On a certain day in July, the destination I chose for my photo shoot wasBitchu Matsuyama Castle in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture.
There was only one reason for that.
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 hardly any rain in Kagawa Prefecture, making it difficult to shoot video footage.
Driven by a strong desire to capture rain on video, I chose Takahashi City as a place where "sudden downpours were likely."
- 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 Castlefamous for its photos of the castle floating in a sea of clouds.
But what I aimed for was the opposite:
the castle enveloped in thunder and a sudden downpour—a rather unusual scene.
Before filming, we used Windy.com to analyze the weather conditions.
We consulted with ChatGPT to confirm in advance which weather indices indicate an impending downpour.
It was truly an experimental challenge combining weather and video.
From Takamatsu to Takahashi by Limited Express "Yakumo"
We departed Takamatsu Stationat 11:10 AM.
We transferred to the new "Yakumo" limited express train at Okayama Station andarrived at Takahashi Station around 1:00 PM. This video shows footage of the Takahashi River taken from the train window, as well as the departure of the Yakumo limited express train.
A townscape that will captivate you even without prior research
Initially, all I could think of was "Bitchu Matsuyama Castle," but after walking around the station area for a bit, IKonyagawa Street and Samurai Residence Streetdiscovered beautiful streets that evoke the Edo period, such as
The scenery seemed as if time had stopped, andI immediately jotted down a note saying, "I'll photograph this area next."
It's a pretty steep climb up to the castle
From the station, you can take a shared taxi (fare 1,000 yen)straight up to the parking lot at the 8th station of Mt. Gagyuzan,.
However, that's where the real adventure begins.
The path to the castle tower at the top of the mountain isa 25-minute walk up a very steep slope. Although it is well-maintained,climbing that slope in 35°C heat is truly tough. Ihonestly wouldn't recommend it to 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.
While watching the sky as clouds formed and disappeared,I sent photos of the clouds to ChatGPT for analysis.
But the sunset never came
At 5pm we decided to head down the mountain
Result:Filming failed.
I couldn't take a picture, but it was meaningful.
This footage didn't turn out exactly as planned, butthe "pre-rain atmosphere" of Bitchu Matsuyama CastleI was able to capture
This was essentially a reconnaissance mission. Iftheweather
is right,I'd like to come back and film Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in full rain.
Outlook for the future
Mount Gagyū is over 400 meters high. The next time it rains,the entire mountain will probably be shrouded in fog.
I believe that's when I'll be able to capture some truly fantastical footage.
🐱Bonus: I met Sanjyu-rou, the Cat Lord of the Castle!
This time,Sanjyu-rou, the mascot of Bitchu Matsuyama CastleI also got to meet
He was a very calm and dignified cat (lol).
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