Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN

A Spectrum of Earthly Delights Await You in the Shadow of the Great Castle in the Sky

Concept

Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN is located at the foot of the ruins of Takeda Castle in Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture. Among the one hundred most famous castles in Japan, it is often called the Castle in the Sky, because on misty autumn mornings it looks like an apparition floating on clouds. We, however, invite you to think of it, and the castle town around it, as another home, a place you can visit year after year. When you stay at Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN, you will immediately realize that the fortress is not just an ordinary sightseeing spot but rather a place where you can feel closely connected to Japan and its people.

We strive to make that happen by housing our guests in refurbished historic buildings spread throughout the castle town—for example, the former Kimura Sake Brewery, whose story goes back over four hundred years. We also organize arts-and-crafts workshops and experiences like making miso or soy sauce to make your soul feel at home in this charming part of central Japan.

Discover Asago

Located near the center of Japan, Asago has been the home of countless generations. Looking at the traces of ancient settlements, you can easily picture early wanderers stopping here and deciding to settle down in this tranquil area. But war eventually found Asago. Built in the fifteenth century at the dawn of Japan’s warring states period, the great Takeda Castle was the site of many battles, eventually being conquered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sometimes called the Napoleon of Japan. Forgotten after the fall of the Toyotomi clan, the castle fell into ruin, and today, only its sturdy foundations and stone walls remain. But the castle town that developed around it still stands and carries on the true spirit of hospitable Asago, with Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN in the forefront.

Expand Your Itinerary

Offering easy access to Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto, a stay at Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN is a great opportunity to visit the major cities of the Kansai region. From Kyoto, Japan’s thousand-year capital, to the port city of Osaka, where tradition and modernity meet in electrifying ways, one can spend days exploring beyond Asago. But at least one of those days must be devoted to a trip to Himeji City and its famous Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a National Treasure of Japan. One of the finest surviving examples of a seventeenth-century Japanese castle, Himeji Castle is a true masterpiece of form and function, instantly recognizable by its bright-white walls and wing-like roofs, which have earned it the nickname White Heron Castle.

Our Story

Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN was established in the autumn of 2013 at the site of the former Kimura Sake Brewery. The present building is a reconstruction from 1902, but the history of the Kimura family is much longer than that. In fact, they have been brewing sake in this area since 1625. Over time, our hotel has grown into a commercial complex consisting of various historic guesthouses, some of them dating back to the Meiji period (1868–1912), a restaurant, a café, an information center, workshops, and other facilities that enrich people’s lives and bring them together.

Tangible History

The Former Kimura Sake Brewery: Preserved as a registered tangible cultural property, the original building of Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN features traditional Japanese designs and furnishings that instantly transport you back in time. From the earthen walls to the kamado (cooking stoves), these remnants of Japan’s past remind us that the things we leave behind can retain the power to deeply affect those who follow in our footsteps.

Golden Walls: Filled with the spirit of over 110 years of history, Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN features rooms that connect our guests to a world that has been lost to time. You will be filled with awe at the ingenuity of the great craftsmen of Japan’s past when you see the traditional sand walls that were decorated with real gold using techniques that cannot be reproduced today.

Sakura: The Sakura building is a former mansion overlooking the ruins of Takeda Castle. You can feel the passage of time here as you peruse the old newspaper articles now displayed on the walls, and which were most certainly read by the mansion’s former occupants.

Rooms

Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN offers thirteen guestrooms in six buildings scattered throughout the historic preservation district. The guesthouses include residences dating back to the Meiji period as well as storehouses and other structures that have been renovated to retain their original charm. The quiet ambience of the hotel makes the accommodations feel frozen in time, allowing our guests to clear their minds and forget their everyday worries. For guests who require additional privacy or are traveling with pets, we recommend the spacious VMG Suite in a building that can be rented  in its entirety. Able to accommodate up to six people, the pet-friendly suite features nonslip flooring and a full range of amenities for dogs in order to ensure a pleasant stay for the whole family.

Restaurants & Dining

Le Un: In a nod to Takeda Castle, which sits high up on a mountain, the menu at Le Un references another noteworthy peak: Machu Picchu in Peru, with its dishes having a South American theme. Using locally sourced ingredients prepared with French-cooking techniques, the menu at Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN is a culinary journey around the world.

Enjoy a variety of dishes prepared with fresh local ingredients from the Tajima area of Hyogo Prefecture, famous for such exquisite delicacies as Tajima beef and red snow crabs. Our chef carefully selects the best available seasonal ingredients and brings out their full natural flavors, which pair excellently and fittingly with the local sake. The restaurant is housed in the Kimura brewery’s old fermentation warehouse, where its thick beams, brownish clay walls, and earthen floor reflect a history of protecting and nurturing koji mold, the lifeblood of sake and said to have the most impact on its flavor.

Capacity: 40
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (L.O. 2:00 p.m.)
Dinner: 5:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m. (L.O. 8:00 p.m.)

Our Difference

At Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN, we offer a fully immersive cultural stay. Join us in our seasonal workshops, where you will learn how to make traditional crafts and local products, such as miso and soy sauce, and in the process, become closely acquainted with the people of Asago. Our goal is to encourage you to think of the charming Takeda castle town as your home away from home. So, please visit the Namikawa store to peruse fresh produce grown by local farmers, stroll through the historic townscape in a yukata (robe) provided by the hotel, and try our homemade doburoku (unfiltered sake) to taste the very essence of Asago and Takeda Castle.

Welcome

Our mission is to present our guests with the gift of time. Time that flows endlessly through the nature and culture of Japan. Time set aside to make lifelong memories with your loved ones. Time that you will one day reflect back on with a smile. We strive to give you these experiences through the art of Japanese hospitality, the distinctiveness of accommodations that tell rich stories from Japan’s great past, and the breaking of language barriers by our English-speaking staff. We hope to see you soon.

Number of rooms: 13
Capacity: 1–6 guests per room
Check-in: 3:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Checkout: until noon
Languages: Japanese & English
Tel: +81-6-4256-6887