Takada Park

This park was crafted by renovating the site of Takada Castle, built in 1614 as the home castle of Matsudaira Tadateru, the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. You can still see part of the outer moat, the inner moat, the reconstructed Takada Castle Sanju Yagura, and the Gokuraku-bashi Bridge that connects the Honmaru and the Minami-ninomaru. Inside the Sanju Yagura is an exhibition room displaying historical artefacts, and the third floor houses an observatory commanding a panoramic view of Takada Park.
Covering about 50 hectares, the park also includes cultural facilities such as a history museum, sports facilities and walking paths, making it an important recreation place for local people.
About 4,000 cherry trees stand in and around the park, home to the “Takada Castle Cherry Blossom Festival” that runs from the beginning to the middle of April. The cherry blossoms lit up by about 3,000 paper lanterns at night are counted as one of Japan’s three greatest night cherry blossom viewing experiences.
And if you are there from late July to mid-August, you can see myriad lotus flowers that almost completely cover the outer moat.