Shimabara Castle, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, Low Angle View

Getty Images/amana images RM

Shimabara-jō

Top choice in Kyūshū


This hilltop castle was ruled mostly by the Matsudaira clan from the 1660s and played a part in the Shimabara Rebellion. It was rebuilt in 1964. As well as lotus ponds, tangled gardens, almost 4km of massive stone walls overgrown with greenery, and staff dressed in period costume, the castle grounds house four museums. Most notable is the main castle, displaying arms, armour and items relating to local Christian history, with English explanations.

Also within the castle compound is Seibō Kinenkan, dedicated to the work of native son Kitamura Seibō, sculptor of the Nagasaki Peace Statue.

From February to August, several times a month during the nighttime Yoru no Jin program, the castle exterior is lit up and visitors wander inside with torches (flashlights) to view the exhibits (admission ¥720).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kyūshū attractions

1. Seibō Kinenkan

0.03 MILES

On the grounds of Shimabara Castle, this museum is dedicated to the work of Kitamura Seibō, a native son of Shimabara and sculptor of the central statue…

2. Samurai Houses

0.26 MILES

In the Teppō-machi area, northwest of the castle, are buke yashiki (samurai residences) set along a pretty, 450m-long gravel road with a stream down the…

3. Koi no Uyogu Machi

0.35 MILES

The spring water that flows into Shimabara from Mt Unzen is so pure that koi can swim in it, and in this district south of the castle you can see the fish…

4. Nehan-zō

0.49 MILES

In the cemetery of Kōtō-ji Buddhist temple (江東寺) is this tranquil Nirvana statue, dating from 1957. At 8.6m, it's the longest reclining Buddha in Japan.

6. Unzen Ropeway

5.44 MILES

This cable car gets you close to a shrine and the summit of Myōken-dake (1333m), from where the hike via Kunimi-wakare takes just under two hours to…

7. Gojū-shūnen Hiroba

7 MILES

In the centre of Unzen village and at the base of the jigoku (literally 'hells'; boiling mineral hot springs), this plaza commemorating the national park…

8. Shimada Museum of Arts

18.61 MILES

Through the winding backstreets south of Honmyō-ji (about 20 minutes on foot), this quiet museum displays the calligraphy and scrolls of Miyamoto Musashi …

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "japan/kyushu/shimabara/attractions/shimabara-jo/a/poi-sig/1233658/356738",
      "destination": "Kyūshū",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Japan",
      "region": "Kyūshū",
      "position": "superzone"
    }