Hikone Castle

Hikone Castle

Hikone Castle is a hilltop castle in Konkicho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, begun in 1604 and completed over roughly the next two decades. It commands the eastern shore of Lake Biwa and served as the seat of the Ii family until the end of the Edo period.

Six Edo-period buildings survive inside the castle, and all six are designated Important Cultural Properties. Among them the keep with its attached turret and tamon turret was raised to National Treasure status in 1952. The four turrets were designated in 1951 and the stables in 1963.

What sets Hikone Castle apart is how completely the arrangement survives: a keep on the summit, and a sequence of gates and turrets staged along the only route up to it. Inside the middle moat the stone-built layout is largely intact, and the lower grounds still hold the villa and moats laid out with the castle.

How the Grounds Are Laid Out

Hikone Castle was built so that no one can walk straight to the keep. Follow the visitor route and the reasoning reveals itself one stage at a time.

Coming on foot from JR Hikone Station you arrive at the Iroha-matsu pine avenue along the middle moat. The long white wall across the water is the Ninomaru Sawaguchi Tamon Turret. Pass through the Sawaguchi enclosure, turn left, and the stables stand there. All of this is free to walk.

Cross the Omote-mon bridge and you enter the paid zone. Stone steps climb from the gate to the Kane-no-maru bailey, where a covered bridge spans a cutting to the Tenbin Yagura on the far side. Drop that bridge and the inner hill is severed from the rest, which is the pivot of the whole defence.

Beyond the Tenbin Yagura the path rises to the Taiko Gate and Adjoining Turret, the last gate before the summit. Through it lies the inner bailey and the keep. Carrying on west brings you to the Nishinomaru, with its three-storied turret at the north-west corner holding the castle's rear approach. That is the far end of the circuit.

Two ways lead back down: past the Kuromon gate, which comes out near Genkyuen Garden, or back the way you came.

Visiting Hikone Castle

The grounds open at 8:30 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Hikone Castle opens every day of the year, though parts of the site can close at short notice in bad weather or during repairs.

Admission to the castle including Genkyuen Garden is 1,000 yen for adults and 300 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Groups of 30 or more pay 800 and 240 yen. A combined ticket with the Hikone Castle Museum costs 1,500 and 550 yen, and Genkyuen alone is 400 and 150 yen. Visitors aged 65 and over who live in Hikone, and holders of a disability certificate, are admitted free.

Inside the paid zone the keep, the Tenbin Yagura, the Taiko Gate turret and the Nishinomaru three-storied turret are all open to enter. In the free zone the stables can be entered, and the Kaikoku Kinenkan exhibition hall is free. The Ninomaru Sawaguchi Tamon Turret can only be seen from outside.

To keep the castle as it was, no lifts or ramps have been installed on the hill. The climb from the ticket gate to the keep covers about 50 metres of height on slopes and stone steps. Wheelchair users can reach the moat-side areas, the Hikone Castle Museum and the Kaikoku Kinenkan, but not the summit. Pets may be walked on a lead outdoors but cannot enter any building. Open flames and drone flights are prohibited throughout.

Getting to Hikone Castle

JR Hikone Station is the nearest station, about 15 minutes on foot from the castle entrance. On the JR Tokaido Line, the Special Rapid Service takes roughly 46 minutes from Kyoto and about 80 minutes from Osaka; from Maibara it is a 5-minute ride.

By car, leave the Meishin Expressway at the Hikone interchange and follow Route 306 towards the city centre, about 10 minutes. Car parks near the castle include Ninomaru (40 spaces), Sakuraba (70 spaces) and Otemae (25 spaces), all at 1,000 yen per day and open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Coaches use the Iroha-matsu car park (20 spaces, 2,000 yen). The Kyobashiguchi car park holds 160 cars and is open around the clock.