Ueda Castle Park encompasses Ueda Castle and a museum; the Ueda City Museum is located in the park. The castle grounds and collections offer different ways to explore the history of the Ueda area. When looking for a hotel in Ueda, you can first decide whether you are most interested in preserved fortifications, museum collections, or literature. The cultural sites have different focuses—from visible architectural features to individual collection items.

Ueda Castle: Preserved Towers and Fortifications

The West Tower is a surviving structure from the Edo period and a Nagano Prefectural Treasure. The South and North Towers were reconstructed in 1949, and the East Gate Turret Gate in 1994. Earthen ramparts and stone walls have also been preserved in the park. The castle was surrounded by moats and earthen ramparts; stone walls were used at the entrances. In the First and Second Battles of Ueda, the castle repelled Tokugawa forces. This offers a way to shift your focus from an individual tower to the fortifications as a whole. The distinction between periods is also important: alongside the surviving West Tower are reconstructed structures dating to 1949 and 1994.

Ueda City Museum: Regional History Through Objects

The main building of the Ueda City Museum is modeled on the style of a silkworm-rearing house. This style symbolized a former main industry of the region: silkworm farming and silkworm egg production. The museum preserves and displays historical, ethnographic, and natural history materials relating to the history of the Ueda area since the Middle Ages. Its thematic range therefore extends from natural history and everyday culture to historical developments.

The collection includes Oda Nobunaga’s leather garment, an Important Cultural Property; the Someya ceramics collection, an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property; and the Shōhō Map of Shinano Province, a Nagano Prefectural Treasure. These three examples offer different points of interest: a garment, a ceramics collection, and a map. Before visiting the museum, please check the current visitor guidelines.

Route Through the Castle Grounds

A route through the Ueda Castle area leads from the Ueda City Tourist Information Hall via Ninomaru, the East Tiger Gate Turret Gate, Sanada Stone, Sanada Shrine, and Sanada Well to the West Tower and the former main compound; from there, it returns to the hall. The route takes you from gates and Sanada-related sites to structures and remains within the castle grounds. If you plan to take the route with a guided tour, check the current tour arrangements in advance.

A Literary Perspective on Ueda

The Shōtarō Ikenami Sanada Taiheiki-kan is dedicated to the author Shōtarō Ikenami (1923–1990), a Naoki Prize-winning writer of popular historical novels. The permanent exhibition includes research materials for “Sanada Taiheiki” and Ikenami’s personal belongings. This literary perspective complements the castle’s architectural history and the wide-ranging collection of the Ueda City Museum. Before visiting this museum, too, check the current visitor guidelines.

Discover more destinations: Kiso, Suwa, Nagiso, Kiso District, Chiisagata District, Sakaki, Kitaazumi District, Hakuba.

For the broader travel overview: Nagano Prefecture.