Nagoya Castle visitor guide 2026: hours, tickets, how to get there, and what to see now that the main keep is closed

Nagoya Castle is still worth a visit even though the main keep (tenshu) is closed to visitors. You can go inside the restored Honmaru Palace and the Nishinomaru Treasure House, and walk the stone walls and turrets. Admission is 1,000 yen for adults (raised on 1 October 2026), the grounds are open from 9:00 to 16:30, and the official estimate for a visit is 1 to 1.5 hours.

What can you see at Nagoya Castle now that the main keep is closed?

You cannot currently enter the main keep. The official website says that the keep and some other structures cannot be entered, and the keep is being rebuilt in wood. The castle itself is open, though. The official FAQ confirms that you can still enter the castle while the keep is closed, and that the admission fee is unchanged for that reason.

Besides the keep, you can see the restored Honmaru Palace, the Nishinomaru Treasure House (an exhibition building that shows paintings from the Palace and other items), the stone walls, the turrets and about 900 cherry trees (Somei-yoshino, mountain cherry, weeping cherry and others). The golden shachihoko on the roof can be seen from outside. The male (north side) is 2.621 m tall and weighs 1,272 kg, made of 18-karat gold plates.

What are the opening hours, closing days and admission fees?

Admission was raised from 500 yen to 1,000 yen for adults on 1 October 2026. Older guidebooks and blogs may still say 500 yen, so check the current price before you go. Entry to Honmaru Palace and the Nishinomaru Treasure House is free with the castle admission.

How do you get to Nagoya Castle from Nagoya Station or Nakamura Koen?

• From Nakamura Koen: take the Higashiyama Line to Sakae, change to the Meijo Line and get off at Nagoya-jo Station. 8 stops, about 21 minutes, 240 yen
• From Nagoya Station: about 15 minutes by subway with one change; about 20 minutes on the Me-guru sightseeing bus
• From Sakae: about 5 minutes by subway
• Meitetsu Seto Line: 15 minutes' walk from Higashi-Ote Station

Nagoya-jo Station on the Meijo Line is a 5-minute walk from Exit 7. Once inside, Honmaru Palace is still about 10 minutes' walk from the Main Gate or East Gate. If you want to enter the Palace, be at the Palace entrance by 16:00, not at the gates.

What are the highlights of Honmaru Palace?

Honmaru Palace was finished in 1615 as the residence and office of the lord of Owari, burned down in an air raid in 1945 and was rebuilt, with the work completed in 2018. The ceilings, transom carvings and wall paintings change from room to room, becoming more lavish the higher the room's rank. The main rooms are:

• Genkan (entrance hall): the first room visitors were shown into, painted with the gold-ground screen "Leopards and Tigers in a Bamboo Grove"; it is also called the Tiger Room
• Omote-shoin: the most formal room when the Palace was built, used for official audiences with the lord
• Taimensho: where the lord met family and retainers in private and held banquets; the coffered ceiling is worth a look
• Jorakuden: added in 1634 for the visit of the third shogun, Iemitsu, and the most lavish room in the Palace; it has paintings by Kano Tanyu, who painted them at 33
• Yudono-shoin and Kuroki-shoin: the shogun's private steam bath, and a calm study built with pine

How long does a visit take, and what order works best?

The official website gives 1 to 1.5 hours as the time needed to see the castle grounds properly, including Honmaru Palace. It also lists recommended 60-minute (barrier-free), 90-minute, 120-minute and 150-minute courses starting from either the Main Gate or the East Gate.

• Arrive in the morning and see Honmaru Palace first. You take off your shoes at the entrance and follow the route through the rooms
• Then visit the Nishinomaru Treasure House for the castle's history and the Palace's wall paintings
• Walk around the keep past the stone walls and turrets. The golden shachihoko can be seen from outside
• For lunch, there is a canteen with noodles and light meals inside the castle, or you can eat outdoors in the Ninomaru Plaza
• In the afternoon, go on to Tokugawa Garden and the Tokugawa Art Museum, about 15 minutes by Me-guru bus. The combined ticket with Tokugawa Garden is 1,040 yen

Honmaru Palace closes to new entries at 16:00 and the castle closes at 16:30. If the Palace is the main reason you are going, plan to arrive by about 15:00 at the latest.

What are the rules and tips to know before you go?

• You take off your shoes at the entrance to Honmaru Palace. If you are barefoot or in stockings, you can change into the slippers provided
• Leave large luggage such as suitcases in the free lockers inside the Palace. There are also coin lockers at the Main Gate and East Gate, and the information desk at the Main Gate will keep bags that do not fit for 300 yen per item
• Turn off your camera flash to protect the wall paintings. You can take photos inside the Palace
• Eating, drinking and smoking are not allowed inside the Palace, and neither is using a mobile phone
• The Palace has no air conditioning, heating or toilets, so dress for the weather
• Pets can come into the castle grounds on a lead, but not into buildings such as the Palace or the Treasure House (assistance dogs are allowed)
• Wheelchairs can be borrowed at the Main Gate and East Gate (limited numbers, no reservations). There is a ramp on the north side of the Palace

When is the best time to visit Nagoya Castle?

Nagoya Castle has about 900 cherry trees, including Somei-yoshino. For when the blossom and autumn colour come, see our article on cherry blossoms and autumn leaves in Nagoya. The castle is closed only on 29-31 December and 1 January, so it is open through the rest of winter. The keep is lit from sunset until 23:00 (21:30 on the 8th of each month), though the lights may go off earlier on some days. The grounds are closed by then, so you see the lighting from outside.

Where should you stay if you are visiting Nagoya Castle?

Staying near a subway station makes Nagoya Castle easy to reach. Central Nagoya is a group of private stays in Nakamura Ward, west of Nagoya Station. House and Residence are 7 and 2 minutes' walk from Nakamura Koen Station on the Higashiyama Line, with direct trains to Nagoya Station (about 7 minutes) and Sakae (about 12 minutes). Stays is 4 minutes' walk from Taiko-dori Station, one stop from Nagoya Station on the Sakura-dori Line.

Every stay has a kitchen and a washing machine (or washer-dryer). It suits a trip of several days from one base: see the castle one day, cook in the kitchen when you get back, and head to Inuyama or Tokoname the next.

• Nagoya itinerary: 1, 3 and 5 days →
• Are Nagoya day passes worth it? →
• Cherry blossoms and autumn leaves in Nagoya →
• Staying near Nagoya Station →

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