Hachioji Castle has... a bloody history which is well summarised here.

Fast-forward some centuries to the present and the area as well as a few other bits and pieces in the vicinity are now promoted as a tourist attraction.  Compared to, say a nearby tourist juggernaut that is Takaosan, I wouldn’t say it has taken off like a rocket just yet. But still it was well worth a visit for me. A new visitors centre is slated to open soon – I walked past the newly built building on the way here from Takaosan (not Takaosan-guchi!) station.

Now on to Hachioji Jinja. This particular one - as there are apparently several other namesakes throughout Japan – is located on Shiroyama mountain, same as the castle ruins.  The jinja is reached near the end of a walking track which climbs up the mountain towards the summit which is where Hachioji Castle’s Honmaru ruins (the central bailey in castle techo-speak – I had to look that one up) is situated. The stairs that continue the climb (only a little more to go) to the Honmaru are visible to the right of the main jinja structure in the photo.

To be really honest, there’s bugger-all at the summit. But if you’ve already bothered to climb as far as the jinja, don’t just turn back there. Do go the extra mile (well, the extra hundred metres or so?) to the summit – it’s good exercise at least and you’ll get a feel of completeness for having climbed all the way up. The steps are very small so take care on the way back down to the jinja.

Further details of the jinja itself and its history can be found in Japanese on Wikipedia.

 

東京都八王子市 八王子城 八王子神社 本丸跡 城山 深沢山 360度パノラマ