What other travelers are saying about Katsuren Castle Ruins
I've visited a few of the castles around Okinawa and this is one of my favorites. It's a little walk up to it but worth it. It's small and won't take too long to explore so it's good if you plan on seeing a couple of other place in a day. And parking was pretty convenient also. Oh and go see the museum too!
If youre new to the island and want to explore, id say try this as your first castle/ruin to visit the tickets are 600 yen which include the entrance to the ruins and access to the exhibit at the visitor center which has relics dug up from the ruins and has a scaled down version of the whole ruins. Shows alot of history and indepth into the culture of why the castle was there.
The walk up to the ruins is short but some areas are steep but they do have stairs. They also have a cart service to help those that cant walk well shuttle up and down the steep parts of the hills.
If you want to explore all the castle ruins in Okinawa, I think you should start here! (before going to the others.)
On site there is a museum telling stories about Okinawa Ryukyu kingdom and its kings/heroes. So you have achance to learn about the owners/builders of these castles. Thr ruins is on top of the nearby hill - you can walk or ask for a golf cart to take you up to the middle of the way up. Up there you have a good view of the nearby towns. The tourist office/souvinior shop on site is very nice, yet quite small.
So you learn a bit plus a good stretch, highly recommended.
Katsuren Castle Ruins offers an indoor museum area and the actual outdoor ruins across the street. Indoor, visited first, provides an introduction to the Ryukyu history in general and the castle in particular. Especially worth seeing is an impressive miniature model of the site, which helps a lot to understand the setting when afterwards going outside. The ruins can be climbed up via mostly well maintained stairs along the four original levels with signs well-written also in English. The topmost level offers great views across the sea and coastline. Definitely worth the 600 Yen entrance fee.
(visited on a weekday at 5 pm)
Extraordinary place. Not only do you get to explore the ruins which have magnificent views, there is a museum with interactive consoles, a short movie that explains the history and many displays. Highly recommend!