Inuyama

Inuyama (犬山) is a city in northern Aichi Prefecture, close to Nagoya and right on the border with Gifu, in Japan's Chubu region. It is best known for Inuyama Castle, one of only a handful of Japanese castles to retain its original wooden keep and one of the very few designated National Treasures. The castle stands on a bluff above the Kiso River, which a 19th-century European visitor famously likened to the Rhine.

Despite its small size, Inuyama makes an excellent day trip from Nagoya, packing in not just the castle but a cluster of nearby cultural attractions: the open-air Meiji Mura architecture museum, the Little World ethnographic park, the Japan Monkey Center and Park, and the Urakuen tea-house garden. The old castle town below the keep retains streets of traditional buildings, and the Kiso River setting adds scenery to the mix.

The climate follows the Chubu pattern — hot, humid summers and cool winters, with comfortable conditions in spring and autumn. Cherry blossom around the castle in early April and summer evenings of cormorant fishing on the river are particular highlights. The compact centre clusters around Inuyama Station, with the castle and old town a walkable distance away and the larger parks reached by bus.

By Plane

The regional gateway is Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO); some Meitetsu μSKY trains run from the airport toward Inuyama-yuen and Shin-Unuma, otherwise travel via Nagoya.

By Train

Inuyama Station is the terminal of the Meitetsu Inuyama Line. From Meitetsu Nagoya Station (beside JR Nagoya Station), Inuyama is reached in 30–35 minutes for ¥540. Two other Meitetsu stops serve the area: Inuyama-guchi, south of the city (local trains only), and Inuyama-yuen, east of the castle (local and express trains, plus μSKY trains from Centrair Airport bound for Shin-Unuma). The nearest JR station is Unuma (鵜沼), just across the Kiso River in Gifu Prefecture, on the Takayama Line — reached from Nagoya in about 30 minutes by the Limited Express Wide View Hida, then a 15-minute walk over the bridge to Inuyama Castle.

By Car / Road

Inuyama is reached by road from Nagoya and from Gifu across the Kiso River. The Komaki area lies roughly halfway between Inuyama and Nagoya. Local buses run from Inuyama Station to the area's larger attractions.

Central Inuyama around the station is walkable, and the castle and old town are an easy stroll away. Buses from Inuyama Station serve the more distant attractions — the Japan Monkey Park, Little World and Meiji Mura. There are no notable scams.

Castle

• Inuyama Castle (犬山城, Inuyamajō) — until transferred to the city in 2004, the last privately owned castle in Japan, and one of the finest surviving examples of original feudal fortification. Built in 1537 by Oda Nobuyasu, grandfather of Oda Nobunaga, it is a designated National Treasure with an intact wooden interior. ¥550 adults, ¥110 children.

Gardens and museums

• Urakuen (有楽苑) — a garden containing the Joan tea house, itself a National Treasure, about 20 minutes' walk from Inuyama Station or 5 minutes from the castle. A bowl of green tea on the veranda costs an extra ¥600; regular admission ¥1,000, with a combination castle ticket at ¥1,300.
• Karakuri Museum (からくりミュージアム) — a museum of bunraku (Japanese puppet) construction; admission is included with an Inuyama Castle ticket, and visitors can try operating a puppet.
• Meiji Mura Museum (明治村) — an open-air museum about 20 minutes by bus from Inuyama Station, displaying a large collection of Meiji-era buildings from across Japan and abroad, including the lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright's old Imperial Hotel. Open Mar–Oct 09:30–17:00, Nov–Feb 09:30–16:00. Adult ¥1,600 (¥2,200 with a pass for the antique bus, trolley and train rides).
• Little World (野外民族博物館 リトルワールド) — an ethnographic open-air park reconstructing houses from around the world, with souvenir shops and restaurants; a 20-minute bus ride from Inuyama Station (one-way fare ¥480). Adult ¥1,600.

Animal attractions

• Japan Monkey Center (日本モンキーセンター) — a primate facility with an exceptionally wide variety of monkeys and apes, though the enclosures are dated and cramped. Open Mar–Nov 09:30–17:00 (until 18:00 Jul–Aug), Dec–early Feb 09:30–16:30; closed for the rest of February. Adults ¥1,500, children ¥800.

• Japan Monkey Park (日本モンキーパーク) — an amusement park with rides for humans, next door to the Monkey Center; dual admission tickets are available.

• Watch cormorant fishing (鵜飼, ukai) on the Kiso River on summer nights — fishermen using fire, nets and trained birds make an atmospheric spectacle.

• Walk along the Kiso River, the "Japanese Rhine", in either direction for pleasant riverside scenery.

• Stroll the old castle town below the keep, with its traditional buildings and shops.

• View cherry blossom around Inuyama Castle in early April.

Restaurant choices immediately around the station are limited; the Japan Monkey Center near the station has a restaurant/cafeteria, and the old castle town offers small eateries and snack shops. Regional Aichi cuisine, including miso-based dishes, is found in the area.

• Hyakumandoru (百万ドル, "Million Dollar") — a modest bar serving drinks, a couple of doors down from Inuyama Station toward the river.

Tap water is safe to drink.

• Budget: Inuyama Youth Hostel — a fair walk from the centre, up a mountain beyond the river, but with clean, modern rooms, friendly staff, hot baths and meals available; private rooms around ¥3,700 for an adult. Address: 162-1 Himuro, Tsugao. Tel: +81 568-61-1111. Minshuku Yayoi is on a side street near the station, with rooms around ¥6,000 per person and meals available.

The old castle-town streets below the keep are lined with shops selling local snacks, sweets and souvenirs. Bargaining is not customary.

• Nagoya — the closest major city and the region's transport hub, a short express train ride away.
• Gifu — across the Kiso River in Gifu Prefecture, known for cormorant fishing and Gifu Castle.
• Kakamigahara — neighbouring, in Gifu Prefecture, home to an aerospace museum.
• Komaki — between Inuyama and Nagoya, with hilltop temples and two famous fertility shrines.
• Tajimi — east in Gifu, a centre of Mino ceramics.
• Inuyama's surrounding hills — dotted with temples and shrines worth exploring.