Ueda Castle, especially its original tower and impressive main gate, will impress you with its massive size and stonework. The castle grounds are famous for the cherry blossoms in April and the colorful foliage in the fall. Ueda City’s “Omotenashi Bushotai” samurai performances take place at scheduled times throughout the year. Two of the recreated towers are open for touring (entrance fee required).
As with most similar castles in Japan, Ueda Castle was torn down after the Meiji Restoration. Many of its timbers were then repurposed to construct other buildings in the area. When civic leaders decided to rebuild, after an exhaustive search they tracked down many of those timbers and re-repurposed them for the castle’s reconstruction. Despite being recreated relatively recently (the main gate was finished in 1996), the use of the original posts and beams adds an air of authenticity to the construction.
