Echizen-Ōno Castle
越前大野城
A castle built on Kameyama hill that appears above the clouds on autumn and winter mornings, nicknamed the 'castle in the sky', with the castle town of Ōno below known as 'Little Kyoto'.
Echizen-Ōno Castle was built in 1576 by Kanamori Nagachika, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. The current keep was rebuilt in 1968 and houses a museum. The best-known sight is the clear early mornings of October and November, when you can watch the castle float above a sea of clouds from the observation deck at the Inuyama castle ruins to the southwest. Below, the Ōno castle town preserves its grid-pattern streets, the Nanaken Morning Market and the famous spring water Onashimizu, earning it the nickname 'Little Kyoto of Hokuriku'. Admission to the keep is about ¥300, and it is open from April to November. Getting there: take the JR Etsumi-Hokuriku Line from Fukui Station for about 1 hour to Echizen-Ōno Station, then walk about 20 minutes uphill. It can be combined with the Katsuyama Dinosaur Museum.
Opening hours
April–September 09:00–17:00, October–November 09:00–16:00; closed December–March
Nearby sights
- Echizen Daibutsu
- Heisen-ji Hakusan Shrine
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
- Eihei-ji Temple
- Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins
- Echizen Washi Village
- Karikomi Pond
- Maruoka Castle