Himeji Castle - 姫路城

By Phuong on 2016-06-04 12:03:55

Himeji is situated on Honshu, the main island of Japan. The city is located in the Kansai region about 150 kms in the southwest of Kyoto. It is known and visited for its castle registered as World Heritage by UNESCO. This castle is also named Shirasagi - jo (which means Castle of the White Heron) because its appearance and beauty is like the white heron spreading its wings.

Indeed, the outside of Himeji castle is white. It is one of only 12 Japanese castle in wood which still exists and is one of the oldest structure of the feudal period of Japan. It has remained intact since its construction, even after the bombing of Himeji at the end of the World War II (1945). The first building of the castle was during the Nanboku-chō period of the Muromachi period, more than 400 years ago. At first there were only 2 floors, 2 buldings were added a few years later. It is in 1580 that the current dungeon (tower with 3 floors) was built by Kuroda Yoshitaka and it is in 1609 that the 4 th floor of the tower was finished. The buildings of the west walls are the last to be built, dating from 1618.

The castle is built on top of a hill, Himeyama , which measures 45.6 meters. There are 83 buildings in total of which 74 were identified as important cultural property. The total area occupied by the castle is 233 hectares. The dungeon itself is 46.4 m, or 92 m above sea level . It consists of 6 floors and is based on the foundations of 385 m. It has two pillars, one on the east measuring 97 cm in diameter at the base and in the West measuring 85 cm at the base. It takes about 2 hours to visit the castle and its perimeter and entry costs 1000 yen. You will see around the castle, Loopholes of different shapes (circular , rectangular and triangular) dating back to medieval Japan. Rectangle shaped loopholes were for archers and all others are gunspot.

You can also buy a ticket including the visit of the castle and garden Kokoen for 1040 yen, the entrance to the garden only costs 300 yen. This garden was created in 1992 to commemorate 100 years of the city of Himeji. It is located next to the castle and is made up of 9 small Japanese gardens of different style inside. Thus, there is a pond with several waterfalls, a tea garden , a pine garden, bamboo garden, flower garden ... It is not very long to visit and this can make you a little zen break. It is also possible to take tea and cake for 500 yen per person.

If you go through Himeji, this visit is worth the trip.