Nagoya Castle

Before you go

• The keep, the castle's tall main tower, is closed and cannot be entered; you can only view and photograph it from outside. It has been closed since 2018, and there is still no prospect of it reopening.
• The Honmaru Palace is shoes-off, so strollers stay outside and babies are carried; wear shoes that slip on and off easily. Before going in, you watch a multilingual video on the rules, such as no flash and carrying backpacks on your front. Inside, you can take photos but not with flash, there is no eating, drinking or smoking, and you must not touch the sliding doors, paper screens or metal fittings.
• There are no toilets inside the palace, and a 2024 visitor found none on site in either zone of Kinshachi Yokocho, so use the castle restrooms first. Multipurpose toilets with an ostomate facility and a baby bed are in the Nishinomaru area, just inside the Main Gate next to the rest area, and in the Honmaru area, next to the shop. The women's toilet near the East Gate also has a baby bed. The noodle restaurant inside the grounds serves kishimen and inari sushi (10:00–16:45, last order 16:00), and the snack stand sells soft-serve ice cream, shaved ice and more (9:00–16:45). The official guidance points to outdoor spots such as Ninomaru Square for eating, and there are covered free rest areas for rainy days, but only a limited number.
• Palace entry normally closes at 16:00, and it is about a 10-minute walk from the Main Gate or East Gate, so leave yourself time. The gates open at 9:00, and if you arrive earlier you wait outside. The castle is closed from 29 December to 1 January (this can change for events), and during the autumn 2026 "Be GOLD" light-up (19 September–4 October and 18–24 October) opening hours extend to 19:30, with the gates closing at 20:00. During the Asian Games and Asian Para Games, the palace also has special night openings. On the morning of Children's Day 2025, the general line for the palace took up to 90 minutes. One record says that when it was crowded, entry to the rooms was restricted and many people could not get in, so going early is best. The official website's top page shows the entry waiting times for the Honmaru Palace and the Nishinomaru Treasure House. From 27 to 29 November 2026, the palace line will have a priority lane, "Kodomo Fast Track", for children of elementary school age and younger, pregnant visitors and their families. Seeing the whole grounds properly, including the palace, takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. Admission is 1,000 yen for adults from 1 October 2026 (500 yen before that), and junior high school students and younger are free. The ticket window takes cash (yen), credit cards, transit IC cards and code payments, and you can also buy web tickets on the official website; the combined ticket with Tokugawa Garden (1,040 yen for adults) is cash only.
• The nursing rooms are beside the Main Gate and East Gate toilets; the one by the Main Gate has no hot water or formula machine, so bring hot water if you make formula.
• Rental strollers (Combi, from 2 months) are lent at both gates, but numbers are limited and they cannot be reserved. Gently sloping paved paths run from both the Main Gate and the East Gate to the Honmaru area, but the Ninomaru Garden is covered in thick gravel, so wheels that sink easily can only get round part of it. Coin lockers are at the Main Gate and East Gate, and bags that do not fit can be left at the Main Gate information center for 300 yen each.
• On weekends and holidays the parking lots often fill by 9:00, and in cherry blossom and autumn-leaf season they may be full even at 8:30, so public transport is safer. The nearest station is Nagoyajo on the Meijo subway line, a 5-minute walk from Exit 7, and there is only one elevator route up to street level there. From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama line to Sakae and change to the Meijo line, about 15 minutes with one change, or take the Me-guru sightseeing bus, about 20 minutes. The two parking lots, in front of the Main Gate and the East Gate, cannot be booked and are first come, first served; a standard car costs 250 yen per 30 minutes. During the Asian Games and Asian Para Games, traffic jams are expected on nearby roads, and visitors are asked to come by public transport.