9:00 AM – Climb the Tower of Odawara Castle
What makes Odawara Castle popular with visitors is its location, as it is easily accessible from Tokyo. It was built on a location halfway through the Tokaido road that led from former Edo (present-day Tokyo) to Kyoto, as a fort to protect the Kanto Region and the city of Edo.
One of its most distinguishing traits is the tenshukaku (*1), the symbolic tower of the castle. It is believed that Odawara Castle was first built around the mid-15th century, but it has been repaired and rebuilt over and over again ever since. The tenshukaku we can see today is a reconstruction dating to 1960. Visitors can enter the tenshukaku, and if you’re lucky and the weather is clear, you’ll even get a sweeping view of Sagami Bay.
*1 Tenshukaku: the highest part of a Japanese castle. Represents that castle.

You’ll pass three heavily built gates, meant to protect the castle, on the way to the tenshukaku from the main entrance. Take a walk immersed in this well-protected castle’s historical atmosphere.
The admission fee for the tenshukaku is 500 yen for adults, and 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students (including tax). The visitors who show their Hakone Freepass can get a discount and pay 450 yen for adults, and 180 yen for elementary and junior high school students.