travel

Right now is best time to go to Japan’s 'castle in the sky'

4 Comments
By Casey Baseel, RocketNews24

There’s really never a bad time to visit the ruins of Takeda Castle. A frequent entry on lists of Japan’s best castles, the 353-meter altitude of the mountaintop site, located in the city of Asago in Hyogo Prefecture, provides it with breathtaking views of the surrounding terrain.

But perhaps the best time to visit is right now, and ironically the reason is because those views are likely to be obscured.

The meteorological phenomena, called "unkai," or “sea of clouds,” in Japanese, occurs most frequently from September to October, particularly in the early morning. At its most dramatic, "unkai" makes it appear as though the castle is floating in the sky.

So why is autumn the best time to witness "unkai?" Because the season is the sweet spot for the humidity level needed for these cloud formations. Japan’s summer is often too wet and its winter too dry.

In addition, the relatively large swings between daytime highs and overnight lows at this time of year are ideal for producing the mists that make these photos look so otherworldly.

If you’re looking to see the "unkai" at its optimal conditions, you’ve still got a few weeks left in which to make your travel plans, and detailed information about how to get to the Takeda Castle ruins can be found here, in English, on Asago City’s official website.

Source: Japaaan

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4 Comments
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agree with trevorpeace.... overrated...... similar views can be had at many places including Tsuwano castle ruins

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Trevor

Well, I will disagree with you. It was a fantastic place to visit. I went there the first time last year in early March. The place was covered in snow and the view from the top of the ruins was amazing. If you get there early enough, there will be no other footprints but your own. I went again this spring and it was beautiful with the cherry blossoms. It does take some time to get there, from Osaka, it was just under 3 hours. Then it is about a 40 minute hike from the station. Highly recommended!!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Trevor- thanks for the heads up

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It's fog. Make it sound romantic, and it's Japanese. Been there, done that. Don't mean to demean the message, but the photo sucks, if you really expect to see what they write about. Like I said, been there, done that. And on top of that, it's castle ruins, not a castle. I've seen better foundation stone layouts in fog in Peru. What's next, a UNESCO application? Oh, no, that's been done for all of Japan, hasn't it?

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

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