Inuyama Castle

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By train

Inuyama is the terminal station on the Meitetsu Inuyama Line. From Nagoya, a shinkansen station, Inuyama can be reached in 30-35 minutes at a cost of ¥540.

There are two other stops in the area served by Meitetsu: Inuyama-Yuen and Inuyama-Guchi, though only local trains stop at these two stations.

Get around

See

There are some pretty temples in the eastern hills, including the two famous fertility shrines in Komaki, a town about halfway between Inuyama and Nagoya.

• Inuyama Castle (犬山城 Inuyamajō) [1]. The only privately owned castle in Japan and one of the nicest original examples of feudal Japanese fortifications. Originally built in 1537 by Oda Nobuyasu, grandfather of Oda Nobunaga, the warlord who helped end the long civil war that preceded the Tokugawa Shogunate, Inuyama is one of a handful of castles designated a Japanese national treasure.

• Little World, a 20-minute bus ride away from Inuyama station. A miniature Expo that tries to reconstruct or import houses from all over the world, together with souvenir shops and restaurants - nice for a day visit.

• Meiji Mura Museum (明治村), about 20 minutes by bus from Inuyama station, houses a large collection of Meiji-era architecture from all over Japan and even as far away as Brazil, Hawaii, and Seattle. The signature piece is the lobby of the old Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel (1923-1965) in Tokyo [2]. Open 9:30 am to 5:00 pm Mar-Oct, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Nov-Feb. Regular adult admission is ¥1600 (or ¥2200 with a pass on the antique bus, trolley, and train rides).

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