Japan's 100 Greatest Castles #38 Iwamura Castle

"#38 Iwamura Castle" is one of the 100 famous castles in Japan. It takes nearly 2 hours to drive from "Gifu City" to "Ena City". This castle is located in a remote area. "#38 Iwamura Castle" is just a "castle ruins", that is, only the foundation of the ancient city remains, and buildings such as the castle tower have not been preserved or rebuilt. To reach this ancient city, you need to stop the car at the "Iwamura History Museum" at the foot of the mountain, then climb up the mountain road, passing through a forest of towering ancient trees. The mountain road is winding along the way. The sun rises in the morning, but you can still feel the biting cold wind in the forest, and your hands holding the camera feel a stinging pain on your skin. But the environment along the way and even in the ancient city is very beautiful and majestic. Standing on the abandoned foundation of the ancient city, it feels like being in the "ancient Mayan civilization of South America". It takes about 30 minutes to walk from the museum to the old castle. There are 15 guide boards along the way. After scanning the QR code on the board with your mobile phone or tablet, you can watch the original appearance of Iwamura Castle based on the "Kyoho era Iwamura Castle floor plan" using CG images. “#38 Iwamura Castle” is ranked as one of the three major mountain castles in Japan, along with “#61 Takatori Castle” and “#68 Bitchu Matsuyama Castle”. #38 Iwamura Castle is the highest castle among all the Edo domains (717 meters above sea level). It was built on a steep terrain with a 180-meter height difference, making it an easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack mountain castle. Due to the foggy climate in the area, it is also known as the "Mist Castle." The lord who ruled Iwamura Castle was Oda Nobunaga's aunt.