12 fun facts and tips on visiting Himeji Castle
We travelled to Himeji Castle mid-April 2019. This was my personal favourite place to visit in Japan. Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I found it to be extremely photogenic. The surrounding grounds are lovely also, especially as we also went in Spring, right in the middle of the Cherry Blossom season. Here are my fun facts and tips on visiting Himeji Castle below:
1.
Himeji Castle is very easy to get to by JR train
Like a lot of tourist attractions
in Japan, Himeji Castle is very easy to get to by JR train. Once you get out
the Train station exit – you can actually see the castle! It’s about a good 10
minute walk to get there and its flat too (no stairs!).
2.
The Castle is also known as the ‘The White Heron Castle’
Another name for the castle is the
‘White Egret Castle’, supposedly because the castle is white and resembles a
Heron ‘taking off’ in flight. The castle is very photogenic and as its located
on a hilltop, seems to look down upon the city of Himeji.
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| One of the guards of the castle |
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| I just loved all the Cherry Blossoms |
3.
How old is the castle?
Himeji Castle dates to 1333 when
it was a fort. Modifications have been made over the years, however the castle
has remained largely unchanged in its current state since the early
17th-century.
4.
What’s inside the castle? Is it worth going inside?
I debated for a long time whether
it was worth the money and time going inside the castle and climbing 6 floors (we
had already been in similar castles elsewhere in Japan, and we were told there
was nothing inside except the internal woodwork).
However, I’m glad we did venture
inside. There are a few displays about the history of the castle, and there is
also a great atmosphere of the place – just to wander around something so old.
The views from the castle are also astounding.
It is an easy climb to the top.
You climb up some narrow stairs, but they aren’t that many to climb in between
walking around each floor level.
What I found most interesting
were the ‘ladies in waiting chambers’ (to the left of the main castle) and the
stories within those walls.
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| Inside Himeji Castle |
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| The Stairs inside Himeji Castle |
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| More photos inside of Himeji Castle - it is quite sparse |
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| Some artifacts on display inside the Castle 'Ladies in Waiting' chamber |
5.
Wear good socks!
Like a lot of places in Japan,
inside, you must take off your shoes and wear just your socks or bare feet.
They do supply a plastic bag for you to place your shoes in and to be honest,
it’s a bit of a novelty walking around a 17th century grand castle
in your socks!
6.
Himeji was heavily bombed in 1945 – yet the Castle remained virtually untouched!
The castle has so far avoided
fires, earthquakes and WW2 bombs.
7.
The castle contains many defence mechanisms in the castle walls
There are approximately 1000 ‘Loopholes’
in the shape of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles built into the
stone walls. These allowed the castle men to shoot (with bullets or arrows),
but still remain hidden from the enemy.
8.
Himeji Castle was a location in the James Bond movie ‘You Only Live Twice’
(1967).
Sean Connery was the actor playing
James Bond. The castle was used in the movie as the home of Ninja training and
there are a few scenes of the helicopter landing in front of Himeji castle and
training of the Ninja’s inside the grounds. You can find the scene if you
search online on YouTube.
9.
Note admission to the castle ends one hour before closing
It is worth stating as this
happened to us with the gardens next door where the last admission was a half
hour before closing. We could not enter the garden as it was too close to
closing time.
10.
There is a Japanese Style Garden next door to the castle!
Kokoen Gardens was opened in 1992
and you can buy a combination ticket with the castle that gives you a discount.
There
is a waterfall, tea house ceremonies, pine tree gardens and bamboo gardens to
explore. The Tea ceremony only costs about 500 Yen at the Sojyuan Tea House –
which is an absolute bargain.
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| More Cherry Blossoms outside the castle |
11.
You can see the roof tile fish statues up close – that are said to prevent
fires!
On the roof of the Himeji Castle
there are a number of fish statues. You can see the statue replica’s up close
near the Castle keep. The fish statue is called Shachihoko, and it is a
Japanese symbol of fire prevention. People in ancient times thought that the
fish could spout water out of its mouth if there was ever a fire.
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| Fish statue is called Shachihoko |
12.
Himeji had excellent defences built in
There were three moats as the
first line of defence. The 15 metre sloping stone walls also made it impossible
for an enemy to climb over. And then once inside the walls, there was a maze of
various pathways, some leading to nowhere, some leading to intentional
bottlenecks, all designed to confuse the enemy. Ironically with all these
defences, no one ever attempted to attack Himeji!
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Until next week,
KJ
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| One of the moats around Himeji Castle |
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| The 'Keep' in front of Himeji Castle |
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| The labyrinth of pathways to get to the castle |
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| More pathways to explore |
Overall
Overall, we enjoyed our trip to Himeji. There are wonderful shopping malls 'on the way' to the castle too where we picked up some unique souvenirs.
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| A Kimono Shop on the way to the castle |
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| We bought this as a souvenir! |
You can also now follow us on
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Home Page
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Until next week,
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