Tsuruga Castle in Autumn

Aizuwakamatsu's castle surrounded by season colors

Justin Velgus Nov 01, 2014 - 1分鐘閱讀時間

<p>Red, greens, reds, and yellows as seen from the castle</p>

<p>The castle on a rainy day, obscured by red leaves</p>

<p>A traffic signal of colors at the outer wall</p>

<p>Some trees around the tourist center</p>

<p>A few trees and the only red-tiled castle roof in Japan</p>

<p>Looking out from the observation deck at the top of the castle</p>

<p>The outer wall stretches towards the colorful horizon</p>

Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城), also known as Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle (会津若松城 ), is a major tourist attraction in the Tohoku region of Japan. Located in the Aizu-Wakamatsu area of Fukushima Prefecture, it is an ideal location for viewing the changing colors of autumn. My visit was during the last week of October.

Walking around the castle grounds is free, but to really enjoy the view, pay the less than 500 yen for admission to enter the castle. Fight past the crowds through five floors of exhibits to the observation deck (note: not handicap accessible and no elevators). Even on a rainy day, the scene is spectacular. The surrounding trees echoed the fires of war from the castle's history through their cheerful, innocent leaves.

Justin Velgus @justin.velgus

Justin Velgus (ジャスティンベルガス) is the Miyagi Prefecture expert for Japan Travel and a long-term contributor since 2012 with a focus on the Tohoku region. Justin has written extensively for JT, and other publications such as VisitMiyagi and Sake Today, amassing over 350 published articles...