Odawara Castle

小田原城天守閣

A white castle keep and park on the way in or out of Hakone

Hours

9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). Closed the 2nd Wednesday of December and 31 December

Tickets

Keep: adult ¥1,000, children ¥300 for non-residents; includes the SAMURAI-kan. Online tickets via asoview

Address

Jonai, Odawara; about 10 minutes' walk from Odawara station east exit

Cross the moat and the red bridge and the white keep rises through the pines. This was the Hojo clan's stronghold in the Warring States era; the current keep is a 1960 rebuild. Inside are armour, swords and castle history, and the top-floor deck looks out over Sagami Bay and the city. One keep ticket also gets you into the SAMURAI-kan. The castle park is a cherry-blossom hotspot, so late March to early April gets crowded.