Castle in the Sky and Kinosaki Onsen

Being a fan of Studio Ghibli, I have wanted to visit the Takeda Castle Ruins since I learned of it when I first came to Japan. It is said to be a Castle in the Sky like the Ghibli movie called Laputa and is also sometimes called the Machu Picchu of Japan. I have not yet been to Machu Picchu in Peru but the version in Japan is definitely much smaller in area and the hike is easier.

Lone bench at the Takeda Castle Ruins

After some research online, it was recommended that we go between sunrise to 8am. After 8am, the fog will have mostly dissipated and the castle among the clouds effect will be gone. On a Sunday morning, we set off at 5am and drove for about 1.5 hours to Asago (??). You can also take the train to JR Takeda Station (???). You can visit Asago's website here for more information on the castle's history and how to get there.

We followed the Google Maps route and it led us to a parking lot where traffic controllers told us that the lot was closed until 8am and directed us to another parking lot. At the next parking lot there was a sign with a map and we followed it to walk to the base of the mountain where Hyomaijinja is (????). We chose the sign that said 30-40 minute Mountain Trail (actually it had a typo and was spelled Mauntain Trail) that was visible on the left after you ascend the flight of stone stairs up to the shrine. If you do not want to hike, you can take a Zentan bus up for 500 yen. Check the schedule here.

The hike was steeper than I thought and although it was a cool morning, we were all sweating by the time we reached the top after many flights of stairs on the trail. Admission to the castle ruins cost 500 yen. We reached the top around 7:30am and the view was definitely worth the steep hike. The dense fog hung over the castle ruins allowing parts of the lush green rice fields at the bottom to peep through. 7:30am in the morning may seem early but if you were going to make your way out there, you should try your best to come before the fog goes away.

The castle in the sky photos used to promote the Takeda Castle Ruins were probably taken from a helicopter or on a mountain on the opposite side because this trail leads you to the castle ruins itself so you cannot see it in its entirety enveloped by clouds. However, it was still very pretty and serene. Despite the word "ruins" in the name, the place was tidy and well kept with rope to prevent tourists from stepping out of bounds into dangerous zones. There were no visible remnants of the castle left except some stone bases. The hike down the mountain was much, much easier and quite enjoyable.

Kinosaki Onsen area

After a day of early morning hiking, we drove for another hour to Kinosaki Onsen (????), a quaint onsen town with seven different onsens. Honestly, we chose one at random and tried out Ichino-yu (600 yen per person). The water was very hot and there was a semi-outdoor section which was less hot.

Crab Soba

We found lunch at a restaurant by the river and I tried some crab soba because crab is supposedly famous in this part of Hyogo Prefecture. In all, it was a productive day with a good balance of exercising and relaxing.

Hiroshima and Matsuyama 5-Day Itinerary: Day Five

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey

The entire day 5 of our journey was spent trying to get back to Hyogo Prefecture (???). We knew that it would take at least several hours so we went to JR Matsuyama Station (??) by 10am to catch the 10:15am highway bus to Kobe (??). When we got there, we were told that every single highway bus to Kobe for that day was sold out! We should have known better to book ahead of time since it was Silver Week.

Fortunately we could still take the train. We bought the tickets in a rush 3 minutes before the train departed and we were on our way to Okayama (??). I could barely understand what the staff at the gate said but I believe she said that our tickets weren't for the express train so we would have to pay more on board. We did not want to wait an hour for the next train so we nodded and rushed onto the train.

Sure enough the train conductor came to check our tickets and notified us that we had to pay a fee. In total, the trip from Matsuyama to Okayama cost 6310 yen for the non-reserved seat option. The journey was 3 hours long and a bit shakey in the beginning since it was going so fast along the curvy coastline but the view was excellent. We were by the water most of the time and it was a sunny day.

Late lunch pho in Himeji

At Okayama, the normal JR trains to Himeji (??) were sold out. We weren't sure whether the JR staff was trying to say that it was sold out for the next few hours or the whole day but we opted to buy the Shinkansen tickets instead. The Shinkansen ticket from Okayama to Himeji for non-reserved seats cost 3220 yen each. The journey was a quick 21 minutes.

Although it cost more than the highway bus option, we were fortunate to have found a way back and be able to find seats in the non-reserved carts during such a busy holiday when everyone was returning to his or her respective cities on the same day.

That is all for my first Silver Week in Japan! We had a packed schedule and visited various places without overtiring ourselves.

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey