Japan's Most Impressive Castles

Above, now dry, one of the former moat of Osaka Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A trip to Japan isn't really complete without visiting at least one castle.

I've been to three of them: Osaka Castle, Nijo Castle (Kyoto) and the ruins of Sendai Castle.

Japan Cheapo has an article on the ten most impressive castles to visit in Japan.

They begin with:

When you think “castle”, the image of Rapunzel-esque European castles might come to mind—with imposing stone ramparts and tall towers at each corner. Japanese castles, on the other hand, stem from a completely different tradition. While they are surrounded by moats and tall stone walls, the main structures have always been constructed from wood. As a result, few structures have survived the great fires that swept cities during the times of the shoguns, the anti-feudal destruction of the late 19th century Meiji period, and the incendiary bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.  

 What makes a good castle? 

A small number of Japanese castles have survived the fires and turmoil and are more or less as they were during the castle building boom of the 16th and 17th centuries. However, most castles you see today are post–World War II reconstructions. Some were thrown up using steel reinforced concrete, while some of the reconstructions, from the 1980s, have been done using traditional construction techniques, faithful to those used in the 1600s. However, you can’t just dismiss the concrete reconstructions completely. Many are important historical reminders and have become icons of the cities in which they are located.

To read more, go here.