T amamo Park, Takamatsu — one of a series of shore days Japan Royal Service builds for residents and guests of The World.
The moat at Takamatsu Castle is full of seawater, and there are sea bream in it.
Not a pond stocked for effect — the moat is connected to the Inland Sea, the level rises and falls with the tide, and the fish swimming under the stone walls are saltwater fish that arrived on their own. It is one of three castles in Japan built this way, and it is a four-minute walk from where the ship ties up.
A castle that used the sea as a wall
Ikoma Chikamasa began it in 1588, and the design decision that defines it was to put the keep on the shoreline and let the sea do the work of a moat on one side. Ships could come in under the walls. The lord could step from his residence into a boat and be at sea in minutes.
The keep itself is gone — dismantled in the Meiji period, as most were. What survives is arguably more interesting: the stone base of the keep, rebuilt stone by stone in a restoration completed in 2013 after the whole thing was taken apart and surveyed; two turrets that were never lost; and the walls in the water.
The Tsukimi-yagura — the moon-viewing turret — and the Ushitora-yagura are both Important Cultural Properties. The Tsukimi turret sat directly above the water gate where the lord's boat came in.
Hiunkaku
Inside the grounds stands a building most visitors walk past. Hiunkaku was completed in 1917 as the Matsudaira family's residence, and it is an Important Cultural Property in its own right — a very late, very confident piece of traditional Japanese domestic architecture, built when the family that had ruled here for two and a half centuries no longer ruled anything and were building for themselves rather than for display.
The rooms open onto a garden. It can be reserved.
The fish
There is a small tradition here of feeding the sea bream in the moat, and there is a boat you can take out onto it — an odd, quiet ten minutes looking up at castle walls from water level, which is how the castle was designed to be seen and almost nobody sees it.
We mention it because it is the sort of thing that gets left off a serious itinerary and is remembered longer than most of what stays on.
Why this one matters more than its size suggests
It is the closest thing of any interest to the berth. A guest who does not want a full day out, or who wants an hour before dinner, or who is not up to a long drive on a particular morning, can be here and back without the day being planned around it.
Over a call of several days, having one good thing within walking distance changes how the rest of the time can be spent. It is the difference between every outing being a commitment and some of them being a choice.
What we arrange
A guide who can read the stonework — the rebuilt keep base is a lesson in how a Japanese castle wall is actually put together, because every stone in it was numbered, lifted and replaced within the last fifteen years. The boat, in season and weather. Hiunkaku, where a private room facing a garden is the right answer for an afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is it from the ship?
About four minutes on foot. It is the closest thing of real interest to the berth, which makes it the one outing that does not require the day to be planned around it.
Is the castle keep still standing?
No — it was dismantled in the Meiji period. The stone base was taken apart, surveyed and rebuilt stone by stone in a restoration completed in 2013, and two original turrets survive as Important Cultural Properties.
Why is the moat seawater?
The castle was built on the shoreline in 1588 and used the Inland Sea as its defence on one side. The moat is still connected to it, still tidal, and still holds saltwater fish.
More on this rotation
- Tange, Ōe and the design governor — Takamatsu
- A private Noh performance — Takamatsu
- Sanukite, the stone that rings — Takamatsu
For residents and guests of The World
The ship lies at Takamatsu for days, not hours. That single fact changes more than anything else on this page. A place that opens three days a week stops being a gamble. An artisan can give you a whole afternoon instead of a demonstration. Nothing has to be cut short to fit a gangway.
We are a Japanese company, working in Japanese, with the people who own these places. The arrangements are made by someone the other side already knows.
Enquiries are handled privately and directly, at japanroyalservice.com/contact. We do not publish our clients, our itineraries, or our rates.
