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The rebuilt keep of Iwakuni Castle on its stone base among trees
Photo: kajikawa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Yamaguchi · castle

Iwakuni Castle

岩国城

A keep above Kintaikyo Bridge, rebuilt in 1962 for a castle torn down 7 years after completion. Take the ropeway up to look down on the bridge and old town.

Wide view from Iwakuni Castle over Kintaikyo Bridge's wooden arches and the town below
Photo: z tanuki, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An Iwakuni Castle Ropeway car above the wooded slope with the town below
Photo: Tzu-hsun Hsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A mountaintop castle that lasted only 7 years

Iwakuni Castle stands on the summit of Mount Yokoyama in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. After the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), Kikkawa Hiroie, the first lord of the Iwakuni domain, built it, and the castle on the mountain was completed in 1608.

But in 1615 the Edo shogunate issued the ikkoku ichijo rei, the "one castle per province" order, and the castle was pulled down just 7 years after it was finished.

A keep built to be seen from Kintaikyo Bridge

The present keep was rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1962. Like the original, it is in the nanban-zukuri style, with four roofs and six floors, and its top floor juts out further than the floor below.

When it was rebuilt, the keep was placed about 30 metres south of its original site, so that the castle would be clearly visible from Kintaikyo Bridge at the foot of the hill. The stone base of the original keep was dug up in an excavation in 1995 and has been restored.

Inside the keep, swords and katchu (suits of armour and helmets) are on display. Iwakuni Castle is also one of the "100 Fine Castles of Japan".

Getting there

Take the Iwakuni Castle Ropeway to the summit from beside Kikko Park at the foot of the mountain. The ropeway station is about 10 minutes' walk from Kintaikyo Bridge, and the keep is about 10 minutes' walk from the summit station.

The ropeway sometimes stops for inspections, for example at the end of the month. Check the official information before you go, along with the keep's opening hours and prices.

Tips

  • Kintaikyo Bridge, Kikko Park, the ropeway and Iwakuni Castle make one continuous outing. Look up at the keep from the end of Kintaikyo Bridge before you go up the mountain, and you will see why the view from below mattered so much when it was rebuilt.
  • Besides the keep, take a look at the restored stone base of the original keep, which shows where it actually stood.
  • The ropeway does not run on some days because of inspections. If you are going at the end of the month, check the schedule in advance.

Sources

Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Keep exploring

Nearby places

Yamaguchi · bridge Kintaikyo Bridge 錦帯橋 Iwakuni's wooden bridge of five arches over the Nishiki River. Rebuilt again and again since the Edo period, it is still yours to walk across.
Hiroshima · zoo aquarium Miyajima Public Aquarium (Miyaji Marine) みやじマリン 宮島水族館 An aquarium on the World Heritage island of Miyajima devoted to the Seto Inland Sea, with finless porpoises, an oyster raft display and a sea lion show.
Hiroshima · shrine Itsukushima Shrine 嚴島神社 A Miyajima shrine famous for vermilion halls and a great torii that seem to float at high tide. A World Heritage Site that changes completely with the tides.
Hiroshima · park Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 平和記念公園 A park for peace, built on a district destroyed by the atomic bomb on 6 August 1945. Visit the Dome, memorials and museum to see what happened here.
Hiroshima · historic site Atomic Bomb Dome (Hiroshima Peace Memorial) 原爆ドーム Left standing by the atomic bomb of 6 August 1945 and kept as it was, it shows the world the horror of nuclear weapons and why peace matters.
Hiroshima · castle Hiroshima Castle 広島城 Built by Mori Terumoto, felled by the atomic bomb and rebuilt, Hiroshima's symbol. The keep is closed, but you can walk the moated grounds and timber-rebuilt Ninomaru.