The three-tiered, four-story keep soars over a mountain range shrouded in the morning haze and the majestic Yura River. Fukuchiyama Castle in Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, was built by Mitsuhide Akechi, the protagonist of NHK's historical drama television series, "Kirin ga Kuru," or Awaiting Kirin. The castle is still popular among local inhabitants as a symbol of the city.

Having conquered the Tamba region as ordered by Nobunaga Oda, Mitsuhide built Fukuchiyama Castle around 1579. It is said he exercised good governance, developing the castle town and exempting residents from land taxation. Mitsuhide is enshrined at Goryo-jinja Shrine in the city.

Most of the castle complex was destroyed due to the Ordinance for Disposal of Castles in the Meiji Period, but citizens launched a campaign to rebuild it in the Showa period. It was rebuilt in 1986 with drawings from the Edo Period as a reference. The dry-stone wall, which retains the look of the original, utilized stone pagodas from neighboring temples and shrines that had been destroyed.

As the drone gradually gained altitude, the white arch of the Otonase-bashi Bridge came into sight behind the keep. The grove in front of the bridge is called "Akechi yabu," or Akechi grove. Reportedly it was planted by Mitsuhide to protect the castle town from flooding. Although he is often deemed a traitor in Japanese history, in Fukuchiyama he is still talked about as a great ruler.