Ashigara Castle

Ashigara Castle is a nice 2 hour walk/hike from Ashigara Station. You can also take a bus from Oyama station but busses are few and far between. From the castle you should have some awesome views of Mt. Fuji but I was stuck with cloudy weather all day despite a perfectly clear weather forecast. It's

History

Ashigara Castle sits atop Mt. Ashigara where it controls traffic along the Ashigara road, a vital link between Sagami and Suruga. At one time the Tokaido Road also ran through here.

The castle was built around 1536 by Hojo Ujitsuna and renovated by Hojo Ujiyasu in 1555. Ashigara Castle served as one of the important defenses against Takeda Shingen's incursions into the area. Much of the castle was destroyed in battles with Takeda in 1568, but due to its strategic importance, the castle was rebuilt and expanded. In 1590, Hojo Ujitada, then lord of the castle, fled to Odawara after he heard that Yamanaka Castle had fallen. Ashigara Castle soon fell to ii Naomasa and was afterwards abandoned.

Field Notes

Ashigara Castle is a nice 2 hour walk/hike from Ashigara Station. You can also take a bus from Oyama station but busses are few and far between. From the castle you should have some awesome views of Mt. Fuji but I was stuck with cloudy weather all day despite a perfectly clear weather forecast. It's still a nice mountaintop castle ruin to explore. There are five well defined baileys and you can get a good feel for how the castle was constructed on top of the mountain. Unfortunately, there are only a few poor signs in Japanese and one had completely fallen over. The castle also had some stonework walls once upon a time but it doesn't look like there are any remnants left.

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Gallery

• 

  horikiri
• 

  horikiri
• 

  horikiri and baileys
• 

  scene from the third bailey
• 

  horikiri and bailey
• 

  second bailey
• 

  horiki and first bailey
• 

  first bailey
• 

  bridge
• 

  bridge and horikiri
• 

  sekisho, guard and tax station
• 

  map

Castle Profile
English Name	Ashigara Castle
Japanese Name	足柄城
Founder	Hojo Ujitsuna
Year Founded	1536
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Ashigara Sta. (Gotemba Line), 120 min hike
Hours
Time Required
Location	Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates	35.32088, 139.01183
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2010
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2010
Admin Visits	April 3, 2010
Friends of JCastle
Yogo

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