One day in July, I chose Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture .
There was one reason for this.
With the summer weather continuing to be sunny, I thought I'd go and try to catch a "thunderstorm."
In early July 2025, there was almost no rain in Kagawa Prefecture, making it difficult to shoot video footage.
With the sole desire to capture the rain on film, Takahashi City was chosen as a place where a sudden shower was likely to occur.
- The target is "Matsuyama Castle with thunder and a sudden shower"
- From Takamatsu to Takahashi by Limited Express "Yakumo"
- A townscape that will captivate you even without prior research
- It's a pretty steep climb up to the castle
- And the sunset never came
- I couldn't take a picture, but it was meaningful.
- Outlook for the future
- 🐱Bonus: I met Sanjyu-rou, the Cat Lord of the Castle!
The target is "Matsuyama Castle with thunder and a sudden shower"
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle famous for the photo of the castle floating in a sea of clouds .
However, I aimed for the opposite:
a rare scene of the castle enveloped in thunder and a sudden shower
Before filming, we analyzed the weather conditions using Windy.com.
We consulted with ChatGPT to confirm in advance which weather indices would indicate a sudden shower.
It was truly an experimental challenge combining weather and video.
From Takamatsu to Takahashi by Limited Express "Yakumo"
The train departed Takamatsu Station at 11:10 AM .
At Okayama Station, I changed to the new Yakumo limited express train, and after a 40-minute journey, arrived at Takahashi Station around 1 PM . This video shows footage of the Takahashi River taken from the train window and the departure of the Yakumo limited express train.
A townscape that will captivate you even without prior research
At first, all I could think of was the words "Bicchu Matsuyama Castle," but after walking around the station a bit, I found myself surrounded by beautiful streets that evoked the Edo period, such as Konyagawa Street and Samurai Residence Street
The scenery seemed as if time had stopped, and I immediately made a note to myself, "Next time, I'll take pictures of this area too."
It's a pretty steep climb up to the castle
From the station, you can take a shared taxi (fare: 1,000 yen) and go straight up to the parking lot at the eighth station of Mt. Gagyuzan, .
However, that's where the real action begins.
The path to the castle tower at the top of the mountain is a 25-minute walk and quite steep . Although it is well maintained, the slope is extremely tough in temperatures of 35°C. To be honest, I don't recommend it for people who don't exercise regularly.
When I reached the top there was no one there, and only about four people climbed up after me
And the sunset never came
I waited at the summit for several hours,
watching the clouds form and disappear in the sky, sending photos of the clouds to ChatGPT for analysis .
But the sunset never came
At 5pm we decided to head down the mountain
Result: Failed to take the photo.
I couldn't take a picture, but it was meaningful.
the footage this time did not go as planned, I was able to get a feel for
the "pre-rain atmosphere" of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle This was to speak .
If the weather is good, I would like to come back and take some serious rainy photos of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle.
Outlook for the future
Mount Gagyu is over 400 meters above sea level. The next time it rains, the entire mountain will likely be shrouded in mist .
I believe that this will be the time to capture some fantastical footage.
🐱Bonus: I met Sanjyu-rou, the Cat Lord of the Castle!
This time, I also got to meet
Sanjyu-rou, the mascot of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle He was a very gentle and dignified cat (lol).
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