Visitors to Japan will likely be familiar with the scene of a white Japanese castle, rising above some sort of trees. While this is almost a common occurrence due to the feudal nature of the country, Japanese castles are still extremely popular places to visit even for Japanese tourists.

Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, is home to Tsuruga Castle which is dearly loved by both tourists in the region and city residents; 3 years ago the city managed 1.5 million visitors to the site alone! Read on to find out why this castle is so famous.

１．The beauty of the castle

Tsuruga Castle stands at roughly 36.5m tall which, while being fairly average, still gives the impression of might. The castle is unique because it’s the only one in Japan (still standing) that has a red colored roof contrasting deeply with the bright white walls.

２．Castle Grounds

The castle is quite famous as well for its traditional Japanese garden that is on the castle grounds. The castle itself is also surrounded by a moat. One of the prides of this castle is that it still invokes the image of traditional, artisanal Japan that visitors can still see today.

３．The history of the “Rinkaku”:

The Japanese tea ceremony is one of the most famous aspects of Japanese culture. However, Tsuruga Castle actually has a history regarding this. In order to protect his child, the creator of the tea ceremony (Senno Rikyu) sent his child to Tsuruga Castle to study the tea ceremony and teach it to others.

Conclusion

Tsuruga Castle is the most prettiest during the months of May when the grass and trees are fully green. However many people choose to visit during the cherry blossom season to see the over 1000 cherry blossom trees in bloom.

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