Echizen Ono Castle in Ono City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan has long been a tourist attraction, not only because of its antiquity and history, but also because this castle only appears from 9 to 10 p.m. 10 times in a year.

Built by shogun Nagachika Kanamori in 1575, Echizen Ono Castle is located 249m above sea level and took 5 years to complete.

The stone wall supporting the entire castle was built using the Nozurazumi technique – placing stones on top of each other without the help of glue or cement.

In 1775, the castle burned down and was then rebuilt in 1795.

But during the Meiji Restoration, the wooden part of the castle was completely dismantled.

Recently, people rebuilt the castle’s watchtower with concrete in 1968.

Currently, Echizen Ono Castle has become one of the symbols of the beautiful city of Ono.

However, the tourist attraction of this castle is its sudden appearance.

Due to its high terrain and high humidity, Echizen Ono Castle is always surrounded by a dense layer of clouds and only appears when there is a large difference in temperature, wind direction and humidity between consecutive days. It is estimated that this castle only appears about 10 times a year.

When viewed from a distance, the castle looks like it is floating on floating, magical clouds.

This place is considered to have the same tourist appeal as the ruins of Takeda Castle in Asaki City, Hyogo, famous as the “City in the Sky”.

The chance to see Echizen Ono Castle engulfed in clouds depends on weather conditions, but the best time to seize this opportunity is from October to April of the following year.

The castle most often appears around November, the ideal time to admire this magnificent landscape is from dawn to 9 am.

Echizen Ono Castle appeared 9 times in 2013 and 12 times in 2014, the frequency of appearance is uneven due to weather conditions changing each year.

However, visitors should not miss the opportunity to admire this rare sight once in their lives.

Minh Ngoc (summary)