Chihaya Castle Historical Site

The Chihaya Castle Ruins are the remains of a castle built by Kusunoki Masashige in the late Kamakura to Nanboku-chō period, and they are designated a National Historic Site. It is a historically significant castle that ultimately contributed to the fall of the Kamakura shogunate. It is also known as a “renkaku-shiki” (multi-bailey) mountain castle, said to have been extremely strong, surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs. Deep in the mountains near Mt. Kongō, the ruins are in a very inconvenient location. If traveling by public transport, you need to transfer from Kintetsu Nagano Line Tondabayashi Station to a Kongō Bus bound for “Kongōsan Ropeway,” get off at “Kongō Tozanguchi,” and then walk about 30 minutes. Bus services are not very frequent, so it’s important to check return times in advance. If driving, paid parking is available, but even then there is still a distance to the main bailey and the route involves slopes, so it is not an easy walk—some say you should be prepared for a serious hike. Within the ruins, Chihaya Shrine has a solemn atmosphere, and enshrines Masashige and his son Masatsura.