The Taikomon (Drum gate) and Kuromon (Black gate) are the main entrances to the fortress. This line is just for tickets, thankfully, not the line all the way to the castle.
The immaculately manicured grounds lend an air of otherworldliness to the place. Facing the castle, there's not much technology to see, aiding in the illusion.
I'm told the fire extinguisher is original. (Kidding!) Actually, they take the threat of fire so seriously there's a small firetruck permanently stationed on the grounds.
Though comparatively late to adopt guns, by the late 1500s they had them. There was a demonstration with period armor and weapons in the courtyard that you'll see a bit later (from high above).
Since the stairs were slippery and steep, it was slow going and caused a bit of a traffic jam on the lower floors. Thankfully, there was plenty to look at with the displays of artifacts and weaponry.
After one more narrow staircase, we're at the top. Stairs wide enough for one, fitting two. During times of war, the floor here would be covered in tatami and used by the daimyoh as headquartters.
Every 90 minutes or so there'd be a demonstration of period weapons by men in period costumes. Even from the top floor, it was loud. Oh, and those aren't people just lining up to see the action. That's the line to get in. Don't go to Japan during Golden Week.
There's a legend that a night goddess appeared and claimed if she was given an offering on the 26th of each month, the castle would survive. This is a shrine to her.
This floor, with taller ceilings and more open space, was assumed to be appointed quite nicely (sanded pillars, etc). This room is assumed to be the Lord of the castle's space.
The floor below this had no windows, making the castle seem like it had fewer floors than it did. It was mostly used for storage.
It's hard to take a bad picture of this amazing place. This is from the grounds (called a bailey, or ward) inside the outer walls. The castle gets its white tone from the plaster used on the otherwise black tiles on the roof.
Speaking of inside the walls, this is literally inside the walls. Troops could be stationed here, in the bastion, or family members (less liked ones, presumably).
This was the start of the "Hyakken roka" or "long corridor" which it was.
The most obvious, and still most striking, difference between Japanese castles and European ones is the latter are mostly stone, while the Japanese are built of mostly wood and plaster. This is inside a defensive wall, remember. Plaster is pretty decent flame retardant, so there's that.
Sensing (incorrectly) a break in the crowds, I made my way toward the keep. The only way to approach is well covered by defensive positions. Note the holes in the walls. Those aren't for ventilation (well, not just for that).
Like most castles, there are lots of places for defenders to drop heavy things like rocks onto the heads of attackers. That's the horizontal gap on the right.
It wasn't clear if this was a temporary structure, there didn't seem to be much construction in this part of the castle. Regardless, the keep just looms over you.
After removing your shoes (of course) and making your way down a connecting hallway, this is the first area. It's essentially a wraparound corridor that doubled as the armory. Note the pegs on the walls for holding weapons. The inside of this area we'll see later.
Each dormer has one of these little nooks. I wonder if the kids who lived in the castle were as drawn to these as modern kids are. Every floor the kids touring the place would aim for these. Also notice the windows far from the floor. Since this was part of the design, there's a walkway underneath to allow access.
After the bustle of the top floor, people spread out and took their time working their way back down. The stairs aren't nearly as steep as Matsumoto (thankfully).
At the end of the tour, you end up here for a great photo op. Also check out my 360-degree video from this area (which took forever to shoot because people kept walking up to the camera to check it out).
