ODAWARA CASTLE SAMURAI warriors in JAPAN

Odawara Castle is very important in the history of Japan because it was one of the castles that was still standing in the ‘Sengokujidai’ war, since fighting between the fiefdoms destroyed the castles.

Currently the castle is a museum. In it you can find armor of the samurai, their swords, there is information about what life was like in the heyday of the castle. You can also see the letters that feudal lords or generals exchanged at that time.

It is a castle of five levels. On the top floor is the viewpoint and you can see the panorama from the four cardinal points: on one side you can see the sea, on the other you can see the Izu peninsula, on the other the Odawara train station.

Something very interesting about castles in Japan is that they do not contain a single nail in their construction. They are just wooden beams with holes or slits that do not move when joined or intertwined, so the structure is very well fixed.

On the esplanade of the castle there are food shops, ice cream shops, and several where you can borrow ninja, princess and samurai costumes at that time so you can take a souvenir photo.

Another business is Target Shooting but with shuriken, which are the star-shaped weapons that the ninja used to surprise their enemy. Here you can test your skill and if you manage to hit the target they give you a prize.

There is another museum where you can find samurai armor and “katana”. A video is shown where they explain the philosophy and meaning of the samurai.

A third museum is located at the entrance to the castle grounds. In this museum they show you the life of the people in the heyday of the castle. What was the type of houses like, the type of shops. They also show you how the castle fell in its last battle and how the generals and shoguns met to talk.

Odawara is very easy to get to by train , including the super- fast Shinkansen or bullet train , making it a comfortable ride from Tokyo. And although it is possible to travel by plane, bus or boat, the train offers the best prices and convenience of all . To have an even better price, we recommend traveling with the Japan Railways universal pass called JR PASS , which can be purchased on their website. This pass is purchased before traveling to Japan , arriving at the airport or at any train station , you can pick up your pass with proof of purchase .