Tensha-enPhoto: As6673 / Public domain
Tensha-en takes its name from a poem Date Masamune wrote in retirement: what is left of this body heaven has pardoned, so why not enjoy it.
- Getting there
- Taxi 2.2 km, about 10 min and ¥1,000 (our estimate); 8 min on foot from the castle’s south gate
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
The pond garden the 7th lord, Date Munetada, built for his retirement. Bamboo of many kinds is planted round the water, for the family crest of bamboo and sparrows; a wisteria trellis in the shape of an arched bridge crosses the pond, and the irises open in early June. 08:30–16:30 (to 17:00 April–June), adult ¥500. Closed on Mondays from the second Monday of December to the end of February.
- Number 2 of ten on our list for Uwajima.
- Short enough to be certain of: 1 hr 30 min door to door, so even a tender day works.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Yes" — open from 08:30, half an hour before the keep: see the garden first.
- Closed on Mondays from the second Monday of December to the end of February. Check the day before you plan around it.
- 08:30–16:30 — to 17:00 from April to June. Closed on Mondays from the second Monday of December to the end of February, and 28 December–1 January.
- 1 hr 30 min door to door needs a 3.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
- No single published ride covers this one. Budget for a taxi both ways, or fold it into a guided day.
Things worth knowing
- It opens at 08:30, before the keep and the market.
- In winter check the day: it closes on Mondays from mid-December to the end of February.
- Ask the desk to call a taxi back to the wharf.
Tensha-en and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 1 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 1 hr 10 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions
How far is Tensha-en from Uwajima Castle?
About 560 m, 8 minutes on foot, from Noboritachi-mon, the castle’s south gate, by our estimate.
When is Tensha-en closed?
On Mondays from the second Monday of December to the end of February (the next day if the Monday is a holiday), and from 28 December to 1 January. It is open every day for the rest of the year.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
The castle and Tensha-enNeeds a 4.5-hour call · ~2.5h door to doorA ship alongside on any call of 4.5 hours or more, between 08:30 and 16:30. From the tender pier walk instead: about 15 minutes to the castle
Garden, castle, pearls and tai-meshiNeeds a 6-hour call · ~4h door to doorA ship alongside from 08:00 or earlier that stays past 14:00: off at 08:30, back by 12:30. Kadoya serves lunch 11:00–14:00What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
