Yamato Koriyama Castle

Yamato Koriyama Castle sits at the centre of the old castle town of Yamatokoriyama, just north of Nara city, and it rewards visitors with a rare combination of authentic feudal earthworks and one of the finest cherry-blossom displays in the region. Though the great keep no longer stands, the castle's bones — its broad moats, massive stone ramparts and commanding terraces — survive intact, overlaid with elegant reconstructed turrets and gates.

The castle's origins reach back to the medieval period, but its heyday came in the late 16th century under Toyotomi Hidenaga, younger brother of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hidenaga governed the province of Yamato from here and greatly expanded the fortress, laying out the surrounding castle town whose grid of streets still shapes the modern city. In the Edo period the domain passed to the Yanagisawa family, who ruled it until the abolition of the feudal system in the Meiji era.

Walking the grounds today, you cross original stone-lined moats and climb between towering walls of fitted stone. Because good building stone was in short supply when the castle was raised, its makers pressed all manner of material into the ramparts, including stone Buddhist statues, gravestones and lanterns taken from temples and roadsides. The most talked-about example is the 'Sakauda no Jizo,' a stone Jizo image set upside-down into the wall, still venerated with offerings by locals today. Spotting these recycled stones turns a wander round the walls into a small treasure hunt. The reconstructed Otemukai-yagura and other turrets, along with restored gates, give a strong impression of the castle's former silhouette, and a small shrine now occupies part of the honmaru, the central bailey.

Koriyama is most celebrated in spring. The castle grounds are planted with over a thousand cherry trees, and when they bloom in late March and early April the ramparts and moats disappear beneath clouds of pink. The annual Koriyama Castle Cherry Blossom Festival draws crowds for evening illuminations, food stalls and a lively, distinctly local festival atmosphere; it consistently ranks among the best hanami spots in Nara Prefecture. Outside blossom season the park is peaceful and almost empty, a pleasant place to trace the walls and enjoy views over the town from the raised terraces.

The surrounding town is worth exploring too. Yamatokoriyama is famously the goldfish-breeding capital of Japan, its old streets dotted with ponds and shops devoted to ornamental carp, a quirky tradition that dates back to the samurai who bred fish to supplement their stipends.

Getting there: the castle is an easy 8-minute walk from Kintetsu Koriyama Station on the Kashihara Line, and roughly 15 minutes from JR Koriyama Station, making it a simple half-day trip from Nara or Osaka. The park is open at all hours and free to enter. Come during the blossom festival for spectacle, or on an ordinary day for a quiet, atmospheric ramble through a genuine samurai stronghold.