Himeji Castle

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This post is kind of a big deal for me...it's my 300th blog post!

This was not the first stop on our Japan trip, but this was one of our favorites!  On our way to Kyoto, we stopped at Himeji to visit the castle there.  The shinkasen train from Hiroshima to Kyoto stops in Himeji -- it is about halfway.  We had our smaller suitcase with us, which we put in a locker in the train station in Himeji.  We were able to find space for a smaller one, but I think the bigger one would have been challenging (we ended up shipping that one ahead to Kyoto).  

The Himeji Castle is about a 20 minute walk from the train station.  We loved the walk.


The castle was quite impressive.  Throughout the castle, there were plenty of signs in English highlighting the key elements of the castle.  The castle grounds and tower were quite spacious.  We got an idea of how they were able to have 2.5M visitors in 2015.  The castle is one of the few originals still standing.  Many of the others either burned down, burned down due to earthquakes or were bombed in WWII.  

Here are a few of our favorite exterior shots:




The castle has just finished a major renovation.  You can see in the picture below, where the roof is covered, how white and pristine the roof is.  They are constantly cleaning the roof to keep the crisp white, which is this castle's trademark.



The castle grounds were designed to confuse potential intruders.  Like most castles, visibility was crucial to protection.  They never got to test the protections as this castle was never attacked.  

Inside the castle, we had to remove our shoes!  It was the first time.  We look classy!


We worked our way up the castle tower, which was only used as a last resort.  Business was conducted in the tower; it was not necessarily where people lived.  
The fish were good luck icons to prevent fire -- in this case, they seem to have worked!
After lunch, we headed to the gardens.  I liked that the gardens were broken up into multiple different themes.  It was Jason's first true Japanese garden, which he thought would take us "only" 15 minutes to go through.  So beautiful and peaceful!




This castle was by far the best castle we visited on our trip.  Very easily accessible from both Hiroshima and Kyoto.  We did pay the extra 100 JPY (~$1) to go to the garden.  I recommend the garden too!  It is not a UNESCO heritage sight for nothing!

Time at castle and garden: 4.5 hrs
Times visited: 1
Overall: A
Location: 68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture 670-0012, Japan

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