Kon’nichiwa!
Odawara Castle is a simple way to include a Japanese castle visit in your itinerary relatively close to Tokyo.
The castle is around a 10 minute walk from Odawara Station, which is the main train station in town.
This makes stopping at Odawara an easy way to see a castle in Japan, if you don’t have another one already a part of your Japan itinerary!
You will be able to walk from the train station to the castle and back in one hour. This includes time to comfortably walk around the castle grounds and through the castle.
I will let you know below the best ways to add Odawara to your itinerary, along with pictures of what you can see walking to Odawara Castle! I made a quick stop by the castle on the way to Kyoto.
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PLAN YOUR TIME IN ODAWARA > Odawara Station map | Tokyo to Kyoto shinkansen stops | Hakone Loop map
Hotels near Odawara Station: Tenseien Annex | Toyoko Inn
Onsen hotels in Hakone: Hakone Yutowa in Gora | Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu | Lakefront Hakone Hotel
Odawara Station can be a gateway to Hakone, so you can make a quick visit to the castle before your full day in Hakone using the Hakone transportation pass.
Or, for a shorter visit, you can visit just the volcano valley in Hakone using the Owakudani pass. Both of these passes can include a stop at Odawara Station!
Day trip tours from Tokyo you must consider!
From Tokyo to Odawara
👉 Day trip to Odawara with castle visit and samurai experience
From Tokyo to Hakone
👉 Day trip to Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani, and Lake Ashi (with possible Mount Fuji views!)
Read the reviews on getyourguide or viator.
Tokyo to Odawara Station
Odawara is also on the shinkansen bullet train, so you could make it a stop when you are traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto. You can take the shinkansen train from Tokyo Station to Odawara Station (30 minutes), or to save some money you can take a regular train (1.5 hours). From Odawara to Kyoto is around 2 hours.
👆 You have several options to get from Tokyo to Odawara Castle. The best route depends on your priorities between time and money. The fastest (and most expensive) route is the shinkansen bullet train, which would be from Tokyo Station or Shinagawa Station. There is a regular train that will get you from Shinjuku to Odawara direct that is cheaper, but it will take longer. Compare the train routes. (Make the starting point to your hotel, and also change the departure time to give you a better idea.)
Once at Odawara Station, drop off your luggage at the Odawara Station coin lockers, and then off you go to walk to Odawara Castle! You can be back in an hour, and then be on the next shinkansen to Kyoto Station! Or, make it an overnight stop by staying at Tenseien Odawara Station Annex near the train station so you can be ready for a full day in Hakone the next day!
Where to stay near Odawara Station
I stayed overnight near the train station at Tenseien Odawara Station Annex. I checked out in the morning, left my luggage at the Odawara Station coin lockers, and then went off to Hakone to see the volcano valley using a transportation pass! This hotel has a free public onsen, and it’s also in the same building as the rooftop ashiyu (aka onsen for your feet).
Read the hotel reviews at expedia and booking.com.
Walking to Odawara Castle
So when you’re ready to leave Odawara Station, you will simply look for signs pointing to Odawara Castle! This will be the east gate. There will also be a castle symbol, and there will be signs in English.
You’ll exit out of the east gate, and again, you will see signs for the castle. There are many arrows pointing to the castle along the way, so it really helps you from going the wrong way!
👆 This may be one of the first arrows you see pointing you in the direction of the castle once you leave Odawara Station’s east exit!
👆 Also as you exit the station and start walking right, you’ll see this building. You see the stairs there, and there are escalators to the right. (That’s the dark area.) There are a bunch of little food spots up that way, and the hours seem to be 10am to 8pm. This is also one way to get to the Tenseien Odawara Station Annex hotel, as well as the way to the free rooftop ashiyu! (Ashiyu is basically onsen/hot spring minerals for your feet!)
So one of the first indications that you are nearing the castle is when you see the moat! Then you’ll first see a red bridge. It’s temping to walk across the bridge and through the park that way.
You can certainly do that, but there is a better “regular walking route” to get to the castle so you can go through various gates!
You’ll know, because there is a sign that says to keep going straight.
👆 There’s the red bridge and the moat. Stop to take a picture here, and then as the sign says, walk ahead 100m for the walking route to the Odawara Castle tower and main entrance! (It’s in English too.)
👆 There’s a moat around the castle grounds.
So if you do keep going straight, then you will be able to take the walking route to Odawara Castle that starts with the Umadahi-mon Gate. And from there, you are basically just walking the one path forward to the castle. You will walk through Akagane-mon Gate and Tokiwagi-mon Gate before reaching the actual castle.
On your way to the castle, you will also pass by the Odawara Castle ninja center. This is a fun little activity to do that’s more geared towards kids, but adults can have fun too (reviews). It might take around 30 minutes.
Once at the castle, you can pay an entry fee to go up to the top of the castle tower. The inside is more or less museum-style. If you’re just walking around the grounds (as in outside to get to this point), then it’s free.
👆 Odawara Castle Umadashi-mon Gate. If you want walking a route to follow along on google maps from Odawara Station, then make your destination Umadashi-mon (map). This is the first gate.
👆 Odawara Castle Akagane-mon Gate.
👆 Walking through Odawara Castle Park.
👆 Odawara Castle Tokiwagi-mon Gate.
👆 Final destination! You can enter and climb up the castle tower.
Odawara Castle tours
You can easily walk to Odawara Castle on your own, but to get a better appreciation for the history, here are tours you must consider!
Odawara Castle tour: Take a walk through Odawara’s historic streets and castle grounds, check out real samurai armor and ninja tools, and hear stories that bring Japan’s feudal past to life.
Read the reviews on viator or getyourguide
Guided ninja and samurai tour of Odawara Castle: Meet a local ninja expert, explore the castle and Samurai Museum, and try out real ninja tools and techniques in a hands-on workshop.
And once you feel happy with what you’ve seen of the Odawara Castle grounds, you can head back to the train station!
As you’re walking back, look down for the little sqaure tiles featuring cute designs representing Odawara’s history!
👆 Look down when you’re walking to see cute designs on the street!
Having walked around for an hour, you can stop by the ashiyu near Odawara Station to soak your feet in the footbath! Bring your own towel to wipe your feet afterwards, or you can rent a small towel for 100 yen.
To get to the ashiyu, once you take the escalators up (that I mentioned before in the picture), you’ll walk past by the food spot and enter the building to get to the elevator. This is the same way to the Tenseien Odawara Station Annex hotel. Once in the elevator, it says in English that the “rooftop footbath” is on the 14th floor.
Being the rooftop, it comes with sweeping views as you soak your feet in minerals!
👆 This is the rooftop ashiyu at Minaka Odawara! You can get a view of Odawara Castle from here too.
Your must-watch show on Netflix that features Odawara!
The Odawara Castle makes many appearances in the Netflix show called House of Ninjas!
There are no ninjas today, but House of Ninjas is a Japanese drama that created a modern-day ninja family! It blends modern family dynamics with ninja traditions.
There are many references to Odawara, and Odawara Castle makes an appearance several times. The story is inspired by clans that were historically based in the area. It will be extra fun to watch the show and then go to the castle!
Or, as was the case for me, to visit, and then watch the show! I actually started watching the show not knowing it had anything to do with Odawara, so that was a fun surprise! Now I need to go back!
Watching this show before you go will also make experiences like the ninja training in Odawara that much more fun too!
My itinerary with Odawara Castle
I took 2 days to go from Tokyo to Kyoto. After staying a few nights in Tokyo at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa near Shinagawa Station, this is what I did on the way to Kyoto Station.
Day 1: I went to Kamakura and did a few things walking from Hase Station, and then stayed overnight at Kamakura Hotel near Kamakura Station.
Day 2: I did a few things walking from Kamakura Station. Then, I went to Enoshima Station, and then walked to Enoshima Island and the caves there. After that, I went to Odawara Station to walk to Odawara Castle! Then, back to the train station to go to Kyoto by shinkansen from Odawara! I used the coin lockers at the train station for luggage storage in Odawara, Enoshima, and Kamakura.
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