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Fukui 🏯 Castle 📷 10

Maruoka Castle

丸岡城

A samurai-era stronghold with stone walls, moats and a view from the keep.

See the photos How to get there Open in Maps
Best season Late March–April (cherry blossom) and November (autumn colour)
Time needed 1–2 hours
Admission Grounds free; keep roughly ¥300–1,000 (≈ $2–6)
Opening hours Typically 9:00–17:00 (extended in summer)

What this place is

Maruoka Castle (丸岡城, Maruoka-jō) is a hirayama-style Japanese castle located in the Maruoka neighbourhood of the city of Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It also called Kasumi-ga-jō (霞ヶ城, Mist Castle) due to the legend that whenever an enemy approaches the castle, a thick mist appears and hides it. Built at the end of the Sengoku period, the castle was occupied by a succession of daimyō of Maruoka Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The site is now a public park noted for its sakura. The castle's relatively small tenshu (castle keep) claims to be the oldest in the country, a claim which is challenged by both Inuyama Castle and Matsumoto Castle.

Maruoka Castle (丸岡城) is one of the standout places to visit in Fukui. Give yourself unhurried time for photos, seasonal views, and nearby food stops. IC cards such as Suica, Pasmo, or ICOCA cover most trains and city buses.

Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Why it is worth the trip

  • Massive dry-stone walls and moats built without mortar — the engineering is as impressive as the tower above it.
  • A main keep (tenshu) you can climb, with each floor showing armour, weapons and castle-town models.
  • Grounds that double as the town's best park: cherry blossoms in spring, maples in autumn, illumination at night.

What you can do here

  • Climb to the top floor for a 360° view over the castle town and surrounding mountains.
  • Walk the full circuit of the moat and outer baileys — the gates and turrets are free to see from outside.
  • Rent a kimono or samurai costume nearby for photos in front of the keep.
  • Time your visit with a seasonal festival or evening light-up, when the walls are lit from below.

Photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons — click any image for the photographer and licence.

Getting there by public transport

  1. Bus from Fukui/Awara toward Maruoka.
  2. Nearest station/stop: Awara-onsen / bus.

Route on Google Maps

Good to know before you go

  • Keep interiors have steep wooden stairs and a shoes-off rule — wear socks and easy-to-remove shoes.
  • Last admission is usually 30 minutes before closing; arrive early on weekends.
  • The park around the castle is normally free even when the keep charges admission.

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