Himeji Castle is the greatest original surviving castle in the country. If you only visit one, make sure it is this jewel in Kansai!
Actually there are only about a dozen original castles surviving in Japan (all the rest are reconstructed fakes) and Himeji Castle (a.k.a Himejijo or Hakuro-jo) has one of the oldest histories. It started as a fort in 1333, and thereafter was built into a castle and expanded. Its completed form was finished in 1618, and it has survived mostly unchanged over the centuries, while other Japanese castles were destroyed in wars, fire, quakes, or dismantled at the end of Japan’s feudal era.
Given a choice to see Osaka Castle (which is not even a “castle” – it’s a cube museum with a castle facade) or Himeji, it’s not even close – Himeji Castle wins hands down. The other choice is the often ignored Hikone Castle in Shiga
and it too is an original and cherry blossom gem. But it too just can’t match Himeji Castle’s size and majesty.
Himeji Castle is immense in size and has many areas that just appear to dead end, and might lead you into thinking it was made haphazardly. But quite the contrary, it was deliberately done that way so to confuse any invaders. Today, it is also one of the best places in Japan to see the annual cherry blossoms, usually from the end of March to early April.
Himejijo is ranked at the top of the list for the Top 3 castles in Japan, the others being Kumamoto Castle as well as Matsumoto Castle, in Nagano.
Himeji Castle has also been used in several big films and TV over the years, including the 007 film “You Only Live Twice”, “The Last Samurai”, “Shogun”, plus Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran”, and “Kagemusha”. In 2015, 5½ years of extensive renovations were completed, adding to its allure, and annually get around 3 million visitors. Himeji Castle has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, one of Japan’s earliest.
To get to Himeji Castle, from other Kansai cities like Kyoto or Osaka, or further, it’s easiest by bullet train, especially if you have a rail pass that allows it. For those already in Kansai, one cheap way is a one day Kansai Area Pass – you can’t use the shinkansen bullet trains, but it does not take that much longer. From Himeji Station you can walk about 15 minutes to the castle, or there is a 100 yen bus you can take (2X/hour weekdays, 4X/hour weekends).
Himeji Castle is open 9AM-5PM (until 6PM Apr-Aug), and admissions are closed 1 hour before the closing time. Admission is ¥1000.
For the perfect compliment to seeing Himeji Castle, don’t miss the Kokoen Garden – just a 5 minute walk away. You can see it here:
Its extraordinary beauty makes a perfect combination.
There is a combo ticket you can purchase for just ¥1040 for both castle and garden, making one of the places virtually free. The ticket vending machines only sell the castle tickets, so you need to get the combo ticket at the ticket counter.
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AloJapan.com