Japan's Three Great Castles: Kumamoto Castle Looks Even More Majestic and Beautiful Against the Golden Ginkgo Leaves

Text & Photos /Annie

Kumamoto Castle, along with Nagoya Castle and Himeji Castle, is counted among Japan's Three Great Castles. It is also known as the "Ginkgo Castle" because when Kato Kiyomasa built it, he had already considered the need for food supplies in case of a siege. As a result, he planted many ginkgo trees, and even the materials used for bedding inside the castle were made from dried taro stems, which could serve as emergency rations during a prolonged siege. (Source: Wikipedia)

This time I didn’t spend much time at Kumamoto Castle, and it happened to be the season when the huge ginkgo tree was in full bloom. I actually spent quite a bit of time just taking photos of that one ginkgo tree. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I came to Kumamoto Castle just to photograph that big ginkgo. The grounds of Kumamoto Castle are quite expansive, and I regret not having enough time to see more of it. I’ll just have to make another trip here next time.

The transportation method is to take the Kumamoto City Tram and get off at "Kumamoto Castle / Ohori Park / Natsume Soseki Garden." The admission fee is 500 yen.

The date of my visit was December 3, 2013. It was right during the season when the big ginkgo tree was in full bloom. Just like at Sendai Castle, Kumamoto Castle also has a samurai team dressed in Sengoku-period costumes, and they were quite handsome, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to take their photo.

Against the backdrop of golden ginkgo leaves, Kumamoto Castle appears even more majestic and beautiful.

Information sign about the big ginkgo.

With some time to spare, I went to explore the shops inside Kumamoto Castle. As expected, they were dominated by that bear character.

I was very restrained on this trip to Kyushu and didn’t buy many Kumamon souvenirs. Don’t think that just because Kumamon’s face is printed on something, I’ll willingly pull out my wallet.

The Sakura Lane near Kumamoto Castle, where shops sell many local specialties of Kumamoto.

Even in freezing cold weather, I still had to eat ice cream. The ice cream sold at Sakura Lane was super delicious—I ended up eating two cones on the spot.

Kumamoto Castle
http://www.manyou-kumamoto.jp/castle/
Admission: Adults 500 yen
Opening Hours:
March to November: 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM (last entry at 5:30 PM)
December to February: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:30 PM)

Annie @ Travel, Food & Play
Returning to the Original Intent of Traveling