Iga Ueno is the home of the Iga-ryū school of ninjutsu and the birthplace of haiku master Matsuo Bashō, born here in 1644. Iga Ueno Castle — also called Hakuhō (White Phoenix) Castle — was rebuilt by Tōdō Takatora after 1611 with stone ramparts ~30 meters high, among the tallest of any Japanese castle, and has been a National Historic Site since 1967. Immediately alongside sits the Iga-ryū Ninja Museum, with a working ninja trick house, a weapons exhibit, and live demonstrations. Within Ueno Park, the Bashō Memorial Museum and the hat-shaped Haiseiden Hall (built for the 300th anniversary of Bashō's birth) collect scrolls and travel maps; Bashō's birth house stands a kilometer east. Aizen-in (Henkōzan Ganjōji), the Matsuo family temple, holds the Kokyōzuka mound where the poet's hair is buried. Reachable in about 90 minutes from Osaka or Nagoya on the Kintetsu line.
What Iga is known for
Top-rated in Iga
Takijiman Sake Brewing
4.5restaurant
Visitor attraction in Kansai providing engaging experiences.
Akame 48 Waterfalls
4.3nature
Mossy ravine trail past ninja-era waterfalls, home to giant salamanders and 30m cascades.
Iga Ueno Castle
4.1castle
Hilltop castle of samurai lords who employed Iga's famous ninja clans for covert missions and espionage.
Iganosato Mokumoku Tedukuri farm
4.1restaurant
Family-friendly agricultural park & working farm with locally made meats, fruits & mushroom picking.
Iga-ryu Ninja Museum
4.1museum
Trap-door residence and live shuriken shows inside the birthplace of Iga-ryu ninjutsu.
Iga-yaki Pottery Village
4.0craft
Rustic, heat-resistant pottery used for Japan's best donabe.
Aizen-in
3.9temple
This temple in Iga is the Matsuo family temple, which makes it the site of haiku poet Matsuo Bashō's grave, though only his hair is buried here.