Bitchu Takahashi Station (Hakubi Line); 1260 taxi
Bitchu Matsuyama has a fairly small original main keep but at the top of a mountain overlooking the town it didn't need to be any bigger. It is quite a hike to the top of the mountain so if you want to save some time and energy you can take a taxi (~1800 yen) or walk to the park ride near the base of the mountain. It is available on weekends, holidays and during busy seasons. For my latest trip I used the park & ride and walked back down. I revisited this site in Nov 2024 almost 10 years to the day of my first visit. The trees were a little bigger but nothing else had changed. This time armed with much more castle knowledge and some information about the extended fortifications and this castle's predecessor Ohmatsuyama Castle I spent much of the day scrambling around the top to find all the ruins I could and I still did not have enough time. Besides the ruins around the top of the mountain, the town is also a splendid castle town with 2 original samurai homes. One of the more impressive findings on this trip was also the string of temples that almost look like castles from a distance with high stone walls in multiple levels with clay walls atop them and pseudo-masugata looking gates. Visit the castle town album for details.
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle
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Bitchu Matsuyama Castle - Outer Baileys
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Bitchu Matsuyama Castle - Castle Town
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