Visited 19.05.2016 (Thu)
No. of castles visited to date: 12
Top 100 castles in Japan: #9
Day trip. Reached Akita city on the night before and decided to spend the following day to tour several places of interest in this capital city of Akita Prefecture before heading to Tazawa-ko 田沢湖 and Nyuto Onsen 乳頭温泉 in the afternoon. Started off the day by paying a visit to Akita Shimin Ichiba / Citizen's Market 秋田市民市場, the biggest dry and wet market in the city, to experience the local vibes in the morning. Next I walked to Senshu Koen 千秋公園, a public park where the former Kubota Castle 久保田城 was located in. Arrived at Pocket Park ポケットパーク, a viewing spot located on the southwest of Senshu Koen. Walked alongside the moat (Otemon no hori 大手門の堀) which was decorated by blooming azealas shurbs on its side and entered the park via Nakadobashi-dori 中土橋通り.
Background. Senshu Koen was the site of Kubota Castle which belonged to Lord Satake. Yoshinobu Satake 佐竹義宣, the first lord of Akita Clan, was transferred from the province of Hitachi to Akita in 1602. Construction of the castle began in the following year and was eventually completed in 1604. What makes Kubota Castle different from other castles of Japan is it did not have the typical tenshukaku (or the keep) and stone walls. In 1890, Akita city rented the site of Kubota Castle to use it as a park. In 1984, the entire site was donated to the city in accordance to the wish of Yoshinoga Satake 佐竹義榮, the 15th generation of Satake family.
Observatory. Followed the directional signs to osumiyagura 御隅櫓, which serves both as a museum and observatory in Senshu Koen. Osumiyagura refers to a turret with a lookout, guardhouse and warehouse built at the outer wall of the castle. In fact, there used to be eight osumiyagura in Kubota Castle, however all of them were destroyed. In 1989, one osumiyagura situated on the northwest of Honmaru was restored by the city to celebrate 100th anniversary of city system establishment. On the highest floor of osumiyagura, visitors can capture a relatively good overview of the city, the surrounding mountainous area and even as far as Sea of Japan!
Landmark. Omotemon 表門 (also known as Ichinomon) is the main gate of Kubota Castle. The current two storey wooden structure with tiled roof was rebuilt based on historical records. It is said that the strategic location of this gate played an important role in the protection of castle. The headquarters of the guards and a guardhouse were situated on the left side of the gate, therefore provided first line of defense against attacks. Here, visitors can also locate a bronze statue of Yoshinaka Satake 佐竹義堯, the 12th generation lord of Akita Clan and the final lord who developed modern Akita. Senshu Koen is an excellent place to visit during spring as there are about 700 cherry blossom trees planted here and it was also selected as top 100 sakura viewing places in Japan by Japan Sakura Association in 1990.
======
Senshu Koen 千秋公園
Kubota Castle Osumiyagura 久保田城 御隅櫓
秋田市千秋公園1番39号
Operating hours: 0900 - 1630 hrs
Admission fee = 100 yen
https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kurashi/doro-koen/1003685/1007159/index.html
How to get there?
(1) By foot. 5 mins walk from Akita JR Station West Exit / Nishi Guchi 秋田駅西口 to Senshu Koen Pocket Park 千秋公園ポケットパーク.
======
Commemorative stamp:
No. of castles visited to date: 12
Top 100 castles in Japan: #9
Day trip. Reached Akita city on the night before and decided to spend the following day to tour several places of interest in this capital city of Akita Prefecture before heading to Tazawa-ko 田沢湖 and Nyuto Onsen 乳頭温泉 in the afternoon. Started off the day by paying a visit to Akita Shimin Ichiba / Citizen's Market 秋田市民市場, the biggest dry and wet market in the city, to experience the local vibes in the morning. Next I walked to Senshu Koen 千秋公園, a public park where the former Kubota Castle 久保田城 was located in. Arrived at Pocket Park ポケットパーク, a viewing spot located on the southwest of Senshu Koen. Walked alongside the moat (Otemon no hori 大手門の堀) which was decorated by blooming azealas shurbs on its side and entered the park via Nakadobashi-dori 中土橋通り.
Background. Senshu Koen was the site of Kubota Castle which belonged to Lord Satake. Yoshinobu Satake 佐竹義宣, the first lord of Akita Clan, was transferred from the province of Hitachi to Akita in 1602. Construction of the castle began in the following year and was eventually completed in 1604. What makes Kubota Castle different from other castles of Japan is it did not have the typical tenshukaku (or the keep) and stone walls. In 1890, Akita city rented the site of Kubota Castle to use it as a park. In 1984, the entire site was donated to the city in accordance to the wish of Yoshinoga Satake 佐竹義榮, the 15th generation of Satake family.
 |
| Climbed up Osumiyagura to capture an overview of Akita city. |
Observatory. Followed the directional signs to osumiyagura 御隅櫓, which serves both as a museum and observatory in Senshu Koen. Osumiyagura refers to a turret with a lookout, guardhouse and warehouse built at the outer wall of the castle. In fact, there used to be eight osumiyagura in Kubota Castle, however all of them were destroyed. In 1989, one osumiyagura situated on the northwest of Honmaru was restored by the city to celebrate 100th anniversary of city system establishment. On the highest floor of osumiyagura, visitors can capture a relatively good overview of the city, the surrounding mountainous area and even as far as Sea of Japan!
 |
| Omotemon 表門 is the main gate of Kubota Castle. |
 |
| Bronze statue of Yoshinaka Satake. |
======
Senshu Koen 千秋公園
Kubota Castle Osumiyagura 久保田城 御隅櫓
秋田市千秋公園1番39号
Operating hours: 0900 - 1630 hrs
Admission fee = 100 yen
https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kurashi/doro-koen/1003685/1007159/index.html
How to get there?
(1) By foot. 5 mins walk from Akita JR Station West Exit / Nishi Guchi 秋田駅西口 to Senshu Koen Pocket Park 千秋公園ポケットパーク.
======
Commemorative stamp:
No comments:
Post a Comment