Japan Travel Guide

Odawara Castle (Odawara-jo) was transformed into a large-scale structure in 1495 by the daimyo Hojo Soun, who carried out a major refurbishment of a comparatively simple structure surrounded by a mound.

After that, it became the castle of generations of the Hojo family. Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, as it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabling the defenders to repel attacks by the great warriors Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569.

But after it was surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century, it changed hands time and time again because of war. It was demolished in the latter half of the 19th century when political power changed from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji government and it was condemned as the symbol of samurai.

It was reconstructed in 1960. It is a fine three-tiered, five-storied donjon, the top floor of which is an observatory. The moat and stone wall remain as they were in olden times.

photo credit: Tagosaku

photo credit: kobakou

Odawara -feel the Segoku period-

During the Sengoku period, Odawara developed as a castle town and capital of the domains of the late Hojo clan, which covered most of the Kanto region. Odawara castle was called “So-gamae” castle, which is different concept any other castle.

The Hojo were defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Battle of Odawara in 1590, despite the impregnable reputation of Odawara Castle, and the territory came under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Odawara became a Odawara Domain, a feudal han ruled by a succession of daimyo. The castle town prospered as Odawara-juku, a post station on the Tokaido highway connecting Edo with Kyoto.

After the Meiji Restoration, Odawara Domain briefly became “Odawara Prefecture”, which was merged with the short-live “Ashigara Prefecture” before joining Kanagawa Prefecture in 1876. During this period, the center of economic and political life in Kanagawa shifted to Yokohama, and Odawara suffered a strong decline in population, which was made more severe when the original route of the Tokaido Main Line bypassed the city in favor of the more northerly route via Gotemba.

Besides Odawara Castle, Odawara is a major transit point for the Hakone hot springs resort area and the sightseeing locations of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Within the city itself, the Yugawara area is also a well-known hot spring resort.

Enoura, a coastal area of Odawara known for its pristine sea, has an abundance of kumamomi, a type of fish which prefers clear and clean water. Sea turtles are also sometimes present there. Because of the clear water and plentiful undersea life, many people come to Enoura for scuba diving. Traditionally, Odawara is known for its production of kamaboko processed fish, stockfish, umeboshi salted plums and traditional herbal medicines.