Tsuruga Castle in the city of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, marked 60 years this year since the reconstruction of its main keep on Sept. 17, 1965.
The castle, which has become one of the most iconic tourist destinations in the prefecture, continues to awe visitors with its outstanding white exterior, which blends harmony with the cherry blossoms and fresh greenery around it.
However, maintaining its picturesque landscape — including moats and stone walls — is a significant challenge due to limited resources, and both public and private sectors are now working together to preserve and pass on the Aizu region's historic symbol to future generations.
Despite the lingering heat in September, tourists continued to visit the castle in steady numbers. In 2011, the castle’s iconic red-tile roof was renovated, further solidifying its status as a symbol of Fukushima tourism.
Yet, within the castle park, the moats are gradually becoming full of mud, and the stone walls are facing an increasing risk of collapse.
The moats have not undergone large-scale dredging since the Edo Period (1603-1867). As such, fallen leaves and earth have muddied the water and slowed its flow. On the stone walls, ivy and other plants have taken root, and trees have grown out of the cracks — all signs of deterioration that could lead to structural damage if left unaddressed.
Yahei Yumita, the head of a nongovernmental organization working to preserve Tsuruga Castle, warns against postponing action. The organization has removed accumulated sediment using heavy machinery several times in the past.
With the city’s approval, the group worked from June to July this year to clear roughly 7,400 square meters of weeds and remove fallen trees from the water. The work improved the scenery, though it covered only about 20% of the total area needing attention.
Recognizing the limits of what a single group can do, the organization is also working to raise public awareness by holding history symposiums and conducting cleanup activities.
“Tsuruga Castle is not just for tourists — it’s for local citizens as well. We must expand our moves to preserve it,” Yumita, 73, said.
Efforts to support these initiatives have begun to spread across the prefecture. So far, seven companies have contributed to the organization through Toho Bank’s donation-based private bonds launched in June last year. Part of the ¥750 million in bond issuance fees has been donated to the NGO, eflecting growing public interest.
The city of Aizuwakamatsu is not just sitting idly, either. It carries out regular maintenance, such as cleaning the water inlets and removing weeds from the stone walls. However, current preservation methods are reaching the limits of their effectiveness.
Multiple city departments are involved in the castle’s upkeep — including those responsible for tourism promotion, cultural heritage protection, facility management and water quality conservation. Last fiscal year, the city launched a cross-departmental initiative to address issues related to the moat.
The city is conducting case studies of other castles that have undergone or are undergoing major works such as Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture, for which about ¥1.4 billion ($9.3 million) has been budgeted over seven years for dredging. By involving experts, Aizuwakamatsu is seeking preservation methods that will not damage the stone walls and other structures.
Akio Ishida, 68, vice director of the NGO and head of a local tourist guide association, emphasizes the importance of a public-private cooperation to maintain the castle. “Tsuruga Castle is a treasure of Aizu. We have a responsibility to preserve it in its ideal form for future generations,” he said.
Mayor Shohei Muroi echoes the sentiment, stressing that fostering public awareness is a key to keeping the castle as both a civic space and a symbol of Aizu.
While efforts to preserve the castle are underway, boosting tourist numbers in winter also poses a challenge for the city.
Akari Saito, a tourism adviser at the Aizuwakamatsu Tourism Bureau, was already busy in September coming up with strategies to attract visitors in the coldest time of the year.
Saito, 30, is one of the employees of Hoshino Resorts Group who have been invited since last year to serve as advisers at the Tourism Bureau under a central government regional revitalization program. They help promote tourism in the region by utilizing the know-how of a leading resort developer.
Even though the castle is the most visited tourist site in Fukushima Prefecture, balancing visitor numbers throughout the year remains a long-standing challenge.
In fiscal 2024, the number of monthly visitors to the castle's main keep dropped sharply in winter compared with in the summer. Visitor numbers totaled 22,499 in December, 20,727 in January, and just 16,437 in February, compared with 77,214 in August, the most popular month.
February’s drop was partly due to record snowfall in the city.
Fiscal 2024, which ended in March, saw the number of foreign tourists visiting the castle reach a record high of 32,970, however, with increased visitors from other parts of Asia.
Stakeholders are looking to turn snow from a weakness into a strength by experimenting with new ideas.
“There’s a limit to what individual facilities or municipalities can do,” Saito says. “We need a collaboration from across different parties.”
One such collaboration is a snow and ski resort development involving the municipalities of Aizuwakamatsu, Bandai and Kitashiobara.
The project has won subsidies from the Japan Tourism Agency for three consecutive years. By offering shuttle buses and other transportation options for tourists, developers aim to encourage longer stays over a wider area, which would boost spending.
In February next year, a large-scale event titled Aizu Snow Festival Week is set to be held. It will feature a variety of programs, including existing attractions such as the Aizu Painted Candle Festival, to be held on the castle grounds.
Aizuwakamatsu, which promotes itself as a "smart city," is also considering introducing digital tools to provide multilingual information that have already been adopted at tourist sites in other regions.
“We aim to bring in more visitors by better identifying what appeals to foreign tourists and others,” Saito said.
With 60 years having elapsed since Tsuruga Castle’s reconstruction, its tiles and plaster walls are showing signs of aging. In fiscal 2023, the city adopted a long-term maintenance plan for the castle, with an estimated ¥1.5 billion in renovation cost over 50 years starting in fiscal 2024.
To secure more stable funding, the city began considering a hike in the entrance fee for the main keep. But that means further efforts are needed to enhance the site's appeal.
Ichiro Fukushima, 66, director of Aizuwakamatsu Tourism Bureau, says Tsuruga Castle is an important asset that tells the story of Fukushima’s culture and history, and a vital landmark for tourism in the Aizu region. “We aim to develop wide-area travel routes centered around the castle, which will lead to expanding regional tourism and the regional economy,” he said.
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