Mihara Castle Remains

Mihara Castle Ruins are directly connected to JR Mihara Station. The area that is now JR Mihara Station used to be part of Mihara Castle’s honmaru (central compound), and the railway tracks run across the former castle site. Mihara Castle was begun in 1567 by Takakage Kobayakawa. Because the castle was built on reclaimed land connecting two islands, it once looked as if it were floating on the sea at high tide, earning the nickname "Uki-shiro" (Floating Castle). Today, only parts such as the tenshudai (main keep base) and the Funairi Yagura remain, but the tenshudai once had an area large enough to fit six Hiroshima Castle keeps. The stone walls of the tenshudai were built using a rare method called "aburi-zumi," where the outer face covers a larger area than the inside. In the moat surrounding the tenshudai, branded koi raised at Sakai Fish Farm in Mihara City swim, and it is said that among them there is a koi with a heart-shaped pattern on its back—try looking for it. You may feel like feeding the koi, but they are given dedicated feed, so please do not feed them.