If you visit Shibata Castle, I also recommend you stop by Murakami Castle. There are many nice stone walls hidden in the woods and the Honmaru bailey stone walls are nearly complete. The atmosphere reminds me of Takatori Castle in Nara even though it's not quite the same scale. Parts of the stone walls are under restoration but it shouldn't harm your enjoyment of this castle. The restoration will be in progress until 2014 so don't let it stop you from going now. I recommend late fall or spring before the stone walls are overgrown with weeds. The town also has 5 splendid samurai homes that are highly recommendable.
Murakami Castle
Murakami Castle# QUERYa8cd3c495aca5cbe817e92f582d1f259
Murakami Castle true
Murakami Castle# QUERYaae046e05cb6713bd5a78641716076e5
Murakami Castle false
Murakami Castle# QUERY5dfe680d348c524bdfe785bf15761808
Murakami Castle# QUERY32e333ded6bacbd0d6dadcdf65b441c8
Murakami Castle# QUERY6227d91b48fbb89bb68959c6efb9a9d8
Fujii Residence true
Murakami Castle# QUERYb3081e9b892ada6ea18696cf5919320b
Iwama Residence true
Murakami Castle# QUERY548107af1fd62f2cc81975a7b0ec857f
Narita Residence true
Murakami Castle# QUERYa6de21005cd26d2bea3628eaeee78eab
Takaoka Residence true
Murakami Castle# QUERYf72c520a871e490edcf3a17add3c1536
Wakabayashi Residence true
Murakami Castle# QUERY1384c7411f1bdaca504406e79ebd1c11
Murakami Castle# QUERY2b5a50a547c24481abc1a7cb07a0708d