Impressive Large Moat and Twin Turrets! Utsunomiya-jo — One of the “Seven Famous Castles of Kanto” (Shimotsuke Province, Tochigi)

2026-04-30

But still—those massive moats and the twin turrets right in front of you!!

Hello, this is Shin.

On June 4, 2023 (Sunday), I visited Utsunomiya-jo in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. 🚙

It is said to be one of the “Seven Famous Castles of Kanto（関東七名城）”.

It’s also known for the legend of the “Utsunomiya Hanging Ceiling Incident,” in which Tokugawa retainer Honda Masazumi supposedly plotted to assassinate the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.

As you can see from the Google Map above,

there are several parking lots (🅿️) near Utsunomiya City Hall.

If you’re coming by train, Tobu-Utsunomiya Station is conveniently close.

After parking the car,

I immediately noticed a sign in front of me reading “Remains of the Ninomaru Earthen Walls and Moat（二の丸土塁・堀跡）”.

Let’s go take a look.

According to Google Maps, it should be around this area, but…

I found an information board!!

It seems this is where the moat and earthen walls “used to be“,

so there’s probably nothing left that you can actually see today.

If I had to guess,

this slightly raised, sloping area might be it…

But in the end, we can only speculate 💦

Just after crossing the intersection toward the castle ruins, I found a layout map.

As you can see from this map, the main highlights are the large moat（堀） and the two turrets—Seimeidai（清明台） and Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓）.

Beyond the large earthen walls, the moat, and the fence, you can see Seimeidai（清明台）.

I was momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer size of the earthen walls and moat 😵

Seeing it in person really lets you feel just how massive they are !!

This is the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓）.

As you cross the bridge to approach the main enclosure,

these turrets, along with the massive earthen walls and moat, burst into view whether you like it or not!

It’s truly a breathtaking sight!

The view from atop the tall turret is impressive as well!

Now, stepping into the main enclosure plaza（本丸広場）,

looking up at the turret almost directly from below is just as magnificent!

You can access the Seimeidai（清明台） turret from here.

There’s actually an elevator near the center, but…

if you’ve come all the way to explore a castle, you’ll want to climb up on your own feet, right? 😅

But before that…

just to be sure, I checked my current location on Google Maps,

and found that the “Shimizu Gate Ruins（清水門跡）” and the “Honmaru Moat Ruins（本丸堀跡）” are nearby!

Let’s take a look at those first.

This is the information board for the “Shimizu Gate Ruins（清水門跡）”, but…

there were no visible remains nearby.

Apparently, it says “marked on the ground”… I didn’t even notice it 😭

Meanwhile, here’s the information board for the “Honmaru Moat Ruins（本丸堀跡）”.

A width of 27 meters and a depth of 7 meters—that’s quite massive, isn’t it…

This is the “Honmaru Moat Ruins（本丸堀跡）” (after reconstruction).

The water seems to have dried up, but…

even so, the width and depth are truly impressive!

Now, let’s finally head up to the Seimeidai（清明台） turret we saw earlier.

Please take a look at this in the video.

What do you think?

The view looking down from above is quite impressive as well.

Here’s what it looks like inside Seimeidai（清明台）.

You can take off your shoes and actually go inside.

Unfortunately, it seems you can’t go up these stairs.

Well, even if you could, there probably wouldn’t be much to see anyway.

And here’s the wall near the turret.

It’s the one we saw from the outside.

Seeing it up close like this, it has quite a bit of charm.

This is the information board for Seimeidai（清明台）.

It seems this was effectively considered the “main keep” of the castle.

Stepping back for one more shot 📸

Looking down below,

you can see the main enclosure plaza（本丸広場）.

As it happened, there was some kind of marathon event that day,

and this plaza was being used as the finish line.

Next, let’s head over to the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓） on the opposite side!

Please take a look at this movement in the video as well.

The long wall stretching out on the right looks great too.

The interior of the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓） was almost the same as that of Seimeidai（清明台）.

Here’s the information board for the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓）.

Nowadays, with buildings surrounding the area, you can’t see Mount Fuji from here.

Stepping back a bit for a shot of the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓） 📸

From near the Fujimi Yagura（富士見櫓）, I head down these stairs to the lower level.

This is a building called Seimeikan（清明館）, located next to the main enclosure plaza.

Inside, various cultural materials are on display.

Here’s the bridge and stone steps in front of the entrance to Seimeikan（清明館）.

I wonder if it was built like this back in the day as well.

Here’s what it looks like inside Seimeikan（清明館）.

Historical materials from ancient times to the modern era are on display.

The scale isn’t very large, though.

With that, I wrap up my visit to Utsunomiya-jo.

There weren’t many visible defensive structures remaining,

but as one of the “Seven Famous Castles of Kanto（関東七名城）”, the earthen walls, moat, and turrets were truly impressive!

If you ever have the chance to visit Utsunomiya City (Tochigi), I highly recommend stopping by.

See you again!

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