What other travelers are saying about Nagoya Castle
Visited in November 2026.
The palace is very easy to reach by subway, with only about a five minute walk from the station. The grounds and gardens surrounding the palace are huge, so be prepared to walk quite a bit. There is a ¥500 entrance fee, which is very reasonable considering this is one of Nagoya’s highlights.
It is easy to spend a lot of time here, as there is so much to see and explore. There are plenty of great photo spots, and surprisingly, quite a few food places as well. The weather in November was perfect, and I really enjoyed strolling around the area.
Visitors can still explore the castle grounds, gardens, and exhibition areas during this time.
Yes, English-guided tours are offered daily at designated times. Audio guides in multiple languages are also available for rent.
Unfortunately, the castle is only open from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM in the daytime.
Photography is allowed in most castle areas, but flash photography is prohibited. Please be respectful and refrain from taking photos in designated no-photography areas.
Yes, Nagoya Castle often hosts seasonal events and special exhibitions that showcase different aspects of its history and culture. Be sure to check the official website for updates on upcoming events.
Overall quite underwhelming borderline disappointing visit at Nagoya castle.
The castle itself is closed (has been closed since 2018 apparently) so a visit there is pretty much a visit of the Hommaru Palace and the castle grounds.
The place is very crowded, since there’s nothing much to do in Nagoya from a tourist point of view, pretty much all visitors end up here, making the waiting time for Hommaru Palace alone 30 minutes !
That’s a long time to wait to enter a place that’s not THE castle and that is very crowded.
Not going to comment about the palace itself, I saw pictures from other reviews and decided that my time was worth more than it so I didn’t enter.
The souvenir shop is very underwhelming too, I wanted to get something, anything from Nagoya as a souvenir… but there’s really nothing worth buying.
Looking at the food stalls being set up and the souvenirs shops on the castle grounds outside, I got some « Himeji » feelings : this is a tourist trap attraction where people come to visit a « name » rather than a place.
Now to be fair, this is probably the most tourist friendly spot in the whole city, from the metro station all the way to the castle you will have English text, menus, indications, speakers … even the route from the metro to the castle is filled with restaurants offering local specialities.
So yeah they are trying to sell you as much stuff as possible using the castle notoriety and even then they didn’t get to convince me despite me being ready to get an overpriced souvenir.
So I’d say if you’re visiting Nagoya for one day and you have nothing else to do this is the place to go.
If you want to visit a castle, then you are at the wrong place, you can get pretty pictures of it but that’s it.
I’m putting 2* because there is nothing to do in Nagoya beside this, I still got to take a few pictures and had a nice meal just next to the metro station so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
If you want to see an actual castle not far from there look for Kiyosu castle, although it is harder to access, you get to see the inside of a castle, take pictures from the rooftop AND try out samurai armor for less than half the price of Nagoya’s castle entry.
This is one of the top attractions in Nagoya. The main Castle is not allowed to visit but the Hommaru palace is. You need to take off the shoes and wear their slipper during the palace visit. You are allowed to take pictures without flash. You can enjoy the great artworks and magnificent decorations. It is good to walk around the castle ground with colorful changing leaves 🍁. It was very busy and crowded with visitors as you expected in any tourist destination. Overall good visit:
Visiting Nagoya from Malaysia on a business trip, and thanks to my Japanese colleague, I finally got to see Nagoya Castle 🏯 — absolutely stunning! The iconic golden shachihoko 🐉 shining on the roof, the elegant green tiles, and the peaceful gardens 🌸 make it feel like stepping into history. Beautiful, powerful, and photogenic from every angle 📸 A must-visit landmark that truly represents Nagoya! ✨
The castle ground is huge. You can stroll around the castle grounds you can enter tea houses and explore old castle defenses. Sadly you cannot go inside the castle itself since it's being renovated. The souvenir shop beside offers pretty good items. You can also have your picture taken in front of the castle with swords as props for 1000 yen.
