Kijo Park and Tsuchiura Castle

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

Kijo Park and Tsuchiura Castle

Kijo park (亀城公園, kijokoen) is public park located in the middle of Tsuchiura city. It was used to be Tsuchiura Castle. There are many buildings which preserved from the castle, such as East and West Tower, main gates, and water moats so that you can still imagine the shape of the castle. It is very open and quiet park. You can enjoy sports or relax here.

Tourist Info.
There is public restroom, and small zoo. No parking.

Access
0. at Tsuchiura Station
1. walk North East (15 min)

MAP around Tsuchiura

Nearest Videos


Detailed travel guide for Kijo Park and Tsuchiura Castle

Kijo Park and Tsuchiura CastleThe Ruins of Tsuchiura Castle and Yagura-mon
Tsuchiura Castle, which is often called "Kijo" (the turtle castle), was built on flat land. The castle was a "water castle" meaning it was surrounded by several moats. The castle consisted of Honmaru (the main section), Ninomaru (the second section), Sannomaru (the third section) and Sotomaru (the outer section), and also included samurai residences and residences for the town's people. This was full size castle, and was surrounded by moats connecting Kita-mon (North Gate), Minami-mon (South Gate0 and Nishi-mon (West Gate).

The structure left from the Edo Era are Yagura-mon, which was the front gate of Honmaru. Kasumi-mon, which was the back gate of Honmaru, and the old Maekawa-mon (Korai-mon), which was moved to a spot between Ninomaru and Sotomaru. Later on, Higashi-yagura (East Tower) and Nishi-yagura (West Tower) were reconstructed.

In the Sengoku Era (15C-16C), control of the castle changed from Lord Wakaizumi toLord Shida and then to Lord Sugenoya, and in the Shokuho (Azuchi MOmoyama) Era (16C-17C), the castle was under the control of Lord Nishio, then on to Lord Kutsuki, Lord Tsuchiya and Lord Matsudaira (Okouchi) until Lord Masanao Tsuchiya again took control over the castle. Lord Tsuchiya lived in the castle untile the Meiji Era and his property produced approximately 95,000 Goku (17,138,000 liters of rice per year).

After the Meiji Era (1867 ~) the land where Honmaru stood was used as the Tuchiura prefectural office, the Niihari prefectural office, the Niihari district office and there as a local meeting hall. Now, this area is included together with the ruins of Ninomaru as Kijo Park.
.

Sightseeing guide around the area: Tsuchiura(茨城:土浦)

Tsuchiura (土浦)
Terminal Station: Tsuchiura Station
Access by
- Train
0. at Ueno Station
1. use JR Joban Line to Tuchiura Station (1 hr.)
- by Car
use Joban Express way to Tsuchiura

Tsuchiura is the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture. There are many lakes including Lake Kasumigaura which is second biggest lake in Japan. The waterfront line is the longest in Japan. Therefore, Tsuchiura area is well developed for a fishing industry and agricultural industry because of the great water of Lake Kasumigaura. For the entertainment, there many marine sports are available. The transportation in this area is not well. Many buses and trains finish very early time. You need to be careful about those schedule. However, car access is very convenience.

all videos for Tsuchiura

Ushiku Daibutsu

The Ushiku Daibutsu (牛久大仏), located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, is the world's tallest bronze statue. Completed in 1995, it stands a total of 120 meters (394 feet) tall, ...>>

Kijo Park and Tsuchiura Castle

Kijo park (亀城公園, kijokoen) is public park located in the middle of Tsuchiura city. It was used to be Tsuchiura Castle. There are many buildings which preserved from the castle, suc...>>

Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition

Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks Competition(土浦全国花火競技大会) is the biggest firework festival in the world. It is the last fireworks festa held on October in Japan. This is the competitio...>>



Comment on this page

Please give us a feedback on this page.
Comment
Comment:



Copy right © 2007-2008 all rights reserved.