Obi castle townPhoto: z tanuki / CC BY 3.0
Obi was the castle town of the Ito clan, who held it for about 280 years from 1588 until the domains were abolished.
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
The Ito lords ruled from Obi for 280 years, and the town has been a preserved district since 1977: the rebuilt Otemon gate, mossy stone walls, a cedar grove where the keep stood, and samurai lanes. The grounds are free. Six old houses and museums, 09:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30, closed 29–31 December), cost ¥300 each or ¥800 together; the food-walk ticket at ¥1,600 adds five vouchers for local snacks.
- Number 2 of ten on our list for Aburatsu.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Yes, by taxi" — the gate, Yoshokan and lunch with obi-ten.
- The houses and museums close 29–31 December. Check the day before you plan around it.
- 3 hr 30 min door to door needs a 5.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Things worth knowing
- Buy the food-walk ticket at the ticket office in the tourist car park or at Nichinan-ya in JR Obi Station.
- The six houses are open 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:30, and close 29–31 December (Nichinan tourist association).
- JR Obi Station hires bicycles, ¥500 a day, 07:30–17:30.
Obi castle town and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 3 hr 30 min goes
The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.
If your ship is late, cut the 2 hr 50 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions
Can I take the train from the cruise port to Obi?
Yes, from JR Aburatsu Station, 3.4 km from the quay: trains at 08:53 and 10:59, then 14:50, take 9 minutes and cost ¥270. Back from Obi at 09:50, 13:14, 15:00 or 16:00. The gate is 15 minutes on foot from Obi Station.
How much does it cost to visit Obi Castle?
The castle grounds and lanes are free. Six old houses and museums cost ¥300 each or ¥800 on the combined ticket; the Ayumi-chan food-walk ticket is ¥1,600 with all six and five snack vouchers.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
Obi castle town by taxiNeeds a 6-hour call · ~4h door to doorCalls of 6 hours or more. With the train instead, leave JR Aburatsu at 08:53 or 10:59 and come back on the 13:14 or 15:00 from Obi. The houses are open 09:30–17:00, last entry 16:30
Udo Jingu, the moai and Obi in one taxi dayNeeds an 8.5-hour call · ~6.25h door to doorAn 08:00–17:00 call on any day but Wednesday (Sun Messe closes). Times assume off the ship at 08:30 and back by 15:30, an hour before a 16:30 all-aboardA wet day in Obi: museums, houses and obi-tenA wet day · ~4h door to doorA wet day: the history museum, the Komura Memorial Hall and the old houses are under a roof, and the lanes are shortWhat to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~3hUdo Jingu, the shrine in a sea cave
A vermilion main hall built inside a sea cave at the tip of Cape Udo, with the Pacific breaking on the rocks below.
See the detail
See · ~3hThe moai of Sun Messe Nichinan
Seven full-size moai stand on a lawn above the Pacific, made with the permission of the Rapa Nui elders after a Japanese team re-erected the fallen moai of Ahu Tongariki in the 1990s.
See the detail
See · ~2hThe Horikawa Canal and its bridges
The Obi domain dug this canal in 1683–86 to float its cedar to the port.
See the detail