Sunpu Castle Park

駿府城公園 · Shizuoka Prefecture · Shizuoka City

Photo: Halowand · CC BY-SA 3.0

Sunpu Castle Park area, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, north of Shizuoka Station in the city centre; the retired-shogun castle site park, with no original keep, combining a citizens' park and an excavation site.

Know before you go

Red lines: do not enter excavation fences or climb stone walls
do not touch exhibits. Taboos: do not make noise or enter non-public tea houses in the garden
do not occupy lawn picnic spots for long periods blocking others' passage. Good manners: keep to paths and hold rails on slippery stone steps after rain. Common pitfalls: (1) expecting a keep to tour — this is a tower-base excavation site with reconstructed gate and turret

This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.

Stories & people

History

Sunpu Castle Park — the historical setting

Sunpu Castle was begun by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1585 and took shape around 1589; after abdicating to Hidetada in 1605, Ieyasu returned to Sunpu and ruled as retired shogun (Ogosho) until his death in 1616, making Sunpu one of the de facto political centres, with castle-town zoning and Abe River flood control laying the basis for modern Shizuoka City.

Tokugawa Ieyasu1543–1616

Source: Official tourism or heritage information

Culture

Culture & customs

Background

Local customs

(1) Sunpu Castle Park walk (駿府城公園散策) — moats, stone walls and excavation site
(2) Higashi Gomon Gate and Tatsumi Turret (東御門・巽櫓) — reconstructed gate and turret
(3) Statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康像) — the retired-shogun bronze holding a falcon
(4) Momijiyama Garden (紅葉山庭園) — strolling garden and tea-house direction
(5) Castle-tower base excavation site (天守台発掘現場) — explanations of one of Japan's largest tower bases, per on-site signs.

Etiquette & taboos

Don’t DON'T

Red lines: do not enter excavation fences or climb stone walls
do not touch exhibits. Taboos: do not make noise or enter non-public tea houses in the garden
do not occupy lawn picnic spots for long periods blocking others' passage. Good manners: keep to paths and hold rails on slippery stone steps after rain. Common pitfalls: (1) expecting a keep to tour — this is a tower-base excavation site with reconstructed gate and turret
(2) treating "Sunpu" and "Shizuoka" as two castles — Sunpu is Shizuoka's old name, and the site is in central modern Shizuoka City.

Locals appreciate DO

Please respect local residents, open areas, and on-site rules.

Plan your visit

Practical info

Getting there	Intercity: Tokaido Shinkansen to Shizuoka Station. Local: about a 15-minute walk from Shizuoka Station to the park, or city bus. Pay by IC card or cash; garden entry on the order of a few hundred yen, per official prices.

Travel tips

Check the official notice for admission and opening hours
garden entry on the order of a few hundred yen, per official prices. The park is large — bring water and sun protection in summer
it can pair with the young-Ieyasu statue near Shizuoka Station and the Sengen Shrine direction, but do not cut last-train times too fine.

Sources & verification notes

Official tourism or heritage information

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