Aizu-Wakamatsu see · Aizu-Wakamatsu attractions
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Aizu-Wakamatsu attractions
Aizu-Wakamatsu attractions
Tsuruga-jo Castle was originally built in 1593. During the end of the Edo Period, the Aizu soldiers were defeated after one month of fighting to defeat the castle. The new government (Meiji Period) destroyed the castle in 1874. In accordance with it's original design, the castle was built again in 1965 - it is considered to symbolize the samurai culture of Aizu-Wakamatsu. The castle contains five stories, which serve as a local history museum. Each floor focuses on a theme - Buddhist memorbilia, antique lacquerware and pottery, the Boshin Civil War and the Byakkotai. The fifth floor serves as a observation platform. From here, you can enjoy a splendid view of the entire Aizu valley. Near the entrance to the castle grounds is a excellent souvenir shop, selling a variety of goods from the Aizu region, and in the spring, the castle grounds are filled with cherry blossoms.
The castle lookout is a good place to envisage exile: Shiba Goro writer of Remembering Aizu left this place of his dreams with the other exiles of the Aizu culture who were made scapegoats for the resistance to the Meiji restoration. Amazon Books had,at the time of writing, extensive extracts for free from Remembering Aizu if you want a sample.
Oyakuen Botanical Garden - built in 1670 as a garden for a teahouse for the lords of Aizu. The garden is well known for growing medicinal herbs - around 400 different kinds of herbs are still grown today.
Mt. Iimoriyama - After being defeated in a battle against the imperial forces, twenty young men of the Byakkotai, also known as the White Tiger Band, retreated to this hill. When they saw the Tsuruga Castle burning, they thought it had fallen to the enemy, and committed suicide. Their graves are located on Mt. Iimoriyama where incense is always burnt on their behalf. Visitors can walk up the many steps to see the graves, or take the escalator for ¥250. There are two Byakkotai memorial museums, including the usual tourist shops.
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Aizu-Wakamatsu Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.