Okayama Castle, Okayama | Japan is Nippon

Okayama's symbol, nicknamed "Crow Castle" for its black walls. Revamped in 2022, it tells samurai-era stories and gives a view over the city from the top.

Front view of the black keep of Okayama Castle with white-trimmed windows — Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Golden shachihoko roof ornament on Okayama Castle overlooking the moat and the city — Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The black keep of "Crow Castle"

Okayama Castle stands in the centre of Okayama City on the banks of the Asahi River. It was built by Ukita Hideie, a Sengoku-period warlord who was a favourite of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and its keep is thought to have been completed in 1597.

The outer walls of the keep are covered in black-painted boards, which earned it the nickname Ujo, "Crow Castle" (u means crow). Excavations have also turned up kinpaku-gawara (roof tiles covered in gold leaf) from Ukita Hideie's time, and gold tiles are thought to have been used on the castle's main buildings. That is why it is also called Kin-ujo, "Golden Crow Castle".

The stone base and the ground floor of the keep are not square but an irregular pentagon with sides of different lengths. This is said to follow the shape of the hill it was built on, and it is a rare design anywhere in Japan.

Burned in an air raid, then rebuilt

The keep survived the Meiji Restoration, but it burned down in an air raid on 29 June 1945. Today's keep was rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1966 based on pre-war plans and other records, and 2026 marks 60 years since it was rebuilt.

Two Edo-period buildings escaped the air raid, the Tsukimi Yagura (Moon-Viewing Turret) and the Nishinomaru Nishite Yagura (West Turret of the Western Bailey), and both are national Important Cultural Properties.

Exhibits reborn in the Reiwa Great Renovation

From July 2021 to November 2022 the keep underwent the Reiwa Great Renovation, and its exhibits were completely renewed. They were supervised by Isoda Michifumi, a historian from Okayama City. Using video and hands-on displays, they tell the story of the castle's successive lords, from the Ukita to the Kobayakawa and then the Ikeda families, in an easy-to-follow way.

The fifth floor has a shachihoko (a mythical fish-like creature used as a roof ornament), a popular photo spot, and from the top floor (the sixth), about 20 m above the ground, you can look out over Okayama. Photography is allowed inside except in some areas. Inside the keep there is a café and a souvenir shop, and within the castle grounds there is a workshop where you can try shaping clay for Bizen-yaki (Okayama Prefecture's traditional pottery).

Getting there and how long to allow

From JR Okayama Station, take the tram bound for Higashiyama for about five minutes, get off at Shiroshita and walk about 10 minutes. By bus, get off at Kenchomae and walk about five minutes. Okayama Korakuen Garden is just across the Asahi River, so you can visit both together.

According to the official website, most people spend 50 to 60 minutes inside, and about an hour and a half if they want to take their time. Check the official website for opening hours and admission fees.

Tips

There are only stairs up to the entrance of the keep. The lift inside goes from the first basement floor to the fourth floor; you have to take the stairs to the fifth and top (sixth) floors.
The keep is lit up at night from sunset until midnight. A nice plan is to see Korakuen and the keep by day, then admire the illuminated castle from the banks of the Asahi River at night.
Combined tickets are available with Okayama Korakuen Garden and nearby museums. If you plan to visit both, ask at the ticket window.
Leaflets inside the castle are also available in English, Korean and Chinese (traditional and simplified characters).