Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [186]
Orientation & Information
Inuyama’s tourist information office (61-6000; 9am-5pm) is in Inuyama Station. It dispenses useful English-language pamphlets and maps and can book accommodation and make referrals to river activities such as rafting. The castle and ukai area are closer to Inuyama-yūen Station, one stop north or about 15 minutes on foot. On the web, visit www.city.inuyama.aichi.jp/english/index.html.
Sights & Activities
INUYAMA-JŌ
A National Treasure, Japan’s oldest standing castle (61-1711; adult/child ¥500/100; 9am-5pm) is said to have originated with a fort in 1440; the current donjon (main keep) dates from 1537 and has withstood war, earthquake and restoration to remain an excellent example of Momoyama-period architecture. Stone walls reach 5m high, and inside are narrow, steep staircases and military displays. There’s a fine view of mountains and plains from the top storey.
Just south are the shrines Haritsuna Jinja and Sankō-Inari Jinja, the latter with interesting statues of komainu (protective dogs).
MARIONETTE (KARAKURI) EXHIBITION ROOM & INUYAMA CASTLE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Included in your admission ticket to Inuyama-jō are the following two collections.
One block south of Haritsuna Jinja and Sankō-Inari Jinja, the Marionette (Karakuri) Exhibition Room (61-3932; admission purchased separately ¥100; 9am-5pm) contains a small display of Edo- and Meiji-era puppets. On Saturday and Sunday you can see the wooden characters in action (at 10.30am and 2pm).
To see the puppets as they were meant to be used, visit during Inuyama Matsuri (Inuyama Festival, on the first Saturday and Sunday in April), designated an Intangible Cultural Asset by the Japanese government. Dating back to 1635, the festival features a parade of 13 three-tiered floats decked out with lanterns and karakuri, which perform to music.
Nearby, the Inuyama Castle Historical Museum (65-1728; admission purchased separately ¥100; 9am-5pm) has two of the festival floats on display. Four more of the current floats are on exhibit at Dondenkan (61-1800; adult/child ¥200/100; 9am-5pm) a few blocks south, accessed via a street of wood-built buildings.
URAKU-EN & JO-AN TEAHOUSE
The garden Uraku-en (61-4608; admission ¥1000; 9am-5pm Mar-Nov, to 4pm Dec-Feb) is 300m east of Inuyama-jō, in a corner of the grounds of the Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel. One of the finest tea houses in Japan and a National Treasure, Jo-an was built in 1618 in Kyoto by Oda Urakusai, a younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, and was relocated here in 1972.
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TIE ME UP, TIE ME DOWN
The suburb of Arimatsu (), southeast of central Nagoya, has been famous for the art of shibori (tie-dyeing) for centuries. No 1960s flower-power here, though; one kimono requires four to six months of painstaking work. Artisans tie cotton threads to create over 100 precise patterns (the tiny boxes of the kanoko – fawn spot – pattern are the most recognisable). Arimatsu-Narumi Shibori Kaikan (; Tie-Dyeing Museum; 621-0111; www.shibori-kaikan.com/kaikan-e.html; admission free, film & exhibitions adult/child ¥300/100; 9.30am-5pm Thu-Tue) shows and sells shibori works; a video in English explains the process and artisans are on hand to demonstrate.
Arimatsu’s main street boasts a smattering of Edo-period wooden structures, including merchant homes, from when it was a stop along the Tōkaidō (see the boxed text). From Meitetsu Nagoya Station, the trip to Arimatsu takes 20 minutes (¥340).
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Urakusai was a renowned tea master who founded his own tea-ceremony school. He was also a closet Christian whose adopted name (the Portuguese ‘João’) was bestowed on the tea house. Visitors may peek into the