【岩村城】城下町グルメ＆女城主の城へ！日本三大山城を駆け抜ける7kmトレラン旅
Iwamura Castle
Impregnable castle Good morning. This is Toshi from Sanku(山駆).
This is Mariko. Today, I’m at Iwamura Station on the Akechi Railway in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture. Today, I’m going to attack Iwamura Castle from here. It’s one of Japan’s 100 most famous castles and one of the three great mountain castles. Yes. That’s right. This place is already at a high altitude, but the highest point is 717 meters, so I’ll do my best. Mariko, how are you feeling today? Enthusiasm? (laughs) On the way to the castle, there’s a nostalgic castle town, so I’m really looking forward to having a bite to eat and some sweets there. That’s right. I’m looking forward to having fun. Let’s get started! Yes, Iwamura Station. The village of female castle lords. This castle was ruled by Oda Nobunaga’s aunt, Otsuya. The Japanese restaurant “Kawai” is right in front of the station. It’s a small, nice station. We’ve arrived at the old townscape. The proprietress’s name is inscribed on the noren. *This initiative is associated with the “Home of Female Castle Lords.” It’s said to be a tribute to Otsuya, who ruled Iwamura as a female castle lord. It seems to be inscribed on the noren curtains of shops and individual homes. *This initiative is associated with the “Home of Female Castle Lords.” It’s said to be a tribute to Otsuya, who ruled Iwamura as a female castle lord. It’s early (8:00 AM), so there aren’t many people around, which is nice. That’s Iwamura Castle up there. Scary (lol). I miss Bon Curry. Castella. I’d like to try that. Fukuro Shopping Arcade. There are restrooms here, too. It’s a space where you can take a short break. Kankaraya. I’d like to stop by later. Wow! It’s Hakosuka! This road is a bit curved, and is built to prevent enemy invasions, known as Shimomachi Masugata. The castle is getting closer. Gohei mochi is also famous, so I’d like to have some later. The Katsukawa family home. The post office is cool too. This is a tobacco shop. So old. An old price list. Fuji, Peace, Hope, Golden Bat – very old. This is the Kimura residence. Apparently the lord used to come here, and there’s a special gate. Mizuno Pharmacy. This sign looks like it’s been there since the Meiji era. This is a sake brewery. (Iwamura Brewery) Apparently they make a sake called 「Onna Joshu」 Turn left from the lighthouse and head towards the Iwamura Castle ruins. Turn right here. The Taiko Tower comes into view. Wow, it’s pretty impressive. The building over there is the Iwamura Historical Museum. Old map of Iwamura Castle. This is modern. The entrance to Iwamura Castle. Impressive! Let’s start climbing from here. This sign is quite old. 700m to the main castle. The elevation is 580m. About 130m left to climb. Shimoda Utako Study Center. I wonder if she studied here? Fujisaka. This is the steep slope leading up to the castle, from the feudal lord’s residence to the First Gate. This is it. The stone pavement makes it easy to climb, but it’s still quite steep. We climb little by little. This is the remains of the Hatsumon Gate. The road is straight up until this point, but it suddenly bends and becomes hook-shaped. Apparently there was no gate here normally, but in emergencies, a gate was built here to prevent enemy intrusion. It bends so suddenly. It’s 500 meters to the main enclosure. The climb is about 100 meters in 500 meters, so it’s quite steep. It has a nice atmosphere. The stone walls are coming into view. This is the remains of the Ichinomon Gate. The stone walls are starting to come into view, and the atmosphere is starting to look nice. I think the stone walls around here are kirikomihagi (cut joints). They look new. This is the Tokimon Gate. Foundation stones remain here as well. Tatami Bridge. There is no bridge now, but it seems there used to be a bridge like this over here. Here we walked along the dry moat, and there was a tatami bridge over it, which connected to this. It seems there was a three-story turret above this. Otemon Gate and Three-story Turret. There was a square gate here, right? We’ve climbed quite a bit. 200m left to the main castle. This is the path between the stone walls. It seems there were samurai residences on top of the stone walls on both sides. It feels like an ironclad defense. It seems there were many wells at Iwamura Castle. There are stone stairs hidden here, so it seems that people originally entered the castle from this side. I think this straight path is the dry moat. Kirigai. It seems to have been a well reserved for the lord. The well is the reason it was called Kiriga Castle. There is a snake bone in this well. It is said that if a snake bone is placed in this well, a mist will rise, hiding the castle. There is still water in the well. Wow, amazing. There is an explanation of Kirigai written there. It is 100m to the main castle. Hachiman Shrine. It looks like there is a shrine at the back of the Hachiman Kuruwa. This is the Rokudanheki(six-tiered wall). I came across the Rokudanheki. I’d seen it in photos, but the real thing is amazing. It seems the Rokudanheki wasn’t originally six-tiered, but was gradually built up from bottom to top to reinforce the upper stone wall. I arrived at the Rokudanheki. These stone walls were built to reinforce the top stone wall and prevent it from collapsing. It’s a 700-year-old castle ruin, so it’s really exciting. Apparently, Oda Nobunaga also visited the castle, so perhaps he walked around the area I’m walking through. It seems the Nagatsubone-uzumigata gate was located here. Above it, there seems to have been a Tamon-yagura tower. It’s shaped like a square. Is this the main castle? “Oda Nobunaga’s Campsite” – this is where Oda Nobunaga stayed. The main castle is vast. It’s 717 meters above sea level, so it feels a bit cool. It’s pleasant. You can see the castle town from here. There’s a commemorative stamp. The Rising Dragon Well. There are lots of wells. This is also the remains of a buried gate. The stone wall here is nozurazumi(rough-faced), with the back one being uchikomihagi (built-in joints), and this one being kirikomihagi (cut-in joints). There are three generations of stone walls in one place, so they must have been built in order. This stone wall is high. It’s amazing. It’s a defensive outcrop southwest of the main enclosure. This is now a parking lot. This building seems to have been converted into a restroom, with a rest area inside. Former lords of Iwamura Castle: This is the Minamikuruwa (Southern Boundary). It seems to extend along the ridge. There seems to have been a samurai residence there as well. Since we’re here, we’ll take a look around. This is the moat. There’s not much to see if we go all the way in, right? There’s a rope, so it looks like it continues all the way. Is this the end of the moat? It’s really deep, though. We went around from the Minamikuruwa (Southern Boundary) and returned to Rokudanheki (Rokudan Wall). On the way back, we took a quick look around the Hachimankuruwa (Hachiman Boundary) before descending the mountain. It’s a pretty steep stone staircase, and it seems Hachiman Shrine is at the top. This is Hachiman Shrine. It had rained quite a bit during the night on the way here. Because of that, the grass was wet, so my shoes got soaked just by walking. The stone walls are amazing. I mean, the castle was built in the Kamakura period, right? (Castles were built on the mountain at the end of the Sengoku period.) It’s amazing that it hasn’t collapsed at all even though it’s been about 700 years. I’m really impressed that it could be preserved to this extent with the technology of that era. I’m heading down the mountain. Above here is where the tatami bridge used to be. Here, we’re walking across a dry moat. The cobblestones are wet from the rain, so they’re a bit slippery, so please be careful as you descend. Okay. We’ve come quite a way down. I was thinking about having a quick bite to eat before heading home: gohei mochi, castella, and castella cake. And then there’s Kankaraya, an udon noodle shop and a dumpling shop? They have things like ankoro mochi. I have to eat at three places. Or four? I have to eat, and I definitely can’t eat it all by myself. But I have to eat. Since I came all the way here, I can’t leave without trying this, so I’ve been wondering where to go. (It’s a happy dilemma.) After passing the Hatsumon gate, it’s a straight path from here. Iwamura Historical Museum. It’s open, but photography inside seems to be prohibited. Too bad. Now, let’s head down to the castle town.
Yay! I want something to eat.
Yes! Here we are! Snack time! Iwamura Brewery is open, so I’ll stop by. You can tour the area by following this rail. Apparently, this rail was in use until about 30 years ago. Amazing. The atmosphere is amazing. Tensho Canal. I wonder if they make sake with this water. I imagine there’s a sake brewery behind here. It’s a nice place. Here you go, Onna Joshu . Oh, this one. Junmai Ginjo “Onna Joshu.” Thank you. Yes. Ah. Ah.Junmai Junmai. You don’t know!?
It’s refreshing. Sweet. Delicious. I bought it. Who’s here? A mystery. A military man? I’m at the Kimura residence. It’s a building that’s been around for ages. It looks like you can go up to the second floor. It’s a really old building. There are tiles embedded in the mortar at your feet. It seems this used to be a bank. “Tosaya” is spacious. They say it’s 80 meters deep. It looks like an indigo dyeing factory. Of course, it’s not in use anymore. Now, I’d like to go to “Kankara-ya.” Everything is cheap. Kankara mochi. Tried it. Is it delicious? It melts. No teeth needed. I had Shinoda udon and Mochitama udon. It was delicious. Apparently it has a history of over 400 years. After the kankara mochi and udon, I had gohei mochi. How’s it? It’s hot! It’s delicious. Is it tasty?
Yes. Fragrant?
Yes. Miso flavor.
Yes. Wow. It’s different from the gohei mochi I’ve had before.
Oh, really? A little different? Sweet or spicy? Not sweet.
Oh, right. It looks like a side dish? Yes. It looks like a side dish.
Wow. There are lots of old things on display. The bicycles are really old. “Matsuuraken Honpo” Yes. I also had a castella. Next, I had gohei mochi again. (Amakara Iwamura branch) I’ve been eating all this time. The interior has a retro atmosphere. How’s it? Not too sweet. Is it tasty? It’s a little sweeter than the last one. But it’s tasty. It was super delicious. Perfect! Thank you for your hard work. I went to Iwamura Castle, and it was amazing how the stone walls and stone pavement are still standing. The scale of what remains is amazing, as it’s on top of a mountain and hasn’t been removed for a long time. I think that’s great. What did you think, Mariko? I love stone walls, and it’s 700 years old, so it was wonderful that they’ve remained intact, and well, what happened after that. The gourmet food after descending to the castle town. Gourmet food (lol) Everything was delicious and really easy to eat. It was easy on the wallet too. That’s right. It was reasonably priced. I had a great time, and I wanted to enjoy it a little more, but if I ate too much, I wouldn’t be able to run again. Yes. I held back. Anyway, I’ll be doing more castle siege trail runs and castle ruins trail runs, so please subscribe to my channel and wait for them. Please give me a high rating too. Well, bye. YAMAP activity data Thank you for watching until the end.
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岐阜県恵那市・岩村城を舞台にトレラン旅！
明知鉄道 岩村駅からスタートし、城下町を抜けて日本三大山城の一つ「岩村城」へ。
城下町に戻ってから名物グルメやスイーツを食べ歩き、日本酒「女城主」も堪能しました🍶
🏯 今回のコース（約7km）
岩村駅 → 城下町 → 岩村城 → 城下町散策＆食べ歩き → 岩村コミュニティセンター（日本100名城スタンプ）
🍴 城下町立ち寄りスポット
・岩村醸造（日本酒「女城主」）
・かんから屋（うどん＆かんから餅）
・みはら（五平餅）
・松浦軒本舗（カステーラ）
・あまから岩村店（五平餅）
・木村邸
・勝川家
・土佐屋
📜 岩村城の歴史
岩村城は標高717mに位置する山城で、日本三大山城のひとつ。別名「霧ヶ城」とも呼ばれ、深い霧に包まれる幻想的な景観で知られています。戦国時代には織田信長の叔母「おつやの方」が城主を務め、女城主の城として全国的にも有名です。石垣群は国の史跡に指定されており、山頂からの眺めは絶景です。
✨ 歴史とグルメを満喫できる岩村城トレラン、ぜひご覧ください！
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