Odawara — Six Railway Lines, and a Castle Ringed by Nine Kilometres of Earthworks

Why visit

Odawara Castle reached its greatest extent when a nine-kilometre outer rampart was thrown up against Toyotomi Hideyoshi's advance (C007). It enclosed not just the castle but the town. Tracing that line has meant excavation at more than 400 sites across the castle and its town (C008).

Odawara Station is served by six lines: the Tokaido Line, Tokaido Shinkansen, Gotemba Line, Odakyu Line, Hakone Tozan Line and Daiyuzan Line, with 18 stations in the city (C010). Travellers tend to pass through on the way to Hakone; the junction itself is part of what this town is.

Who it is for

• Visitors interested in the extent of a castle, not only its keep.
• Anyone combining Odawara with Hakone or Atami.

What to do

The present keep was rebuilt in May 1960 for the city's 20th anniversary (C001). It is a three-tier, four-storey composite structure in reinforced concrete: 38.7 metres tall, 1,822 square metres of floor (C002). Its exterior was reconstructed from drawings and a model prepared for the 1706 rebuilding (C003) — not an original keep, but a reconstruction grounded in documents.

Inside are documents, maps, armour and swords; the displays reopened after renewal in May 2016 (C004). The castle park also holds the Tokiwagi-mon SAMURAI Hall, the NINJA Hall, a children's playground and the Honmaru teahouse (C009).

Getting there and costs

• The city states Tokyo is about 35 minutes away by Tokaido Shinkansen (C011)
• Odawara Station, served by five lines, opened in 1920 and marked its centenary in 2020 (C012)
• A loop sightseeing bus links the sights of the old post town (C016)
• The keep is open 9:00–17:00, last admission 16:30 (C006)
• Admission: 1,000 yen for adults, 300 for schoolchildren (residents pay 500 and 200) (C005)

Seasons and food

Plum and cherry blossom mark the seasons, and the city shares plum information with 13 other municipalities through a national plum council (C013). The castle chrysanthemum show runs 3–15 November (C014). Kamaboko fish cake is presented as the local speciality (C015), and fishing-boat cruises are offered (C017).

Limitations and cautions

• National Historic Site designation is unverified — not stated on the pages consulted, and not checked against the national cultural-affairs database.
• The Hojo clan is not named on the official pages consulted, so no claim is made here about them.
• Journey times other than by shinkansen (from Shinjuku, Nagoya, Shin-Osaka) were not obtained.
• Closing days, fees and hours for the castle-park facilities, bus fares and operating days, and cruise prices and booking rules were not obtained.
• Plum-viewing sites and bloom times, local crafts, shopping streets and accommodation are not yet researched.