Spot report – Tsuruga-jo Castle (2018-02-20)

As told in the previous blog dated on 2018-02-13, the second day of the train journey to snow country was suspended due to heavy snowfall.

 

Then, Webmaster decided to visit Tsuruga-jo Castle in Aizu-wakamatsu City before returning to home although the weather was not so pleasant.

 

A photo of the castle in non-snowing time

(Wikipedia)

 

Access to the castle from Tokyo: Tokyo (shinkansen 1:40) Koriyama (local train 1:20) Aizu-wakamatsu (bus 0:20) Tsurugajo-iriguchi (walk 0:05) @

 

A circulating bus service is available for visiting the tourist spots in Aizu-wakamatsu City. Akabe Bus goes clockwise and Haikara-san Bus goes anticlockwise on the same route almost every 30 minutes connecting main tourist spots in the city.

  

 

Walking for 5 minutes from the bus stop Tsurugajo-iriguchi, the donjon came into my view.

   

 

This day, the precincts were the world of monochrome.

 

 

Before reaching the donjon, Webmaster came across Tsuruga-jo Inari shrine. The red tori gate was very conspicuous in the monochrome world.

   

 

The ticket office to the donjon

 

The castle was once abandoned and the donjon was demolished in the late 19th Century. The present donjon was rebuilt in 1965.

 

The inside is a museum showing the history of Aizu region and the castle.

   

 

From the top floor of the donjon, Aizu-wakamatsu City and surrounding mountains could be seen, although the visibility was rather low.

 

 

The shrine could be looked down, too.

 

 

Many cherry trees planted in the precincts were standing the cold weather and waiting for spring.

   

 

End.