Otemon Gate Historic Site

During the Edo period, Sannomaru housed the residences of chief vassals and clan facilities, and was largely surrounded by Ninomaru, Goyomai-gurinawa, and Minami-gurinawa. There were four entrances and exits in this Sannomaru, of which the Ote-guchi in the east, the Kouta-guchi in the north, and the Hakone-guchi in the south were square gates fortified with solid stone walls. In the early Edo period, the Otte-guchi of Odawara Castle was Hakone-guchi, but it was moved to its present location facing Edo during the reign of the Inaba clan. On the stonewall at the site of the Ote-mon Gate, there is the bell of time, which was moved in the Taisho era (the present bell was made in 1953) and strikes at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to tell time to the citizens.