Echizen Ono Castle (Castle in the sky), Fukui

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In Ono City, Fukui Prefecture, which is a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides, Echizen Ono Castle, located in the center of it, is famous for its fantastic scenery as a castle in the sky. About such Echizen Ono Castle, we will introduce basic information, access methods, and sightseeing attractions.
This castle is Hirayama-jiro castles (those built on a hill in a plain) built on a mountain called Mount Kameyama at an altitude of about 249 meters in the center of Ono City. The area around Echizen Ono Castle is maintained as a historic park, and there are not only a castle tower but also a promenade where you can enjoy a walk.
In winter, snow can accumulate, and depending on the amount of snow, it may be prohibited to enter Mount Kameyama. Check the weather forecast in advance. Echizen Ono Castle is open from April to September from 9:00 to 17:00, and from October to November from 6:00 to 16:00. It is closed from December to March. Admission is 200 yen for adults and free for children below junior high school students.
The current castle tower of Echizen Ono Castle has been rebuilt. It was built in 1968 with reference to pictures and castles of the same period. Inside the castle, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and city area from the castle tower, and exhibits of the remains of historical castle owners.
One of the highlights of Echizen Ono Castle is “Unkai” (a sea of clouds). As introduced earlier, Echizen Ono Castle is built on the top of Mount Kameyama, so if the conditions such as the season match, the sea of clouds will spread around. At that time, you can enjoy the fantastic scenery as if the castle was floating.
Due to the phenomenon of the sea of clouds spreading around the castle, Echizen Ono Castle is also called “Castle in the Sky” and is a popular spot for tourists. In Japan, Takeda Castle Ruins and Bicchuu Matsuyama Castle are also famous for being a castle in the sky.

However, the sea of clouds of Echizen Ono Castle can be seen about 10 times a year, and it is very difficult to see, and it is very popular among fans.
To see the sea of clouds in Echizen Ono Castle, it is recommended to see it from Mount Inuyama, which is about 1 km away. The sea of clouds is seen from October to the end of April, and November is said to have the highest probability of sea of clouds.
There are three conditions that make the sea of clouds appear as follows:
･ It rained the day before or the humidity was high
･ The morning when the temperature of the previous day was high to some extent and cooled down by radiant cooling
･ And the wind is weak
It seems that the sea of clouds often appears from dawn to around 9 am as a time zone.
If this condition is met, the sea of clouds will spread around Mount Kameyama, and you will be able to enjoy the beautiful and fantastic view of the Castle in the Sky. However, these conditions are rare and rarely seen. If you want to visit nearby, try challenging.

The ground pink blooming around the castle around the early summer create a splendid scenery.

Ohno City in Fukui Prefecture is located in the eastern part of the prefecture, and is in contiguity with Ishikawa prefecture and Gifu prefecture with the mountain range. The JR Kuzuryu line, Echizen Ono station is the central station, the city area is known as the Echizen’s little Kyoto, where the former castle town remains strong. Recently, “Echizen Ono Castle” is attracting attention as a sightseeing spot as one of “Three major Japanese Castle in the sky”. Besides the castle, there are plenty of sightseeing places that are full of nature, especially the ground pink blooming around the castle around the early summer create a splendid scenery. In addition to the Echizen Ono Castle, “Three major Japanese Castle in the sky” is Takeda castle ruins of Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, and Bicchu Matsuyama Castle of Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture.

The observation spot of the castle tower of the sky castle “Echizen Ono Castle” is located on the south side near the summit of Mt. Inuyama, which is located about 1 km west of the castle. There are three routes in the Inuyama climbing course to go to the view spot, and all courses climb the mountain climbing course of Mt. Inuyama, so you need to prepare for hiking. One is the Kuwakake course named “Small Diameter to the Sky”, it is about 20 minutes on foot from the side road on the Sunayama tunnel next to No. 158 running in the city area, following the guide board. In the Kuwakake course, you can walk without hesitation in a single road that goes about 400 meters according to the directions that are standing every 100 meters from the entrance. And in the view spot, you can see the castle tower and the city area under the eyes, the mountains of the Hakusan mountain range in the distance, you can encounter the scenic view where you want to cheer momentarily.

Fantastic appearance

Speaking of the castle “Castle in the sky” which floats in a sea of clouds, “Takeda Castle” came into the spotlight as “Machu Picchu of Japan”, but there is another “Castle in the sky” in Fukui. It is “Echizen Ono jo” (Echizen Ono Castle) of Ono-shi, Fukui charming a fantastic appearance.

The splendor of a sea of clouds from Echizen Ono jo

Various splendid castles are in Japan, and each is characteristic. However, it is not only castle itself, when applying the spotlight onto a scene to look at from it, the scenery of the splendor of a sea of clouds from Echizen Ono jo is right the first superb view.

Need some conditions occur at the same time

The “Echizen Ono jo”, a symbol of Ono-shi, Fukui, is a castle rising on the Kameyama mountaintop of 249m above sea level. You can’t see the beautiful figure of the castle floating in this sea of clouds, unless some conditions occur at the same time.

Many fans come

You can see a sea of clouds in the morning when it rains on the day before and is cold by radiational cooling from autumn to spring. The figure that a castle floats on the cloud is fantastic, and many fans come from the outside the prefecture, too.

Closure during March from December

The appearance of the castle is splendid, furthermore, mementos of the ex-lord of a castle are displayed inside, it is also used as a museum. The opening period of inside of the castle is only an interval from April to November. It is the closure during March from December.

Information(Access, Price/Charge, Tel, Address, Official site, etc.)

Name:	Echizen Ono Castle
Adresse:	Shiromachi 3-109 Ono, Fukui 912-0087 Japan
Access:	JR Kuzuryu-sen Line “Echizen-ono-eki Station” (15 minutes by bus)
Tel:	(+81) 779-66-0234
Price:	200 yen (Adult) Free (Junior high school students and under) Please refer the official web page. *Closed : 1 December～31 March
Official site:	http://www.onocastle.net/