Echizen Ono Castle

Echizen Ono Castle becomes the "Castle in the Sky, Echizen Ono Castle" when it is shrouded in morning mist. If you want to see the Castle in the Sky, you need to climb on foot from nearby Inuyama, rather than from Echizen Ono Castle built on Kameyama. The Echizen Ono Castle shrouded in morning mist is truly a breathtaking sight that you must see at least once in your lifetime. However, it can only be seen under certain conditions, so it's best not to have too high expectations. It is said that around November is the time when the Castle in the Sky is most likely to appear.

Echizen Ono Castle is famous as a castle in the sky, but there are many other points of interest as well. Among them, we would like to draw particular attention to the stone walls! The stone walls, which were built using the technique of "nomenami-zumi," are similar to those of Maruoka Castle, which is the only remaining castle tower in Fukui Prefecture. They were quickly stacked with natural stones, giving them a rough appearance, but they have excellent drainage and are very sturdy.

The castle tower of Echizen Ono Castle was rebuilt in 1968. Inside the tower, there are many valuable exhibits related to the castle and its former lords, including their personal belongings. Echizen Ono Castle was built by Kanamori Nagachika, who was a key figure in the Oda clan, and had 19 lords until the castle was transferred to the Meiji government. Among them, Doi Toshitada, who is known as a great lord of the late Edo period, is famous for opening the "Onoya" store, which was directly managed by the clan. There are also many exhibits related to Doi Toshitada.

Echizen Ono Castle was built on the summit of a small mountain called Kameyama, which is about 250 meters above sea level. There are four different starting points to reach the summit, each with its own unique features. The most recommended starting point is the southern one, which has a gate resembling the castle gate and a winding path reminiscent of a secret passage. The northern starting point has 33 stone Buddhas from the Saigoku Pilgrimage, while the starting point from Ninomaru is called "Hyakkenzaka" and the western starting point has stone steps. Choose your starting point carefully and enjoy the climb to the top.

The first lord of the castle, Kanamori Nagachika, conducted beautiful urban planning based on the capital city of Kyoto. On the east side of Ono Castle, he created a temple town where nine different sects of temples still stand today. This is very rare nationwide and has become one of the unique features of Ono Castle's castle town. In addition, there are popular tourist spots in Ono Castle's castle town, such as the Nana-ma Asaichi market and "Goseimizu," which was selected as one of the 100 best springs in Japan.