Echizen Ono Castle

Echizen Ono Castle is a castle on a hill in Fukui prefecture’s city of Ono. It was built in 1575 by warrior Kanamori Nagachika, who was given the land by the prominent military commander Oda Nobunaga.
It went through many fires and catastrophes, and was rebuilt in 1795, but taken down in later years due to the government’s plan of centralizing the Japanese government. The castle we see today was rebuilt in 1968, and inside the castle keep is a museum with documents and exhibits about the castle during its prime years.
The castle is now famous as the “castle in the sky”. Between October and April, a sea of clouds appears around the castle on certain days when weather conditions are just right. The view of the castle is similar to that of the one in the Studio Ghibli film, “Castle in the Sky”. You can see this view from Inuyama Castle, located on Kameyama Hill, locating about 1 kilometer from Echizen Ono Castle.