From Fukuyama Station: Rose Park, Fukuyama Castle, and National Treasure Myoo-in Temple

Starting from JR Fukuyama Station, this course takes you around the city of Fukuyama on foot and by bus. After walking through Rose Park, the birthplace of "Fukuyama, the City of Roses," you will visit the Fukuyama Castle Museum, the Fukuyama Museum of Art, and the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History in Fukuyama Castle Park north of the station. Finally, you will take a bus to Myoo-in Temple, home to a National Treasure main hall and five-story pagoda.

History and Regional Appeal

The city of Fukuyama has evolved alongside Fukuyama Castle, which was completed in 1622 (Genna 8) by Mizuno Katsunari, the first lord of the Fukuyama Domain and a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

During the air raid on Fukuyama in August 1945 (Showa 20), approximately 80 percent of the urban area was burned, and the main keep of Fukuyama Castle was lost. In 1956 (Showa 31), local residents living around what is now Rose Park took the lead in planting roughly 1,000 rose seedlings to bring vitality back to the city. This initiative spread among the citizens, and Fukuyama came to be known as the "City of Roses." The main keep was also rebuilt in 1966 (Showa 41) through donations from local companies and citizens.

Going back even further, a port and market town called Kusado Sengen flourished on a sandbank in the Ashida River from the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period. The prosperity of this town is thought to have influenced the construction of the buildings at Myoo-in Temple by the river toward the end of the Kamakura period. Roses, a castle, and a medieval town and temple—you can trace the history of Fukuyama in a single day.

Key Highlights

• ​Rose Park​​: The birthplace of "Fukuyama, the City of Roses." The plantings were entirely renewed in April 2024, and approximately 7,000 roses of about 670 varieties collected from around the world are planted here. Visitors can stroll through nine themed areas, including a grand corridor lined with crown-shaped golden arches and a stripe garden where roses of similar colors are planted in bands.
• ​Fukuyama Castle Museum​​: A museum located inside the main keep of Fukuyama Castle. Through the "Reiwa no Ohbushin" (Great Reiwa Renovation) leading up to 2022 (Reiwa 4), the 400th anniversary of the castle's construction, the northern wall of the keep was restored to its appearance covered with black iron plates. Each floor introduces Fukuyama Castle, the Mizuno family, and Abe Masahiro and the Abe family who realized the opening of Japan. From the top floor, there is a 360-degree view of Fukuyama's cityscape.
• ​Fukuyama Museum of Art​​: An art museum located on the west side of Fukuyama Castle Park. It houses works such as Kishida Ryusei's Portrait of Reiko, Age 16 and pieces from Futurism, an art movement that arose in Italy in the early 20th century, allowing visitors to compare modern and contemporary art from Japan and Europe.
• ​Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History​​: A museum nicknamed "Fukuyama Kusado Sengen Museum." A section of the townscape from the Kusado Sengen Ruins, once buried under the bed of the Ashida River, is reconstructed in full scale. In the exhibition room recreating an early summer evening in the Muromachi period, visitors can look around as if walking through the daily life of medieval people.
• ​Myoo-in Temple​​: A temple belonging to the Daikaku-ji branch of the Shingon sect, situated halfway up Mt. Atago on the banks of the Ashida River. Both the main hall, built in 1321 (Gen'o 3) during the Kamakura period, and the five-story pagoda, standing about 29 meters tall and built in 1348 (Jowa 4) during the Nanboku-cho period, are designated National Treasures. From the temple grounds, you can look down upon the Ashida River.

Recommended Route and Duration

The estimated time required is about 5 hours. The south exit of JR Fukuyama Station is also known as the "Rose Park Exit," welcoming visitors with rose arches. The station and Rose Park are connected by "Rose Road," taking about 20 minutes on foot. Seasonal roses also bloom along the streets that pass through the shopping district. The peak seasons for roses are twice a year, in spring and autumn, and the Fukuyama Rose Festival is usually held in mid-May with Rose Park as one of its main venues.

After walking through Rose Park, return to the station and head to Fukuyama Castle Park, located about a 5-minute walk from the north exit. From outside the north exit, you can gaze at Fukuyama Castle across the roses. After touring the Fukuyama Castle Museum in the keep, be sure to also see the Fushimi Yagura turret and Sujigane-gomon Gate within the park. The Fukuyama Museum of Art is located about 190 meters west of the keep, and immediately south of it is the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History. Viewing the townscape of Kusado Sengen at the history museum will make your subsequent view from Myoo-in Temple even more meaningful.

To reach Myoo-in Temple, it takes about 10 minutes by Tomotetsu Bus from Fukuyama Station, followed by about a 15-minute walk after getting off the bus. By taxi, it takes about 10 minutes from the station. Because the temple is located halfway up a mountain, please wear comfortable walking shoes. After looking up at the five-story pagoda on the grounds, look down at the Ashida River and imagine the bustling town that once thrived on the sandbank.

Experience Summary

A rose park filled with wishes for recovery from the wartime air raid, a restored castle keep alongside museums in the castle park, and a National Treasure temple that watched over a medieval port town. By walking and taking the bus from the station, you can experience both the past and present of Fukuyama, the City of Roses, all in one day.