Castle RouteYanagisawa Shrine

Gokuraku Bridge

Koriyama Castle Keep Base

Yamato Koriyama
Accessible Sightseeing Map
For Enjoying Sightseeing in Wheelchairs and Strollers

Yamato Koriyama History Club

Castle Town Route
Koriyama Hachiman Shrine

Hakomotokan Kon-ya

Genkuro Inari Shrine

Honke Kikuya

Yakuon Hachiman Shrine

The 2 km route starts from Kintetsu Koriyama Station, visiting the ruins ofKoriyama Castle and the base of the castle keep, and returns to Kintetsu Koriyama
Station. Although visitors can see Koriyama Castle Ruins’ well-preserved naturalstone walls from the Sengoku period (from the late 15th century to the 16th
century), the elevation between the station and the castle keep base is about 20
meters, and two steep slopes and one railroad crossing make it difficult forwheelchair users to navigate without assistance. Also, the street in front ofKoriyama High School in the castle ruins requires attention due to heavy traffic.

Castle Route
Summary & Notes

1 Kintetsu Koriyama

1 Shopping district sign in

2 Turn left at the site of the oldThis is the starting andreturning point. The stationbuilding has ramps.

Go east at the shopping
district’s sign.

Turn left at the gatepost andcontinue north. The gatepost is aremnant of the Koriyama Primary
School located here until 1971.

5 Railroad crossing
With wheelchairs, care must
be taken to prevent the front
wheels from getting trapped
between the tracks.

4 Intersection at the post box
Cross the street. Pay attention
as there are no lights at thispedestrian crossing.

3 Intersection in front of

Stationfront of Koriyama Station

Koriyama Primary School gatepost

the City Hall

Go straight through the intersection.
This area was the Masugata, themain entrance to Koriyama Castle in
the Edo period (1603 – 1867)1

to the Kurogane Gate

A steep slope continues fromthe area to the castle keepbase, requiring considerable
strength for carers to pushmanual wheelchairs.

7 Y-junction
Cross the street and turn rightat the Y-junction to reach theinner moat viewpoint. Traffic isheavy, so pay extra attention
when crossing.

5

4

3

2

Yanagisawa Shrine

Sakasa Jizo

Foundation of the Rajomon Gate

Castle keep base11 From the site of Hakutaku Gate

8 Yanagisawa Shrine’s

torii gate

The area from the torii gate to
the Chikurin Gate ruins was
paved in 2021.

Gokuraku Bridge

6

Inner moat viewpoint

6 From the railroad crossing

to the castle keep base

The passage from the site of
Hakutaku Gate to the castle
keep base is also steep forwheelchairs, so a carer’s
assistance is essential.

10 The site of Hakutaku Gate
Hakutaku Gate was a
Yagura-mon built on the
castle’s principal compoundside of Gokuraku Bridge. The
stone turret walls havesurvived to this day.

9 The site of Chikurin Gate
The site of Chikurin Gate has asteep cobbled slope, so a
carer’s assistance is essential
when passing through in awheelchair.

Castle Route Map

DMG MORI
Map of castle ruins area Yamato Koriyamajo Hall

4

Inner moat

Public restrooms

Koriyama Castle Ruins Park
Development Project
The park is due to open in 2025

Accessible restrooms

Matsukage
Moat

Coin-operated lockers
Bus terminal
Taxis

Joshi Park(West Park) 3

Convenience stores

Unagi moat

54
3Castlekeep base

Yanagisawa
6 11
Shrine11
Fureai Kobo Watagen

Gokuraku

BridgeGenki Jokamachi
Castle ruins 10 2
Bus Park
Innervisitor restrooms
2
5
9 Inner moat 1 moat
viewpoint
8
7
Koriyama High SchoolN

4
Yamato Koriyama
City Hall

6

Kintetsu K
asSagi Moat
Eikeiji Temple

56hihara Line

LegendGokenyashiki
Moat

3 Sannomaru Hall

8

100m

1

1 Inner moat viewpoint

2

1 Kintetsu Koriyama Station

The place offers a close view of
the Inner moat’s water.
There is a break in the planting
about 50 meters from the
Y-junction.

2 Gokuraku Bridge

3 Castle Keep Base

The bridge used for accessing themain castle compound during theEdo period was lost in early Meiji
and rebuilt in 2021. The bridge
stands about eight meters above
the Inner moat.
Wheelchairs can reach the bridge’s
center but cannot cross because of
the stairs on the east side.

The Koriyama Castle Keep Base is a highly valuable
historical site with well-preserved natural stone walls(nozurazumi) built under the Toyotomi regime at the endof the Sengoku period. A major feature of the stone walls
is the use of numerous masonry re-appropriated from
temple foundations, stone pagodas, and stone Buddhas.
The passage at the foot of the keep is ﬂat and paved.
The 8.5-meter-high keep is not wheelchair-accessible,
as it is reached by stairs.

* If you request in advance, Yanagisawa Bunko
can provide a simple ramp on the bridge.

4 Foundation of the

Rajomon Gate

The foundation is believed
to be that of Rajomon Gate,
the main south gate of
Heijokyo. It is made of a
special stone called
Tatsuyamaishi fromTakasago, Hyogo Prefecture.
Heijokyo’s Rajomon Gate
was about 1.5 km east of
this location in the Nara
period (The eighth century).

Joshi Hall

Castle Ruins Map

Main compound viewpoint
Otemon Gate

Foundation of
the Rajomon Gate

Ote-higashisumi Tower

Sakasa Jizo 5 4

Sentry box

StairsOte-mukai Tower

Construction due to completein spring 2022

Castle keep base

3

Monument to Count
Yanagisawa Yasunobu

Arbor

Yanagisawa
ShrineGokenyashiki moat

6
Gokuraku
BridgeInner moat

11
Stairs
Steep slope
Main compound

2

10

Shrine ofﬁce

Inner moat

StairsWheelchairs cannot reachthe main compound fromthis path due to the stairs.

Yanagisawa
Bunko
Castle ruins
2 visitor restrooms
Stairs

Steep slope

9

Inner moatN

1 viewpoint

50m

8

Pedestriancrossing

7

Votive picture

5 Sakasa Jizo

6 Yanagisawa Shrine

This is the best-known
re-appropriated stone at the
Koriyama Castle Ruins. The
Buddha is inserted upside
down at approximately 90
cm and is inscribed 6th year
of Daiei (1523).
It is viewable from awheelchair without a problem
as it is located relatively low
on the stone wall.

Yanagisawa Shrine is dedicated to
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu (the father of
Yanagisawa Yoshisato), who became a lordchamberlain of the ﬁfth shogun, Tokugawa
Tsunayoshi.
Yoshiyasu made a signiﬁcant contribution to
the rebuilding project of the Great Buddha
Hall of Todaiji Temple, which is visible in the
distance, as a close adviser to Shogun
Tsunayoshi and Keishoin, acting as acontact on the Shogunate’s side.

The seal of the castle

Yanagisawa Bunko
The archives of the Yanagisawa Clan, feudal lords ofKoriyama Castle, possesses collections of paintings,
waka poems, and old documents of successive clan
lords donated by the Yanagisawa family and hosts
exhibitions associated with the Yanagisawa Clan.
General admission: 300 yen
Opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm (last admission is 4:30 pm)
Closed on Mondays and the 4th Tuesday of the month
Wheelchairs cannot cross Gokuraku Bridge from thecastle’s main compound to reach Yanagisawa Bunko.
The museum is not wheelchair friendly.

2024 Marks the 300th Anniversaryof Yanagisawa Family’s Relocation
to Koriyama
In 1724, in the mid-Edo period, Koriyama’s feudal lord Yanagisawa
Yoshisato moved from Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture) to
Yamato Koriyama with a large retinue of retainers and their families,
as well as the Yanagisawa family temple, Eikeiji. The story also has
it that they brought goldfish at the time.
Goldfish farming flourished from the end of the Edo period to theearly Meiji as a side business for clan retainers who had lost theirjobs and farmers, encouraged, and assisted by Yanagisawa
Yoshinobu, the last lord of the Koriyama clan.
From Yoshisato’s father, Yoshiyasu’s time, the Yanagisawa family
placed emphasis on its educational policy, and Yasunobu wasinstrumental in establishing the Nara Prefecture Jinjo Middle School(now Koriyama High School).

Goldfish are Yamato
Koriyama’s symbol
About 58 million goldfish arecollected each year

Fukujudo Nenroku(Yanagisawa Yoshisato’s
official diary)
Cultural property designatedby Nara Prefecture

Monument to Count
Yanagisawa Yasunobu(Monument of honor)

Tsutsui family (1580 – 1585)

Toyotomi family (1585 – 1595)
Mashita family (1595 – 1600)
Yanagisawa family(1724 – 1869)
Zaiban* (1600 – 1615)
Mizuno family
5 10 5(1615 – 1619)
15
Matsudaira family
4(1619 – 1639)
20
Successive
Chatelains of
Honda family
Koriyama Castle(1639 – 1679)
145
40
Approximately
290 years
Matsudaira family(1679 – 1685)
6

Prefectural Koriyama HighSchool, located in Koriyama
Castle Ruins.

38(years)Honda family(1685 – 1723)*The unoccupied castle and its grounds were defended byanother clan lord upon orders from the Shogunate.

Restrooms at Kintetsu
1 Koriyama Station

Visitor restrooms at
2 Castle Ruins

Restrooms at Joshi Park
3 (West Park)The accessible restrooms have a toilet seat
without a bidet system, a but have diaper
changing table, and an ostomate facility. The
space is large enough for a wheelchair tomake a 360-degree turn.

The accessible restrooms have a toilet seatwith a bidet system, a baby safety seat, adiaper changing table, and an ostomate
facility. The space is large enough for awheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.

The single-purpose restrooms have a toilet seatwith a bidet system. The space is large enoughfor a wheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.
Only the women’s rooms have a diaper
changing table and a children’s toilet.

Restrooms at DMG MORI
4 Yamato Koriyamajo Hall

Restrooms at Genki
5 Jokamachi Bus Park

6 Restrooms at City Hall

The accessible restrooms have a toilet seatwith a bidet system and a diaper changing
table. The space is large enough for awheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.

The accessible restrooms have a toilet seat
without a bidet system, but have a baby safety
seat, a diaper changing table, and an ostomate
facility. The space is large enough for awheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.

The accessible restrooms have a toilet seatwith a bidet system, a baby safety seat, adiaper changing table, and an ostomate
facility. The space is large enough for awheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.

LegendWheelchair
accessible
restrooms

Toilet seatswith warm
water bidet

Baby safety
seats

Diaperchanging
tables

Ostomate
facilities

CallbuttonThe 2.5 km course starts from Kintetsu Koriyama Station, tours around thecastle town, and returns to Kintetsu Koriyama Station. The route is generally
flat, but the castle town has narrow streets, and pedestrians and vehicles are
not separated in over 60% of the route. Care must be taken on some streets
due to heavy vehicle traffic. Attention is also required in places where thegutters are not covered.

Castle Town Route
Summary & Notes

1

1 Shopping district’s sign in

2 Shopping district in

3 Tamai Tokeiten

This is the starting andreturning point. The stationbuilding has ramps.

Go east at the shopping
district’s sign.

There are signages, bicycles, andutility poles on both sides of thestreet, making it difficult tonavigate in a wheelchair. There isalso heavy vehicle traffic.

Turn right before Tamai
Tokeiten and continuesouth.

Stationfront of Koriyama Station

front of Koriyama Station(watch/clock shop)

There is no space forwheelchairs to maneuverwhen vehicles wait for thelights to change at theintersection.

5

6 From Yanagimachi to

5 Turn right at Yanagimachi

The streets are narrow,and the gutters do nothave covers in many
places.

Go past Kitatani Gofukuten(kimono shop), turn right at
the intersection 50 meters
ahead, and continue east.

Tosenjicho

shopping district

6

9 From Yatasuji Street to

Sotobori Ryokuchi

Cross the pedestriancrossing, turn left andcontinue to Sotobori
Ryokuchi.

10 Turn left before thecondominium complex

The Sotobori Ryokuchi site
is cobbled. Turn left, crossa small bridge with a ramp,
and continue west.

10

Cross the pedestriancrossing and go back inthe direction of Kintetsu
Koriyama Station.

14 In front of the City HallAt the intersection on thecorner of Honke Kikuya,cross the street to the City
Hall and continue west on
the sidewalk.

13 From Kon-ya-machi to

Yanagi Icchome

From Kon-ya-machi, turn righttoward Yanagi Icchome andcontinue north. Vehicle traffic on
Yanagimachi streets is heavy.

Hakomotokan Kon-ya

the City Hall

district

The utility poles on thestreet make it hard to
maneuver in a wheelchair.
Vehicle traffic is also
heavy. The gutters do nothave covers in some areas.

11 Kon-ya-machi east end
The streets of
Kon-ya-machi still havegullies running through the
middle, so caution isrequired. There is also
vehicle traffic.

8

Honke Kikuya

15 Intersection in front of

4 Yanagimachi shopping

7

Sotobori Ryokuchi

Yakuon Hachiman Shrine

Nakajima Genkuro Mochi Hompo

8 Yatasuji Street
A gully runs alongside thestreet, so caution isrequired.

2

Koriyama Hachiman Shrineintersection

Genkuro Inari Shrine

7 Shin-kon-ya-machi

3

K COFFEE

4

Kingyo Street
Yanagimachi Shopping district

1 Kintetsu Koriyama

12 Cross Inomachi Road
Cross the road. The
crossing has no pedestrian
lights, so caution isrequired.

Castle Town Route Map
Kintetsu K
ashihara
Line

N
100m
LegendPublic restrooms
Accessible restrooms
Coin-operated lockers

no10 Honke Kikuya Oshiro
Kuchi Mochi

Yamato Koriyama
City HallThis is Nara’s oldest Japanese
confectionary shop. Toyotomi Hidenaga,
lord of Koriyama Castle, had Kikuya Jihei
make kinako mochi (rice ﬂour cakes ﬁlledwith sweet bean jam and dusted withsoybean ﬂour) called Oshiro no Kuchi
Mochi, to treat his brother Hideyoshi, which
are still made today using traditional
methods.
There is a small step at the shop’s
entrance, but the inside is large enough fora wheelchair to make a 360-degree turn.

6

15

14
Sannomaru Hall

Bicycle rental

8

Bus terminal

10

Honke
KikuyaTaxis
Nara Shinkin Bank
head ofﬁce

Convenience stores

13

1

2

Sake Brewery & Bar

Kingyo Street Yanagimachi shopping district

Kintetsu Koriyama Station
1

8

9 Nakatani’s

1

Due to open in June 2022

Hakomotokan
Kon-yaTamai Tokeiten
Yatasuji Street

3

7

4

Gokingyocho

Koriyama Hachiman
2 Shrine

The ancient guardian deity of
Koriyama is fondly called Yanagi
Hachimangu by the locals. The
shrine has also become famousas the ‘baseball glove shrine’ inrecent years.
The entrance area is graveled, butthere are ramps on the approachto the shrine grounds. There arealso small steps, so it would besafer to have a carer’s assistance.

1 Kingyo Street

Yanagimachi
shopping district

Kitatani Gofukuten

Various aquariums are set up in
front of the shops, creating a
goldﬁsh aquarium in town.
There is also a stamp rally forcollecting shop seals in
Gokingyoin and Gokingyocho
booklets, allowing visitors to Gokingyoin
enjoy both goldﬁsh and a stroll
down the street.

K COFFEE
Votive picture

Genkuro Inari 4
Shrine3 K COFFEE

2
Koriyama Hachiman Shrine

6

5

3

The coffee roastery/stand in a
repurposed gasoline station iswhere anyone can drop in to enjoya cup.
It is an open-air shop, so there are
no steps.

Nakatani Shuzo head ofﬁce

Seishu Toyotomi Hidenaga

7 Sotobori Ryokuchi

9 Nakatani’s

8 Hakomotokan

Nakatani Brewing Co., Ltd.,established in 1853, will open
new brewery in June 2022.
Visitors can drink fresh Sakeand participate in making Sake
(reservations required).
The ground-level shop andsake-tasting space will bewheelchair accessible.

The tourist facility is in a repurposed townhouse of an
indigo dye merchant built in the late Edo period. It has
materials related to Hakomoto Jusancho, the GoldﬁshCollection of arts and crafts related to goldﬁsh, aself-service cafe, an indigo-dye shop selling original
designs, and an indigo-dye studio.
Although some aisles are narrow, most of the facility’s
interiors are wheelchair accessible. The GoldﬁshCollection is not wheelchair accessible, as it isdisplayed in a tatami-matted room.

Sake Brewery & Bar

Kon-ya9 JR Koriyama Station

Kon-ya River

11

10

8

toji

7
9

Nakajima Genkuro
Mochi Honpo

Line

7 Sotobori Ryokuchi

InomachiRoad

5

Civic Hall
10

JR Y
ama

12

The park makes use of theruins of Koriyama Castle’souter moat. The Akishino Riverﬂowed through the area until
the outer moat wasconstructed around the end of
the 16th century.
The grounds are cobbled but
ﬂat with no steps.

6

Yakuon Hachiman Shrine

6 Yakuon Hachiman
5 Nakajima Genkuro

Mochi Honpo

4 Genkuro Inari Shrine
The shrine is dedicated to a fox
named Genkuro, which appears in
Kabuki and Bunraku plays. One ofJapan’s three major Inari shrines ispopular as the god of abundant crops
and thriving business.
The path from the torii
gate to the main
shrine hall is graveled,requiring considerable
strength in a manual
wheelchair.
Ceramic bell

Genkuro Mochi is a rustic baked ricecake that evokes the ambiance of thedays when the shop was located in
front of the Genkuro Inari Shrine.
The step to the shop has been
removed, so it is wheelchair
accessible.

Genkuro Mochi

ShrineThe shrine’s name Yakuon isbelieved to derive from the factthat it was built on the site of aphysic garden in the Nara period(The eighth century).
The grounds are cobbled andmostly ﬂat. Ramps are installed in
the hall of worship so that visitors
can reach the back of the shrine
to offer prayers.

Maneki Neko oracleIndigo-dye experience –Fureai Kobo Watagen
Toyotomi Hidenaga, the lord of Koriyama Castle, promoted thecastle town by attracting influential merchants and craftsmen
from all over Japan to Koriyama by employing land tax
exemptions and charters (monopoly goodwill). Kon-ya was one
such example. Indigo-dyeing was banned outside of Koriyama
within the Nara Basin, and Kon-ya was allowed to operate in the
castle town. Yamato Koriyama’s indigo-dyeing has a history ofover 400 years since Hidenaga issued the charter.
Today, there are two indigo-dye studios in the castle town,
offering taster courses for dyeing handkerchiefs and stoles inoriginal designs using traditional Japanese indigo dye.
One of them, Fureai Kobo Watagen, revived the history of Yamato
Koriyama’s indigo dye in 1989. It has studied the region’s climate
and water quality in a quest for the beauty of traditional
Japanese indigo. Visitors can experience various indigo andvegetable dyeing techniques, from indigo dyeing of
handkerchiefs, which can be completed in two hours and taken
home, to flower dyeing (the studio’s unique tie-dye technique)for more experienced dyers (up to 40 people per session). The
studio has also attracted visitors from overseas in recent years.
Another major feature of Fureai Kobo Watagen is that it is open
to outside artists and businesses wishing to use traditional
indigo dyeing.

Wring the cloth and dye it in indigo

Wash repeatedly in cold water

Look!

Opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm
(indigo-dyeing courses require booking)No scheduled holidays
Call: 0743-52-2328
244, Kita-Koriyamacho, Yamato Koriyama.
Castle Route Map 11
There is a 5 cm-high step at the studio’s entrance, but astaff member will place a ramp. The indigo jars are at aheight accessible to wheelchair users, but thoseunaccustomed will require a carer’s assistance. Aprons
and gloves can be borrowed, but it would be better towear clothes you do not mind getting soiled.

Fureai Kobo Watagen

The studio’s unique flower dyeing

Restrooms at
7 Sotobori Ryokuchi

Restrooms at
8 Sannomaru Hall

Restrooms at
Restrooms at
9 JR Koriyama Station 10 Civic Hall

The single-purpose restrooms havea toilet seat with a bidet system.
The space is large enough for awheelchair to make a 360-degree
turn.

The accessible restrooms have a
toilet seat with a bidet system, ababy safety sea, and a diaper
changing table. The space is large
enough for a wheelchair to make a
360-degree turn.

The accessible restrooms have a
toilet seat without a bidet system,
but have a diaper changing table,
and an ostomate facility. The spaceis large enough for a wheelchair tomake a 360-degree turn.

LegendWheelchair
accessible
restrooms

Toilet seatswith warm
water bidet

Baby safety
seats

Diaperchanging
tables

The accessible restrooms have a
toilet seat with a bidet system anda diaper changing table. The spaceis large enough for a wheelchair tomake a 360-degree turn.

Ostomate
facilities

CallbuttonYamato Koriyama retains the castle town ruins andlayout from 400 years ago
N
Honke Kikuya
Hakomotokan Kon-ya
Tsutsui Junkei

Toyotomi Hidenaga

The history of Koriyama Castle dates back to 1580, when
Yamato’s feudal lord, Tsutsui Junkei, built the castle. In
1585, Toyotomi Hidenaga (Hideyoshi’s younger brother)relocated to Koriyama and began constructing a castle andtown worthy of his one million-goku (goku or koku is ameasurement of rice production). Hidenaga initiated a
powerful program to promote the castle town by gathering
influential merchants and craftsmen from all over Japan tothe southeast of the castle town and granting themautonomy and exclusive business rights. These towns called
Hakomoto Jusancho were inherited by the Koriyama feudallords during the Edo period, and Koriyama prospered as thepolitical and economic center of Yamato Province.

Kintetsu
Koriyama Station

Yakuon Hachiman
ShrineGenkuro Inari Shrine

ShrineRed areas show the locations occupied
by townsfolk, temples, and shrines.
Most of the Castle Town Route has
streets that existed in the Edo period .
Additions were made to the map of the
Yamato Province Koriyama clan during
the Ansei period (1854 – 1860) in thecollection of Yanagisawa Bunko.

Supporting organizations(in no particular order)

Nara Shinkin Bank

Endorsements(in no particular order)

City of Yamato Koriyama
Yamato Koriyama City Tourism Association
Yamato Koriyama Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Koriyama Historical Ruins – Yanagisawa Bunko Conservation Society
Society for the Honor of Tsutsui Junkei

Yamato Koriyama Accessible Sightseeing Map
Published by Yamato Koriyama History Club
Published on March 30, 2022.
This map was created with support from the Yamato Koriyama Urban Community Development
Ideas Support Project
The information provided is current as of March 2022.
The inclusive tourist map includes facilities and places inaccessible to wheelchair users.
The map was supervised by the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Section, Urban Planning Division, The City of Yamato Koriyama
from the historical and cultural perspective.
Accessibility information was researched in cooperation with the non-profit organization, Independent Living Support Center Freedom 21.
Permissions were obtained from the facilities and shops listed.
Some names (e.g., organization names) are provisional translations.
Secondary use or unauthorized copying of the text, images, and graphics of the Yamato Koriyama Accessible Sightseeing Map is not permitted.