Nov 12, 2015 - 1 min read

Kakegawa Take-no-Maru

A beautiful historical residence

By Peter Sidell

Community writer

There's stained glass in the windows above the balcony

Tatami mats, paper screens and wooden frames

Looking out onto the garden from the house

Alongside the traditional design, there's a modern machine with recorded explanations

Did you see this above the interior window in the last picture?

Another interior window, of more European style

The balcony has a view of the garden and the castle

A more traditionally Japanese part of the residence

Looking back at the house from the garden

The approach to the house from the street

Just across the road from Kakegawa's Stained Glass Museum, the Take-no-Maru is a beautiful traditional old residence, an annex to the town's castle and neighbouring palace. For a token ¥100 entrance fee you get to enjoy the historical atmosphere and unfussy, elegant design, a blend of Japanese and western styles. There are plenty of interesting features: a phoenix carved into an interior panel, stained glass in the windows above the balcony, which has a good view of the castle. There's also a cafe where you can buy tea, snacks or boxed lunches, to have either inside or, as a number of people were doing on the sunny day when I visited, in the pleasant garden.