Inohana Castle

A quiet local castle replica, and it’s free!

Inohana Castle is a reconstructed version of the original Chiba Castle built in 1126. While the exterior is intended to replicate the original, the interior is now home to the local history museum. Visitors are directed to take the elevator to the top of the building, where they can see panoramic views of Chiba City and even Tokyo Bay on clearer days, and meander their way down the flights of stairs connecting each floor. The exhibits are in chronological order and follow the route - i.e. you start with the oldest historical events on the fifth floor, concerned with Jomon and Yayoi peoples, and work your way down to Japanese history in modern times on the second floor. Being based in Chiba, it focuses particularly on the Chiba clan at the heart of the original castle and the way the local area has developed. The English is fairly limited, but there are detailed descriptions at the start of each set of exhibits that help orient you, and there are enough exhibits to keep visitors engaged with a mix of artifacts, replicas, and detailed descriptions on display. While not overly large, Inohana Castle is well worth a look if you are in the area and have an hour or so to spare. I mean, it’s free! Outside the castle itself, the grounds are full of seasonal greenery and it can make for a peaceful stroll around. Users of the stairways should take care as they can be a bit precarious in parts, but this is not a major issue. The castle is accessible by car, with paid parking lots nearby. It’s about 8 minutes walk from Kenchomae station on the monorail line, and 15 minutes from Hon-Chiba station on the Uchibo/Sotobo JR lines. It is also relatively straightforward to access from JR Chiba station, whether that be by bus (I recommend the ones going to Minami Yahagi or Chiba University Hospital), or about 20 minutes on foot.