Himeji Castle

Photo source: Wikipedia

As we were taking the train from Osaka to Kobe I noticed that there was a stop about 30 minutes away called Himeji. Immediately I recalled a conversation I had with an engineer in the office about Himeji Castle. He explained that very few foreigners make the trek to Himeji to see the castle even though it's one of the largest and best preserved in the country. So we decided that there was no better time to make a trip to Himeji than now. It was only 30 minutes and about $10 away and I would never be any closer. So, after doing the rounds in Kobe, we hopped back onto the JR Kobe line and headed further south to Himeji.

Himeji Castle must be one of the least talked about Japanese castles, yet is a totally amazing experience. The castle is one of the largest in the country and stands perched at the top of a hill within walking distance from Himeji station in Himeji. Once outside Himeji Station we were greeted by a wide, tree-lined, street that led us directly from the station to the Himeji castle grounds. We could see the castle at the top of a hill at the other end of the street in all its majesty and even from about a mile away it was still rather impressive.

"Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex." - Wikipedia

Once on the castle grounds we started our journey up the hill to the main tower of the castle. The castle grounds are extremely well kept, as is to be expected, and almost exactly as they were since it's creation. Unfortunately the castle is currently undergoing repairs so it was draped in a massive tarp - which explains the wikipedia image opening this post. The huge bonus of the current construction is that we were able to go to the very top of the castle and stand on the roof - awesome view. I have included a few images of the ground in a link below, because as always pictures do a much better job than I can do explaining.


Himeji Castle Gallery



Labels: Himeji, Japan