Bespoke Castle Stays in Shikoku: Experience Japan’s History Up Close

Japan consists of four main islands, and Shikoku is the smallest among them. This southwestern island is also known for the Shikoku Henro, a pilgrimage route that circles the island and connects 88 temples. In this region, travelers can “stay like a castle lord” through Japan’s most exclusive and luxurious castle stays. As of October 2025, Shikoku is home to two of the nation’s four castle lodgings. These experiences showcase the region’s history, comfort, and community revival, while offering a rare chance to travel back in time as the main character in your own version of Japan’s history.

Ozu Castle Stay, Ehime

Among Japan’s few castle stays, Ozu Castle Stay in Ehime Prefecture offers a rare opportunity to spend the night in its fully reconstructed main tower. Because the castle has no air-conditioning, stays are available only outside of midsummer and midwinter, when climate control is essential. Limited to just 30 stays a year, this exclusive experience, launched in 2020, combines historical authenticity with immersive local hospitality, allowing guests to step directly into the world of a feudal lord.

Guests, dressed in elegant kimono or samurai attire, are welcomed with a grand ceremony in true feudal style. A lively procession featuring locals as samurai and attendants, accompanied by drummers, a conch shell blower, and even a horse, escorts the new “lords” to their domain. After a teppotai (matchlock-gun) demonstration and ceremonial crowning, a personal kerai (retainer or right-hand man) leads a private tour through the castle’s restored interiors, sharing stories of its history and legacy while remaining in character.

Dinner is a modern French course inspired by a feudal lord’s banquet, prepared by local restaurant Le Un using regional ingredients such as caviar and Ise lobster. Guests enjoy a private kagura dance performance during the meal, followed by exclusive after-hours access to the illuminated castle grounds before retiring to the castle in comfort. Guests enjoy breakfast at Garyu Sanso Villa, a riverside retreat once built for an elite family seeking peace from city life. Overlooking the Hijikawa River and surrounded by the sounds of nature, the morning feels like a fitting finale to a stay steeped in history.

Ten percent of the accommodation fee is returned to Ozu City as a cultural property usage fee, while an additional 20 percent is allocated to traditional cultural activities such as kagura performances and teppotai troupes. These contributions support the maintenance of Ozu Castle and local cultural preservation that make this experience possible.

In 2024, Ozu City received the Green Destinations Silver Award, an international recognition program that highlights sustainable travel destinations worldwide. Within this city, Ozu Castle Stay offers a unique experience that bridges luxury and legacy that allows guests to stay overnight in the castle’s main tower while contributing to the preservation of local culture.

Ozu Castle Town and NIPPONIA HOTEL Stay, Ehime

Once a vibrant castle town in Ehime Prefecture, Ozu faced rapid decline as residents moved away and historical buildings were abandoned. However, since 2017, community-led revitalization efforts have brought the town back to life. Local volunteers cleaned and restored akiya (abandoned houses) one by one. What began as a means to host small pop-up events gradually evolved into a comprehensive revitalization model connecting residents, government, and private enterprise.

Walking through Ozu today offers a journey through Japan’s architectural history from the 19th century to the 21st century, with homes and storefronts restored for new use. The NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town plays a vital role in this transformation. Instead of a single property, the hotel is spread across the town in restored kominka (traditional houses), offering guests an immersive stay among castle views, brick lined streets, and local life. Many of these accommodations, cafés, and shops are operated by residents who returned or relocated to Ozu to take part in the town’s renewal.

Visitors can join guided walking tours led by local experts, including several English-speaking guides. These tours, by Ozu Stories, explore historical landmarks, film locations, and ongoing revitalization sites, offering an inside look at Ozu’s transformation from akiya houses in the midst of clearout to beautifully restored buildings. Along the way, travelers can meet the people behind the revitalization: artisans, café owners, and young entrepreneurs using local ingredients and crafts to support the community’s growth. Monthly community gatherings and events also invite visitors to join locals, creating opportunities for genuine interaction and exchange.

Marugame Castle Experience, Kagawa

Arriving in Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, guests are welcomed for their 1 night 2 day Marugame Castle Experience with a rickshaw ride from Marugame station to the castle grounds, followed by a taiko drum performance before entering through the gates that close to the public after 16:30. This sets the tone for an exclusive evening atop Japan’s tallest castle stone walls, which rise 197 feet (60 meters) and are celebrated as one of the finest examples of Japanese castle engineering.

Rather than staying inside the tower itself, guests lodge in a restored private villa relocated on top of these stone walls at the base of the castle keep. The villa combines traditional architecture and fine modern design, featuring intricate sugi woodwork and a hinoki bath. With sweeping 180-degree views over Marugame City including Mount Iino, affectionately known as “Sanuki Fuji,” the views from dawn to dusk add luxury to the stay.

Dinner is served in the villa, with a menu showcasing local ingredients and refined presentation. The following day begins with breakfast at Nakazu Banshoen, a landscape modeled after Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa, and a private sencha tea ceremony in a hidden tearoom not open to the public.

Guests also experience Marugame’s signature craft: handmade uchiwa fans. Under the guidance of a master artisan, each participant cuts bamboo and constructs each unique uchiwa by hand in a delicate process that reveals the hard work and care behind this centuries-old tradition.