Only a stone monument remains…— Ōda-jo (Hitachi Province, Ibaraki)

2026-03-21

I couldn’t find anything that clearly looked like castle remains…

Hello, this is Shin.

May 6, 2023 (Saturday).

I visited the ruins of Ōda-jo in Hitachiōta City, Ibaraki Prefecture 🚙

This was a castle that served as the residence of the Sengoku daimyo, the Satake clan.

It is also known by the alternative names Satake-jo (佐竹城) and Maizuru-jo (舞鶴城).

If you search for “Ōda Castle” on Google Maps,
multiple locations with the same name may appear.

In that case, it’s best to include one of the alternative names in your search.

Now then, this Ōda-jo was the residence of the famous Sengoku daimyo, the Satake clan,

so I went there with fairly high expectations, but…

What I was able to confirm was only a large stone monument,

and aside from that, I couldn’t find anything that clearly looked like castle remains.

What a shame…

If you follow “Ōda Castle Ruins” on Google Maps and walk toward it,

you will arrive at this Ōda Elementary School.

Just inside the main gate of Ōda Elementary School,

I found this stone monument.

It is boldly inscribed with the words “Maizuru Castle Ruins”.

It is said that when the Satake clan first entered this castle, cranes were seen flying overhead,

and that is how it came to be named.

After that, until Satake Yoshinobu moved the clan’s base to Mito-jo (水戸城) at the end of the Sengoku period, this remained the residence of the Satake clan.

I can’t really recommend visiting this site purely for sightseeing…

There do seem to be a fair number of temples and shrines in the surrounding area,

so if you’re coming to see those kinds of cultural buildings, that’s another matter, but…

As a castle ruin, as mentioned above, it’s not something you can expect much from.

If you’re thinking, “Even so, I really want to see the ‘Maizuru Castle Ruins’ stone monument!” then it might be worth it… 😅

I decided to take a short walk around the area, wondering if there might be any other structures that looked like castle remains…

A short walk from Ōda Elementary School,

I found a building with a structure that looked somewhat like a “castle,”

but it turned out to be Ōda Shintoku Kindergarten.

It has no connection to Ōda Castle.

Since I couldn’t find anything else that looked like castle remains,

I took one final photo of Ōda Elementary School from a distance.

When viewed from far like this, it somehow gives the impression of a hilltop castle (okajiro) built on elevated ground.

This time, aside from the stone monument and this appearance, there wasn’t much else to discover.

On to the next castle visit!!🏯

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