Nagoya Castle tickets

How much is the Nagoya Castle ticket in 2026?

1,000 yen for adults from 1 October 2026, up from 500 yen. Junior high school age and younger enter free; Nagoya City seniors pay 300 yen.

The city council passed the new fees in March 2026 as part of a change to its park ordinance, and they took effect on 1 October. The full table from the official fee notice:

The senior price applies only to residents of Nagoya City who show their senior citizen handbook. Visiting seniors pay the adult price. Tickets bought before the change are still valid. The story of the rise is in our post on the 2026 price.

Is Nagoya Castle free?

Not for adults. Children of junior high school age and younger are free, and so is everything outside the ticket gates, including the Kinshachi Yokocho food streets.

The paid area is the inner castle: the Honmaru with the palace and keep, the Ninomaru with its garden, and the Nishinomaru with the museum. Kinshachi Yokocho, the two food streets at the Main Gate and East Gate, sits outside, so you can eat there without a ticket. The outer moats are free to walk around too.

A trial is coming. From 1 to 28 February 2027 the city will make only the Honmaru a paid area, with a temporary ticket gate at the Omote-ninomon gate, and everything outside it free, according to the city's October 2026 announcement. The southwest corner turret opens specially in the same month. If you travel that February, you can see the walls and garden for nothing and pay only for the palace and keep area.

Do I need tickets for Nagoya Castle in advance?

No. The gate counters sell on the day with no timed entry. The official Japanese fee page also links to a web ticket sold through asoview, in Japanese, but pre-booking saves little.

Walk up to the counter at the Main Gate (west side) or the East Gate (east side, nearest the subway). The official English page lists no online booking and no timed entry. Third-party sites sell vouchers for the same ticket; they get you in, not in faster.

The only reason to arrange anything ahead is a guide. The free volunteer guides of the Aichi Goodwill Guides Network leave from both gates at 12:30 daily, and private volunteer tours need booking at least seven days ahead; the official page notes they did not run from 22 June to 30 September 2026. A paid tour with the ticket included, like the private castle and palace tour, means you arrive with entry already paid.

How do I pay at the ticket counter?

Cash in yen, a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners, Discover, UnionPay), a transit IC card such as Suica, PASMO, ICOCA or manaca, or iD.

This is one of the easy places in Japan for foreign cards. The visitor information page lists every major card and all the national transit IC cards, so the Suica or ICOCA you used on the train works here too. One exception: the combination ticket with Tokugawa-en garden is cash only.

What does the Nagoya Castle ticket include?

The grounds inside the gates, the Honmaru Palace, the Ninomaru Garden and the Nishinomaru Okura treasure museum. It does not get you into the keep, which is closed.

The palace is the big one. The official palace page says entry is free "but you need a Nagoya Castle ticket". Inside you walk through the Genkan with its tiger paintings, the Omote-shoin audience hall and the Jorakuden, built for the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu's stay in 1634.

The Nishinomaru Okura museum is also free with the ticket. It displays original palace paintings that survived the war, with special exhibitions through the year. Special exhibitions may carry their own charge, so check the sign at the door.

Not included: anything on Kinshachi Yokocho, parking (250 yen per 30 minutes since June 2026), and the keep interior.

A local guide through the East Gate, the Ninomaru Garden and the Honmaru Palace, then a Nagoya food tasting. Check the listing for the ticket.

★ 4.7 · 2.5 to 3 hours · from $40

Explore the castle and food walk → Tour details

Is there a discount on the Nagoya Castle ticket?

Yes: show a Me-guru sightseeing bus day pass (500 yen) on the day and the adult ticket costs 800 yen. Groups of 30 or more also pay less.

The Me-guru 1DAY ticket page lists Nagoya Castle at 800 yen instead of 1,000 for high school age and older, with the pass dated for the day you use it. The pass itself costs 500 yen for adults and covers unlimited rides on the loop bus, which stops at the castle, Tokugawa-en and the Toyota museum. If you were going to take two or three bus rides anyway, the discount makes it a bargain.

The catch: Me-guru does not run on Mondays. On a Monday, the cheapest adult entry is the full 1,000 yen.

If you also want Tokugawa-en, the 1,040 yen combination ticket costs barely more than the castle alone. Buy it in cash at the castle counter.

Which Nagoya Castle tours include the ticket?

Some do, some don't. Check every listing: a guide's price and the 1,000 yen ticket are often separate.

Here is what each tour's listing says about castle admission:

Prices are from-prices per person in USD and they move. When the ticket is not included, budget 1,000 yen per adult and pay at the gate with your guide.

What are the opening hours, and when should I buy?

9:00 to 16:30. Buy your ticket by about 15:45: last entry to the palace and museum is 16:00, and the palace is a 10-minute walk from either gate.

The official hours are the same all year, and the castle closes only from 29 December to 1 January. The trap is the palace. People arrive at 15:50, buy a ticket and find the palace door already shut. Get there by mid-afternoon at the latest.

Evening openings happen during the spring festival in cherry blossom season and some autumn light-ups, when the grounds stay open later. On recent evening openings the museum and other buildings still stopped admitting visitors around 16:00, so see the palace first.

Frequently asked questions