Kakegawa Castle looks at first like another neat reconstructed hilltop keep, but the palace below is what makes it stand out. The Ninomaru Palace was built in the late Edo period and is one of the rare original castle palaces left in Japan, with tatami rooms, corridors, and official spaces that make the feudal administration feel unusually close.
The reconstructed wooden keep is still worth climbing for the view over town and the tea country beyond. Come early if you want the castle grounds quiet; later in the day the palace is the better place to linger.