Sumpu Castle

What to know

Sumpu Castle (駿府城, Sumpujō) was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1586 and later served as his retirement home. Shizuoka City, at that time called Sumpu, developed around the castle, which remains at the center of the city, a ten-minute walk from JR Shizuoka Station. None of the original castle buildings remain, and the grounds now mostly consist of park space.

Throughout its history, Sumpu Castle was destroyed and rebuilt many times. With the Meiji Restoration in the late 1860s, the Tokugawa family was stripped of its power and the country's new rulers dismantled the castle. In 1949, the innermost courtyards of the former castle grounds were converted into a public park, Sumpu Park, which remains surrounded by a moat.

In recent decades, efforts have been made to restore parts of the former castle. The East Gate and an adjoining guard tower were reconstructed according to original construction plans. The reconstruction can be entered and contains informative exhibits about the castle.

In 2001, the attractive Momijiyama Japanese Garden was opened in the park's northeastern corner. In the style of a traditional landscape garden, it features a central pond, a man-made hill and a network of walking trails. The hill represents Mount Fuji and is surrounded by azaleas that represent tea leaves, Shizuoka's most famous product, while a pebbled part of the pond's shores represents nearby Miho Beach. Local tea is served in the garden's teahouse.

Sumpu Castle is a ten-minute walk north of JR Shizuoka Station, and even closer to Shin-Shizuoka Station of the Shizuoka Railway.