Photo/Illutration Fukuyama Castle’s Tsukimi Yagura turret in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, which will be used for overnight stays (Daisuke Ninagawa)

FUKUYAMA, Hiroshima Prefecture--Fukuyama Castle is marking its 400th anniversary with an offer of free overnight stays in the Tsukimi Yagura moon-viewing turret.

The program will kick off this autumn as part of the Fukuyama Castle Expo 2022 and be available on a trial basis for three or so groups of guests.

“We hope it will lead to the full-scale introduction of a castle stay program in or after next year,” a city official said.

The turret is located in the southeast corner of the castle’s main structure.

Following a decree issued during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), the original turret was dismantled and many of the other castle buildings were sold off to private entities.

Due to extensive damage from Allied bombing during World War II, the castle was restored with reinforced concrete to coincide with the reconstruction of the main keep in 1966.

The turret is a two-story structure, complete with a Japanese-style room comprised of eight tatami straw mats on the first floor and a larger room of 18 tatami mats on the second floor.

It is traditionally rented out to the public for cherry blossom viewing in spring, moon viewing in autumn and on other occasions.

The Fukuyama city government began considering setting up a castle stay program last fiscal year after the Japan Tourism Agency called on municipalities to make castles available for such purposes.

It received 3 million yen ($26,000) in subsidies from the agency this fiscal year, allowing city officials to sign a contract with a private company to study how best to welcome overnight visitors.

While guests will stay at the Tsukimi Yagura, officials are considering other locations in and outside the castle grounds for dining and bathing.

Elsewhere, a castle stay program started in Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, in July 2020, allowing guests to stay overnight at Ozu Castle.

Two guests can stay overnight at the wooden donjon rebuilt in 2004 for 1.1 million yen, including tax, per night.

The program allows guests to go the whole hog in recreating a samurai experience. They are dressed in a suit of samurai armor with a helmet or wear kimono when they enter the castle, where they are welcomed by a musket troop firing a salute and flag bearers.

Ozu city officials said they had expected the package to attract 30 sets of guests annually. But only eight pairs have stayed at the donjon so far due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hirado Castle in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, also has accepted overnight guests at its turret for 600,000 yen, including tax, per night since April 2021.

Fukuyama Castle is currently undergoing renovations to reconstruct the exterior of its main keep. The work is due to be completed in late July.

The Fukuyama city government will host a ceremony on Aug. 28 because records show the first lord of the feudal Fukuyama Domain reported the castle’s completion to the Tokugawa Shogunate on that day in 1622.

The castle stay program will swing into action afterward.

Officials said they are considering soliciting overnight stayers from the public or appointing online influencers and other influential figures to promote the program.

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