400-Year-Old Japanese Castle Opens for Overnight Stays

FUKUYAMA, Hiroshima Prefecture — In a bid to marry heritage with hospitality, Fukuyama City in western Japan has unveiled an audacious venture: allowing travelers to inhabit its storied 17th-century castle overnight. For a steep price tag of 1.32 million yen ($8,500) per night—a sum that positions the experience squarely in the realm of luxury—guests can momentarily trade modern life for the trappings of the feudal aristocracy, complete with private tours of restricted historical sites and opulent meals fit for a daimyo lord.

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The initiative, which welcomed its inaugural guests last October, transforms Fukuyama Castle’s painstakingly reconstructed moon-viewing turret into a temporary residence. Visitors are granted exclusive access to the castle keep after hours, where a private lounge overlooks the city’s twilit skyline. The package includes a soak in a traditional bathhouse and a multicourse kaiseki banquet crafted from seasonal delicacies, blending Edo-period grandeur with contemporary indulgence.

Yet the true jewel of the offering lies in its access to the Fushimi Yagura turret, a national cultural treasure typically shrouded in secrecy. This wooden structure, believed to have been salvaged from Kyoto’s ill-fated Fushimi Castle during Fukuyama Castle’s construction in 1622, survived the Allied bombing of Hiroshima Prefecture in August 1945—a stark contrast to the main keep, which burned to ashes and was rebuilt in 1966. “This is more than a stay; it’s a dialogue with resilience,” remarked a city official, underscoring the program’s dual mission of tourism and preservation.

A Symbolic Bridge Between Past and Pop Culture
Fukuyama’s bat-themed civic logo—a nod to the castle’s hilltop moniker, Komoriyama (Bat Mountain)—has drawn bemused comparisons to the iconic Batman emblem. In a whimsical stroke of civic diplomacy, the city formalized a “friendship pact” with Gotham City, the fictional backdrop of the DC Comics series, in 2022. The gesture, while playful, underscores a serious ambition: leveraging both history and pop culture to carve a niche in Japan’s crowded tourism landscape.

A Broader Strategy for Regional Revival
Fukuyama’s gambit mirrors a growing trend among Japan’s regional economies, which are courting deep-pocketed travelers to offset the gravitational pull of Tokyo and Kyoto. Nearby, Marugame Castle in Kagawa Prefecture offers sunset matcha ceremonies atop its stone walls, while Ozu Castle in Ehime Prefecture provides overnight stays in replica samurai quarters. These ventures target a rarefied tier of travelers seeking exclusivity—and willing to pay for it.

As Japan’s post-pandemic tourism surges, officials hope such projects will funnel visitors—and revenue—into lesser-known locales. “We’re not just selling a room,” the Fukuyama official added. “We’re offering a portal to the past, one that compels us to safeguard these treasures for generations ahead.”