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KUMAMOTO – The main tower of Kumamoto Castle in Kyushu reopened to the public on Monday after undergoing repairs after two massive earthquakes in 2016.
The ancient samurai castle, completed in 1607, is a popular tourist destination in Kumamoto City. It was scheduled to reopen on April 26, but the plan has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contents of a gallery in the main tower, which was rebuilt in 1960, have been updated to provide information on extensive earthquake damage and repair work, according to the municipal government.
The six-story tower is part of the park of Kumamoto Castle, which also includes a palace building and towers.
The top floor of the tower offers a view of the entire park, where reconstruction work is continuing, as well as the Kumamoto landscape. An elevator has also been newly installed.
“I was very much looking forward to the reopening of the main tower, which I’ve been familiar with since I was a kid,” said Yoshiaki Hirose, 52, a Kumamoto resident, who waited in line to enter the park Monday morning.
The earthquakes, measured with the highest reading of 7 on the Japanese Shindo Seismic Intensity Scale, caused roof tiles and decorative trim to fall and other structures in the park such as stone walls to collapse or collapse completely.
The restoration of the entire castle garden is expected to be completed around 2037.
Kumamoto Castle Park partially reopened around the time of the Rugby World Cup in 2019, when Kumamoto hosted two World Cup matches.
Visitors look inside the main tower of Kumamoto Castle on Monday as it reopened to the public after five years of repair work. | Kyodo
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