Like many castle towns, the identity of Ueda, in Nagano Prefecture, is closely intertwined with its castle.
A visitor to Ueda is reminded of this before even leaving the sleek new Shinkansen train station. Walking out to the street, I spotted the distinctive crest of the Sanada clan on souvenirs, advertisements and tourist brochures, a sign that there's more to this city of 122,000 than the modern streets and shops that meet the eye.
To visit Ueda without knowing about Sanada Yukimura is a bit like visiting Versailles without knowing about Louis XIV. The best place to learn about Yukimura is at the castle, which was built by his father, Masayuki. I rented a bike at the station, and was at the castle in about 10 minutes.