名古屋城 · Nagoya-jo
Nagoya Castle is mid-renovation — visit now for the stunning reconstructed palace, return in a few years for the completed wooden tower.
#44 — 100 Famous CastlesChild: ¥0
Last entry 16:00
Bus also available
Children (junior high school and under) free. Ticket covers castle grounds and the Honmaru Goten Palace. The main tower is CLOSED as of 2026 due to ongoing wooden reconstruction project. Admission fee reduced to reflect closures.
Despite the main tower being closed, Nagoya Castle offers a genuinely fascinating visit — specifically because of the Honmaru Goten Palace, which is one of the finest examples of traditional Japanese palatial architecture you can visit anywhere in the country. The gilded screens and painted walls of the palace show the opulence of the Tokugawa age in a way that no museum exhibit can match. The tower closure is a frustration, but the palace more than compensates.
Even from a distance, Nagoya Castle is instantly recognizable by the pair of golden 'shachihoko' — mythological creatures with tiger heads and fish bodies — perched on the roof of the main tower. Standing 2.6 meters tall and weighing 88 kg each, they're some of the most famous symbols in Japan. Replicas can be seen up close at the museum; the originals were destroyed in WWII.
While the main tower is closed, the Honmaru Goten Palace (completed 2018) is an extraordinary achievement: a full-scale wooden reconstruction of the lord's living quarters and reception halls, built using traditional Edo-period techniques. The gilded screens, painted ceilings, and elaborately carved transoms are meticulously crafted by traditional artisans. This is the real highlight of a visit today.
Nagoya Castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612 as the base for his ninth son Yoshinao — and as a deliberate demonstration of Tokugawa wealth and power to the remaining lords of western Japan. Its construction involved forced labor from lords across the country, with each assigned specific sections of the walls to build (their clan crests are still visible on certain stones).
Visitor Tip
IMPORTANT FOR VISITORS: As of 2026, the main tower is CLOSED to visitors while the interior is being reconstructed in wood. You can see the exterior from the grounds but cannot enter. Instead, focus your visit on the Honmaru Goten Palace, which is open and genuinely spectacular. The stone walls and outer compounds are freely explorable and historically significant.
hirajiro
Flatland castle — built on nearly flat terrain, relying on extensive moats and massive earthworks for defense
rinkaku
Enclosure style — concentric rings of moats and earthworks surrounding the main compound
Concrete reconstruction (1959) — the current main tower is a reinforced concrete replica built in 1959, replacing the original 1615 tower destroyed in WWII bombing. The city is currently demolishing the concrete interior to rebuild a fully wooden interior (project ongoing as of 2026, tower closed to visitors).
kirikomi_hagi — Fitted stone masonry — carefully shaped stones fitted tightly together, demonstrating the resources and skilled labor Tokugawa could command
Nagoya Castle's stone walls are notable for their scale and precision. Different sections were built by different feudal lords under Tokugawa's command — clan crests (kamon) marking territorial responsibility can still be found carved into certain stones.
A triple moat system (inner, middle, outer) protected the castle. The inner and part of the middle moat survive today; the outer moat has largely been absorbed into the urban landscape.
Clan-Marked Stone Walls
The forced labor of castle construction was divided among feudal lords, with each responsible for specific sections. As quality control, lords marked their assigned stone sections with their clan crests — these marks still exist today as historical documentation of who built what.
Multiple Moat Rings
The triple-moat system created successive barriers an attacking army would have to cross sequentially, each defended from walls and towers on all sides.
The Deadliest Gate in Japan
The attacking force crosses the moat and approaches the outer gate. Defenders hold fire, allowing the enemy to commit.
Historical Context — Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle's defense relied on the triple moat system and sheer scale rather than natural terrain. The flat land of the Nobi Plain offered no natural defensive advantages, but the castle's size and the width of its moats meant any attacker faced multiple water barriers in succession. The castle was never seriously attacked.
Tokugawa Ieyasu orders the construction of a new castle at Nagoya, mobilizing feudal lords from across western Japan to provide labor and materials. It's both a strategic fortress and a political statement.
The castle is completed and presented to Ieyasu's ninth son, Yoshinao, who founds the Owari Tokugawa branch — one of the 'Three Tokugawa Houses' that could produce heirs to the shogunate.
The original pair of golden shachihoko (tiger-fish roof ornaments) are replaced with new ones weighing over 200 kg combined, covered in real gold leaf — a display of the domain's enormous wealth.
The Meiji government sells off most of the castle buildings. The main tower and palace are purchased by the Army, which occupies the grounds for the next 75 years, inadvertently protecting the structures.
US bombing raids in May destroy the main tower and the Honmaru Palace in a single night. The golden shachihoko are saved beforehand and survive, but everything else is lost.
Nagoya City completes a concrete reconstruction of the main tower using donated public funds. It becomes a museum and symbol of the city's postwar recovery.
The Honmaru Goten Palace — a full wooden reconstruction of the original lord's residence — is completed after years of painstaking traditional craftsmanship, giving visitors a taste of what the original 1615 palace looked like.
As the seat of the Owari Tokugawa branch, Nagoya Castle features in numerous Japanese TV dramas covering the Edo period.
Cherry blossom season (late March to early April) transforms the grounds, with the castle tower visible behind blossoms from the second moat area. The castle is a central Nagoya attraction year-round.
2-3 hours
Spend most of your time in the Honmaru Goten Palace — remove your shoes at the entrance and walk through the tatami rooms at a slow pace to appreciate the details. Look up at the transoms and painted ceilings in each room; they change with each chamber. The stone walls along the inner moat have informative panels showing which feudal lord built each section.
Children (junior high school and under) free. Ticket covers castle grounds and the Honmaru Goten Palace. The main tower is CLOSED as of 2026 due to ongoing wooden reconstruction project. Admission fee reduced to reflect closures.
Closed December 29–January 1. Check official site for updates on tower reconstruction schedule.
Audio guide languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean
清洲城 · Kiyosu-jo
📍 Aichi — Chubu
Where Nobunaga launched his conquest of Japan and where Hideyoshi's genius at the 1582 conference made him the successor — Japan's most consequential castle for two of its greatest leaders.
犬山城 · Inuyama-jo
📍 Aichi — Chubu
The oldest surviving castle tower in Japan — compact, dramatic, and perched above a river just as it was when Oda Nobunaga's family built it in 1537.
岡崎城 · Okazaki-jo
📍 Aichi — Chubu
The birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu — Japan's great unifier — makes this modest concrete reconstruction a pilgrimage site for anyone who loves Sengoku history.
The nearest station is Shiyakusho Station (Nagoya Municipal Subway Meijo Line). It is approximately a 5-minute walk from the station. City bus routes also serve the area. The subway is most convenient. Parking: Large parking area available on site.
Adult admission is ¥500. Children: ¥0. Children (junior high school and under) free. Ticket covers castle grounds and the Honmaru Goten Palace. The main tower is CLOSED as of 2026 due to ongoing wooden reconstruction project. Admission fee reduced to reflect closures.
Despite the main tower being closed, Nagoya Castle offers a genuinely fascinating visit — specifically because of the Honmaru Goten Palace, which is one of the finest examples of traditional Japanese palatial architecture you can visit anywhere in the country. The gilded screens and painted walls of the palace show the opulence of the Tokugawa age in a way that no museum exhibit can match. The tower closure is a frustration, but the palace more than compensates.
Nagoya Castle is open 09:00 – 16:30 (last entry 16:00). Closed December 29–January 1. Check official site for updates on tower reconstruction schedule.
Plan on spending 2-3 hours at Nagoya Castle. Spend most of your time in the Honmaru Goten Palace — remove your shoes at the entrance and walk through the tatami rooms at a slow pace to appreciate the details. Look up at the transoms and painted ceilings in each room; they change with each chamber. The stone walls along the inner moat have informative panels showing which feudal lord built each section.