Matsue Castle

One of only 12 Japanese castles with its original wooden structure intact, and the only one known to have a well inside the tower keep. Completed in 1611, it passed through several lords before the Matsudaira family held it for 234 years across 10 generations. The castle's builders faced a timber shortage common across Japan at the time and solved it by binding clusters of smaller timbers with iron clamps, creating the 130 composite pillars clearly visible today. Designated a National Treasure in 2015, the top-floor lookout offers a panorama of Lake Shinji and the mountains beyond.