You can walk to the hall ruins from Hakodate Airport.
Later History
Shinori Tate site was owned by a school or the Japanese Army in the Meiji Era. However, when it got private-owned, some local schoolteachers were worried about the future of the ruins. That’s why they suggested the owner to donate the land of the ruins to the public. As a result, they were succeeded and built the remaining monuments in the ruins in the Taisho Era. That also resulted in the ruins being designated as a National Historic Site in 1934.
The signpost of Shinori-Tate Ruins
My Impression
Maybe Shinori Tate was not strong to fight against the Ainu people because it was captured by them twice. However, it was enough if the “Japanese” and Ainu people lived together peacefully in Shinori. I like the Shinori Tate Ruins very much because I can always enjoy relaxing at the site and access there very easily from Hakodate Airport like I will mention in the next section.
Shinori-Tate Ruins in the front and a view of Hakodate Mountain in the back
How to get There
Let me tell you how to access the ruins of Shinori Tate by walk (or car) from Hakodate Airport.
The map around Hakodate Airport, the red broken line is the route to Shinori-Tate
When you exit the airport, turn right and walk along the taxi stand.
Going to the exit of the airportWalking along the taxi stand
Then, you will reach the edge of the motor pool with the signpost of Hakodate Airport standing. Turn right on the road in front of the airport and turn right again at the first intersection.
Turn right at the signpost of Hakodate AirportTurn right at the first intersection
Go along the road with seeing the airport on the right, then you will see the tunnel under the runway of the airport. The tunnel road has the sideway for walkers but be careful when you drive as it has only single lane for cars.
You can see the runway of the airportThe entrance of the tunnel under the runwayThe sideway of the tunnel
After exiting tunnel, turn left at the next intersection. You will see the ruins on the right, so turn right at the next intersection, and you will soon arrive at the ruins.
Turn left after exiting the tunnelGetting close to the hall ruinsYou can see the hall ruins on the rightTurn right at this intersectionArriving at the ruins soon
It takes about 20 minutes on foot to get there. If you drive, turn to the left at the last intersection as the ruins have no parking area. You can use a parking lot at a park nearby.
The parking lot at the park nearby
If you want to use a bus, take the Hakodate Bus on No.91 line from Hakodate Station and get off at the Shinori bus stop. It takes few minutes from the bus stop to get there.
You can enjoy both of real buildings and stone walls.
Features
Main Compound and Main Tower on it
The highlight of the castle is the Main Compound including the Main Tower in the back of the Main Enclosure. It looks so great as it was by mixing the remaining and restored buildings.
The front side of the Min Compound
The map around the Main Compound
To reach the tower, you need to pass the zigzagging inner route again through the remaining First, Second and Third Gates. There are also remaining mud walls with loop holes on the way. You can see other visitors though the holes.
The First GateThe Second GateThe Third GateThe remaining East Wall of Sujigane GateYou can see other visitors though a loop hole
Then, you will eventually arrive at the inner court of the Main Tower. Its style is called the Tower Grouping, so the court is surrounded by the Large and Small Towers and other turrets. Enemies would be destroyed if they could pass through that complex route earlier on.
Sujigane Gate, the entrance to the buildings of the tower groupingThe inner court
Visitors today first enter the Cellar, basement of the Large Tower, and walk around the other buildings like a corridor, seeing the exhibitions about the castle. In fact, the buildings there except for the Large Tower were all restored after the arson in 1933. They were built the same as the original one, so you may think they were not restored.
The Cellar of the Large Main TowerVisitors first walk around the other buildings of the tower groupingThe stairs to the top of the restored Small Main TowerThe second floor of the Small Main TowerThe attic of the Small Main TowerA view of the inner court from the Small Main Tower
After walking around, you will eventually enter the remaining Large Tower again. You can climb up the steep wooden steps to the top third floor. The floor is open and you can enjoy an even more great view there.
The first floor of the Large Main TowerThe second floor of the Large Main TowerThe stairs to the topThe interior of the top floorA view from the western side of the Large Main Tower (the buildings of the tower grouping in front, the city area and the Seto Inland Sea in back)A view from the southern side of the Large Main Tower (the Main Enclosure in front, the city area in back)
Great Stone Walls
If you have time. I recommend seeing the back side of the Main Enclosure, as there are also several remaining or restored buildings. For example, Nohara Turret is said to be one of the oldest buildings in the castle, which is the only remaining example of a two-tier Lookout Tower style turret.
The map around the Main Enclosure
The back side of the Main Compound (the Northern Corner Turret on the left and the Southern Corner Turret on the right)Nohara Turret
If you also get out of the restored Inui-mon or Northwest Gate, which is the back gate, and go back to the Main Gate Ruins, you can see the long, great, high stone walls of the Main Enclosure along the way. They look very beautiful having vertical curves like a folding fan and horizontal lines like a folding screen. However, they were originally built to attack enemies efficiently.
The Northwest GateThe stone walls of the northwestern side of the Main Enclosure, Nohara Turret is over there The stone walls of the northeastern side of the Main Enclosure, one of the oldest in the castleThe stone walls the Main Enclosure near the Main Compound, you can see the building of the Second GateContinuous stone wallsThe great stone walls of the Southeast Turret
Finally, I recommend you using the Kencho-ura Route when you return to the foot, because the route is well developed and you can see the remaining Southern Climbing Stone Walls close by. Though the Northern Climbing Stone Walls were unfortunately mostly destroyed, the southern stone walls were still intact, which is over 230m long covering the slope. It is said to have the best condition among the other remaining climbing stone walls such as in Sumoto, Hikone and Yonago Castles.
Kencho-ura RouteThe Sothern Climbing Stone Walls along the routeThe continuous Climbing Stone WallsThe Climbing Stone Walls of Hikone Castle
My Impression
Matsuyama Castle has become one of the most famous symbols of Matsuyama City. If you walk around the city area, you can see the castle buildings on the mountain from almost anywhere. In addition, if you visit and see them, you can still find and re-experience how to build and use the castle like people in the past used to do. This is because the city made great efforts not only for maintaining the original items but also for restoring many buildings like the original ones. I learned a lot from the castle and recommend you visiting and seeing it.
The Main Tower with the Main Compound of Matsuyama Castle
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car, it is about 30 minutes from Matsuyama IC on the Matsuyama Expressway. There is a parking lot in the park. By public transportation, you can take the city tram bound for Dogo-Onsen from JR Matsuyama Station or Matsuyama-shi Station on the Iyo Railway and get off at the Okaido stop. It takes about 5 minutes on foot from the stop to get to the park. From Tokyo or Osaka to Matsuyama City: I recommend traveling by plane and you can take the bus or rent a car to get there.
