Odawara Castle: How to do a Relaxed Day Trip from Tokyo to Odawara
Friday, April 12, 2019 Japan 0 Comments

Odawara Castle

In the western portion of the Kanagawa prefecture, a less than 2 hour train ride from Tokyo, you will reach the city of outstanding Odawara, which is quite famous for its feudal era castle known as the Odawara Castle. It’s also the city known as the springboard to the Onsen area (Hakone), and even the next line-up of sightseeing area (Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park). As a matter of fact, Odawara is easily accessible from Tokyo and Yokohama, and actually even from Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka. So, the hype about the place is real and credible, and if you are like me, you probably would just like to search for a quick and easy blog read that’s less on the talkative text heavy comprehensive Odawara Japan Guide, but more on the shotgun of photos! You are in luck, because I have more than a handful here, taken just post-winter pre-cherry blossom season.

I’ve considered doing an Odawara Day Trip before heading from Odawara to Hakone to meet some folks and see the famous Fuji mountain. And honestly, doing an Odawara Day Trip that’s completely DIY is doable, even for the noobs out there, and even if you speak zero Japanese. There are so many English translations here, so not much to worry about. Also, the city is quite walkable, without the fast paced stress that you’ll find in Tokyo, so you just might be able to easily finish the whole day touring around Odawara. If you are considering a half day kind of trip though, it’s also doable, but always include the Odawara Castle as part of your itinerary.

Even before reaching the Odawara Station, preparing and waking up extra early just to catch the first train headed to Odawara was exciting. Japan is notoriously known for organized chaos during rush hour, so experiencing that at around 7 in the morning is quite intense! No need for coffee since it’s a bit of a shocker. BREAKING NEWS: Japan Train Station Experience is REAL! Good thing, everything kicked in into relaxation mode as soon I got my real canned coffee (which is common in Japan), while traveling via the Romancecar.

While this coastal city is a place for good food, mountain viewing, beach bumming, and maybe checking in at the Odawara Hilton, for me, the highlight about Odawara is the Odawara Castle itself. It is essentially a reconstructed castle at the entrance to Hakone. There are a whole lot of cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, and lotus blossoms here; truly a pretty sight, especially around late March to early April. Inside the castle premises, there’s the Odawara Castle Historical Museum, which showcases interactive displays on the history of the castle. It’s about ten minutes walking from the Odawara Station, and you can easily spend at least two to three hours hanging around the area. Since you’re there, maybe you may want to check out the snow monkeys monkeying around the cage!