Discover Kakegawa: Castle, Tea and Art

Kakegawa brings together the history of a castle town and post station with tea, crafts and Japanese painting. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in the city, you can use your interests as a starting point for planning your trip: would you like Kakegawa Castle to set the tone, are you especially interested in art collections, or would you also like to explore historic sites and local crafts?

Castle, Teahouse and Art in Ninomaru Park

The history of Kakegawa Castle began in the Muromachi period. The Imagawa clan commissioned their retainer Asahina to build it. Kakegawa Castle Park is also home to Ninomaru Teahouse, a traditional building in the sukiya style. Seasonal tea ceremony events are held there, including a Tanabata tea ceremony and a moon-viewing tea ceremony.

The Ninomaru Art Museum brings together two distinct collections: the Kinoshita Collection of fine crafts and the Suzuki Collection of modern Japanese paintings. The Kinoshita Collection comprises around 2,300 objects dating from the Edo to the Meiji period. These include tobacco-related items, inro (small cases), sword fittings, calligraphy and paintings. The museum also presents fine crafts, modern Japanese paintings and works by artists active in the region in around eight special exhibitions each year. For visitors interested in art and historic everyday objects, the collections offer several different perspectives.

Historic Houses and Stained Glass

Takenomaru was the former main residence of the Matsumoto family, who operated Matsuya, a 葛布 wholesale business dating back to the Edo period. Takenomaru was designated a cultural property of Kakegawa City on January 30, 2007, and opened to the public on May 30, 2009. These dates are part of its history, marking both its designation and its opening at that time.

The Kakegawa City Stained Glass Museum showcases another art form: around 70 stained-glass works are on display, many of which were made in English workshops in the 19th century. The museum also holds stained-glass-making workshops. Alongside painting and crafts, working with colored glass is another distinct subject to explore in Kakegawa.

Cherry Blossoms and Traces of the Tokaido Road

Around 130 cherry trees bloom near Kakegawa Castle each spring. They include Shikizakura, weeping cherry and Somei Yoshino varieties. The different varieties offer a distinct seasonal highlight for a stay focused on the castle and park.

Kakegawa’s history as a post station also shapes the town: after peace was established under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), it became a post station on the Tokaido Road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. In Nissaka-shuku, the only surviving building from the Edo period at the 53rd rest stop on the Tokaido Road has been preserved. Around two dozen stalls on Honjin Street serve food. There are also around two dozen stalls lining both sides of the street, forming a distinctive village where local crafts are sold. Exploring the old route can therefore also offer a way to pursue interests in food and crafts.

The Right Base for Your Interests

For getting around, Kakegawa Station is a useful landmark: it is on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen line. When choosing a vacation rental, you can first consider whether traveling on this line is important to your trip plans. A second question can help you plan your stay: would you like to spend more time on the castle, tea and collections, or are you also interested in Takenomaru, stained glass and the historic links to the Tokaido Road? Each theme offers a different focus, but you don’t have to follow a set itinerary.

More places to explore: Ito, Fujinomiya, Minamiizu, Inatori Higashiizu, Atami, Shimada, Fujieda and Kawazu.

For the full travel overview: Shizuoka Prefecture.