Tourist Sights The Floors of Nijo Castle in Kyoto Japan

About the unique tourist sight the floors of Nijo castle in Kyoto, Japan, location, history and description of the site.

TOUR OF UNIQUE SITES AND SIGHTS IN THE WORLD

JAPAN

KYOTO

Sight: The Floors of Nijo Castle.

The finely wrought parquet floors of the outer rooms of Nijo Castle squeak loudly when trod upon, and the squeaks bear an uncanny resemblance to the song of the nightingale. No mere structural quirk, the squeaks were designed into the floor as a warning system for the shogun, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, who built the castle in 1603 and lived there in continual fear of would-be assassins, despite the stone walls and moats that surrounded it.

Locations: Nijo Castle is in the center of Kyoto, the former Japanese imperial capital situated six blocks from the Kyoto Railroad Station.