Tsuyama Castle

“Tsusyama Castle” is one of the important cultural property of Japan which is located in the center of Tsuyama City in Northern part of Okayama prefecture. This historical castle was built in early Edo period. The founder was Tadamasa Mori, one of the younger brothers of Ranmaru Mori, who got killed in the battle with Nobunaga Oda at the Honnoji Incident. It took about thirteen years to build the castle as a whole.
Even though the castle was taken down because of the ordinance of abolishing castle during Meiji period, the huge stone walls still remained, as the ruins from the old times. One of the great characteristics of this castle is that it has one of the biggest leveled towered turrets among all Japanese castles nationwide. There are sixty towered turrets in the property, and one of them is called “Bichu-yagura”, which is opened to the public as a tatami room and a tea room.
There is a park called “Kakuzan park”, in which presents the castle ruins. As this park is also famously known for cherry blossom trees, cherry blossom festival is held here every April, attracting many people to visit. You can also buy souvenirs and visit selections of restaurants at the “Tsuyama tourist center” which is close to the castle entrance. You can taste the famous udon noodles with hormones as a local B grade cuisine, and also can you find plum jams and sweet taste rice crackers called ”Hatsuyuki”, which means first snow, as specialty goods at souvenir shops.