Oka Castle Ruins

Visited in spring and had a wonderful time! The ruins are nestled atop a hill, with spectacular views of the surrounding area. It’s such a peaceful and relaxing spot.

Probably the best castle ruins in Japan. Not just the view but the grounds, how they are laid out and how they are left in a wonderfully ruined state. I could feel how this inspired one of the most famous Japanese songs, by composer Taki Rentaro whose house you can visit in neighboring Taketa which is a nice example of a small Japanese town. The grounds will take time to walk, at least an hour. There's no gate so go before or after opening hours to avoid the fee. The parking lot also stays open.

(castles visited: 60+)

One of the best castle ruins I have visited. (I drove). The parking was easy to find. Easy to understand map and information (you would be surprised how many castles locations have next to no or terrible information, maps, and impossible to find parking).

This castle was up in the sky. I felt a millions miles high. You couldn't hear the highway below or the city. But see Aso-san 100km away. I could have spent all day up there.

It is just castle ruins, mostly foundation, but it's still mind boggling how they haul this stuff up and build on these mile high sheer cliffs. Getting even a few feet to the edge triggered my very mild fear of heights.

This was a really amazing complex back on it's prime. I just couldn't imagine what it would have been like back in Edo.

A gorgeous castle ruin woth view all around if you near by during april 1st they have a amazing festival

This place was so amazing. The ruins are beautiful, and the free app you can download is perfect for discovering the history of the ruins. The staff was really nice and tried to talk to us even though we didn't speak very good Japanese. I lost my glasses there and they sent them back to my place in Tokyo when I asked them to! I'll remember those castle ruins for a long time.

Spectacular setting during cherry blossom time.

Nice view, can see the sea!

A blissful, meditative place with the only surprising (but positively so) sound being a samurai blowing his horn every now and then.

Very interesting as there is an English app to explain you everything . If you don’t want to download the app they can give you an iPad to guide you through the ruins . Funny way to learn the story of this place.

Great castle ruins with an amazing view of the Kyushu countryside.

Lovely. Good place to go for cherry blossoms and autumn leaves

Fantastic

Good‼🎶🎶🎶

Very beautiful landscape

Castle

百名城巡りも60を超えてきたが、間違いなく自分のトップ３に入るお城だろう。世界遺産もたくさん観てきたが、それらに全く引けを取らないくらい素晴らしい。縄張りの大きさや石垣に最初から最後まで感動する。

1185年に兄に追われた義経を迎えるために築城されたと伝わる。石垣は穴太衆（あのうしゅう）を大坂から呼んで17世紀に造られたものらしい。21ｍの石垣は江戸城や熊本城に匹敵するが、そもそも断崖絶壁の山城のためか更に高く感じる。

何年か前に竹田城で転落事故があったが、ここも全くフェンスがないので、走り回る子供を連れていくのは大変危険。グランドキャニオン並みと言ってよいだろう。当然見晴らしは絶景。ゆっくりと廻ると駐車場から1時間は予定しておいた方が良い。

とても感動しました。階段を登りきると、大手門の石垣がどっと立ちはだかって、びっくり。どんどん進むと色々な高石垣があり、壮大な石垣のお城で、まるで私達を威嚇している様な感じがしました。とにかく広大なスケールで、迎えてくれます。隅から隅迄見ると意外とじかんがかかると手、時間に余裕を持って行くと良いかもしれません。又、本丸の近くにある岡城天満神社の書置きですが、とても素敵な御朱印があります。

2024.4.8​☔
大分驛 豐肥本線➡豐後竹田驛(百年車站)
案內觀光所可租借自行車 $500円/2小時 下雨放棄
剛好遇見兩位台客也要去岡城跡
共乘計程車上山(車資750~800円)
門票:300円 城跡範圍非常遼闊
有三條健行路線
櫻花因連日風吹雨打已有觀落櫻的準備
新綠的楓葉 搭配堅硬的花岡岩城墎 有股堅固柔情之美
岡城遺址
建於1185年 別名臥牛城 豐後竹田城
建於天神山頂 建築的城池
(海拔325米與谷底有近百米的落差)
以難攻不破 聞名當下
也是樂聖 瀧廉太郎作品[荒城之月]的藍本
被選為日本國家指定史蹟及
日本百大名城 櫻花百選 賞楓名所

他にも何か所か候補があるそうですが、荒城の月のモデルになったお城かも…との事で適度に荒れていて良い雰囲気でした。
入口を入って追手門にたどり着くまでの巨岩を見ただけで攻めるのを諦めたくなる威容、大きな追手門跡の石垣、ところどころ石垣から生えた巨木、苔むした石垣など、とてもロマンを感じます。
これまでおそらくお城を50程度見てきたかと思いますが、個人的には一番印象に残ったお城になりました。
整備は大事だと思いますが整備しすぎずに今の雰囲気のまま、程よく荒城の状態で残ってくれると良いな…と思ってしまいました。
お城巡りをしている人か近県に住んでいる人じゃないと来づらい場所ではありますが、竹田温泉とセットでぜひ見てもらいたいです。
なお、見学するには整備費用ということで300円支払う必要があります。また、足元はそれほど気にする必要はありませんが、広さ高さもありますのでそれなりの格好で行かれことを推奨します。

산 정상에 위치한 산성입니다. 넓은 무료주차장이 구비되어 있고 관광안내소에는 지팡이도 비치되어있습니다. 가볍게 트레킹 하는 기분으로 오를수 있는 산성으로 빈틈없이 싸여있는 돌들을 보며 성에 오르면 전망도 탁월합니다. 개인적으로는 구마모토 성보다 훨씬 좋았습니다.