Tottori Castle Ruins

Tottori, Japan, Japan

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Tottori Castle (Tottori‑jō) is a ruined mountain castle in the city of Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, on the steep slopes of Mount Kyushozan in western Japan.

Built in 1532 and later expanded, it became the main stronghold of the Ikeda clan during the Edo period and is especially famous for its legendary 200‑day siege in 1581, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s forces starved the defenders into surrender. The site is now part of Kyusho Park, a public park at the foot of the mountain where massive stone walls, the base of the main keep, moats, and one of the castle’s original gates with iron‑reinforced doors and door spikes still stand, and the castle has been designated a National Historic Site since 1957.

Today visitors can walk freely among the ruins, climb the stone ramparts for panoramic views of Tottori city and the sand dunes, and enjoy the park as one of the prefecture’s most famous cherry blossom spots, with around 240–400 trees that are illuminated at night in spring, while in autumn the stone walls contrast with colorful foliage on the mountain.

The complex also includes the nearby Jinpukaku guest house, a two‑story building designed by architect Katayama Tokuma, and the Horyūin Garden with the surviving tea house Hōsen‑an, both of which are original structures from the Edo‑period castle town. Access is easy from Tottori Station by a 30‑minute walk or by the 100‑yen Kururi sightseeing bus, which stops at the park’s main entrance, making it a compact but historically rich and scenic site for understanding the city’s castle heritage.