo period

Family grave site
From Motonari-ko's grave on slightly higher ground

After finishing my visit, it was finally time to climb the mountain castle.

There are remains of stone walls in front of the bailey below the Ni-no-maru

Before climbing up to the main bailey (Honmaru) from here, I'll go around the surrounding baileys (terraces in this case). Although it's slightly out of chronological order with the photos, it seems the layout was radial, tracing the mountain's contour lines as shown below, so I'll follow that path.

In the text above, I have reached a place called the 'Okura-yashiki' (Storehouse Residence)

Looking down at the stone wall remains at the corner of the San-no-maru

San-no-maru stone wall, from the lower side. The slope becomes gentler but continues toward the back.

Honmaru and the triangulation point (in the back)

Light mountain climbing complete. I descended, visited the History and Folklore Museum again, and got my stamp.

4/29/25: Hiroshima Castle (No. 73) - 034/100

I had a light lunch at a roadside station and headed into downtown Hiroshima. Since it was the last day of the long weekend, I was worried about becoming a parking refugee, but I managed to park relatively close by, so I was safe (though it was pricey).

I've visited Hiroshima City multiple times, but I feel like I've skipped Hiroshima Castle every time. Given the circumstances, it's a reconstructed keep built with modern construction methods, so in the past, I probably wouldn't have rated it very highly as a tourist spot. Looking at the turrets visible from the moat, I thought, 'That's actually quite beautiful,' as I headed toward the Omote-gomon Gate.

The Mori guy who wasn't quite doing it right.

In the foreground is the Hira-yagura turret and the bridge leading to the Omote-gomon Gate.

Looking back from the back of the Ninomaru. By the way, you can tour the connected turrets on the left.

To the Honmaru. This is the site of the Naka-no-gomon Gate.

There is a Gokoku Shrine at the site of the Honmaru, which is common. Still, I paid my respects.

Hiroshima Castle was the site of the Hiroshima Imperial General Headquarters during the First Sino-Japanese War. The site of the Honmaru Palace is there, and the stone monument and the paving stones of the building's outer garden remain.

A glimpse of the stone monument and the keep.

The site of the Imperial General Headquarters and the keep.

Finally, I entered the keep. Apparently, they are planning to restore this keep using wood, and it seems it will be closed after this term. In that sense, I'm glad I did this project. After all, a castle looks more complete with a keep, even if it's just the exterior.

It was tough because there were so many people taking pictures.

Model. It really was a castle that served as a political base during peacetime.

From the observation floor, you can see the Atomic Bomb Dome in the distance ahead.

And I get the stamp.

Yes! Yes, I've finally passed the one-third mark.

After this, I exited through the Ura-gomon Gate, walked counter-clockwise along the moat, and finished up.

Foundation stones of the Honmaru Palace and the castle keep

Looking at the keep across the moat from the northwest corner. This is probably the best spot to see the Hiroshima Castle keep.

I got the stamp just after 3:00 PM, and since the car was due back at 4:00 PM and I still needed to refuel, it became a bit of an RTA from here on out. Why 4:00 PM? Well, that's because...

If you come to Hiroshima, you have to eat this. And I wanted to eat it and head back without waiting in line as much as possible. So, I finished the day with a very standard Hiroshima sightseeing trip.

I will write about Takeda Castle. And probably just Takeda Castle. If I pair it with Nijo Castle, it would be a very long post. → 7/20 I managed to write it just in time!