Bitchū Matsuyama Castle stands on a mountain high above the town of Bitchū Takahashi in Okayama. To get to the castle, you can walk from the foot of the mountain through beautiful woods, or take a shuttle bus from a car park halfway up the mountain. However, there’s still a significant and steep walk up from the bus drop-off. The high stone walls are very impressive, and the view from the keep is expansive and awe-inspiring. The keep houses various exhibits. A hiking trail runs along the mountain behind the castle, passing through more fortifications of various ages. 

The mountaintop was fortified from 1240 as a location of strategic importance controlling transportation in all directions. It was fought over and changed hands many times. The current keep, watchtowers and gates were built from 1641. The keep is very small, but nothing larger was required since it already offered a sufficiently good view. In the Meiji period, the castle was partly destroyed, and the rest of it fell into disrepair. In 1929, a citizens’ group organised the restoration of the remaining structures.

Bitchū, also more correctly spelled as Bicchū, is the old name for a region corresponding to eastern Okayama Prefecture. Bitchū is added as a prefix to Takahashi and Matsuyama to distinguish it from larger cities elsewhere with the same name.