{"id":59482,"date":"2020-03-13T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=59482"},"modified":"2024-11-25T22:19:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:19:50","slug":"takeda-castle-ruins-ikuno-ginzan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/takeda-castle-ruins-ikuno-ginzan\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing Rainbows and Facing Fears at Takeda Castle Ruins and Ikuno Silver Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have a confession to make: I hate haunted houses. As a kid, the looming fear that something would come to life and jump out at me from the dark terrified me to the core. So you can imagine my surprise, when I first entered Ikuno Ginzan (\u751f\u91ce\u9280\u5c71)<\/strong> Silver Mine<\/strong> in Asago city(\u671d\u6765\u5e02), Hyogo prefecture (\u5175\u5eab\u770c), that I was unexpectedly forced to face my fear head-on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Really, it’s not as bad as I make it sound, as you will soon find out. My third and final day of exploring the Tajima province ended on a high, if not a slightly humorous note. In the morning, I left my overnight stay at Kinosaki Onsen<\/a> <\/strong>(\u57ce\u5d0e\u6e29\u6cc9) and headed towards Asago’s Takeda Castle<\/strong> Ruins<\/strong> to get a hearty breath of fresh air on top of a mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Castle in the Sky: Takeda Castle Ruins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The top of Ritsuun-kyo <\/strong>(\u7acb\u96f2\u5ce1) is where I got my spectacular view of the Takeda Castle Ruins<\/strong> (\u7af9\u7530\u57ce\u8de1)<\/strong>. Like Laputa from the Studio Ghibli film<\/strong>, Takeda Castle is the aptly named \u201cCastle in the Sky<\/strong>\u201d. Early morning fog during October and November creates a sea of clouds that surrounds the ruins, which appear to float above the fog, creating an ethereal, magical effect. Sending many a landscape photographer’s heart aflutter, visitors take the early morning trip to see this novel sight, making it one of Japan’s most visited castles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constructed between 1431 and 1443, the castle was abandoned in the 1600s until a restoration project reopened the ruins to visitors in the 1980s. Now visitors can walk among the castle’s ruins throughout most of the year. If you happen to visit during its yearly closure between early January to February, then a climb up Ritsuun-kyo would be an excellent opportunity to get a vantage point of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A view of Takeda Castle Ruins from the road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To get to Ritsuun-kyo, I drove up a hill so steep I had to keep one hand on my phone to keep it from tumbling down from the dashboard. There\u2019s no fee to enter, but a suggested 300 yen environmental maintenance fee can be paid in a small coin box at the entrance. With a light mist of rain and heavy grey clouds, I bundled up in my raincoat and set off for my morning hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pay your environmental maintenance fee at the Ritsuun-kyo parking lot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n