[HYOGO] Himeji Castle

Just how many Japanese castles do you need? When is enough enough? It’s NEVER enough. It was decided early on that Kobe will be the representative of Hyogo prefecture. A simple cityscape tour along the bay. I wasn’t aware that a train ride to Kobe from Osaka won’t even take an hour. And then I consulted Wikitravel and suddenly there was a contender. Himeji. It has a castle and it’s not that far from Kobe. After some serious deliberation, a compromise was reached to visit Himeji Castle in the morning and then go on a side trip to Kobe’s Nunobiki Falls on the way back. Only the castle trip materialized because I was out of time.

Japan has many lists of three’s, one of them being Japan’s three famous castles that includes Nagoya, Osaka, and Kumamoto. I’ve already visited all three. Himeji makes it to that list from time to time, depending on who you ask,  almost always replacing Kumamoto. I must say, though, that if I were to choose the best among those four, Himeji would easily top that list. Why so? Well, let’s just say that Himeji is just one of the several that managed to make it out of the war unscathed, meaning not bombed. Finishing its renovation in 2015, this castle is intact and does make you feel like you time traveled back in time.

Also called the White Egret Castle, I lost count of the number of floors I had to climb to get all the way to the top. Six or seven? Suffice it to say that this is one of Japan’s tallest castles, and the view from the top is wonderful. Thanks to its imposing height, the castle is quite visible from Himeji Station. You can actually just walk all the way there, which will probably take you around 20 minutes tops. If the summer heat is too much for you to bear, then hop on the tourist loop bus which will cost you JPY190 (~PHP75). It’s a really short five minute trip, with the stop a few cartwheels away from the bridge that leads to the entrance.

Cross the bridge and enter the gate. You will find a huge field of grass with Himeji City Zoo to the right. The castle is straight ahead and the admission fee is JPY1,000 (~PHP400). You can buy the ticket from the personnel at the booth or from the vending machine that looks like a train ticket dispenser. They accept credit cards. There are also tandem tickets for the neighboring Koko-en garden. It’s easy to get lost in time at the vast castle grounds but the castle itself will always be your guide as to where to go. Go with the flow of tourists and prioritize the castle interiors before they close at 5 PM.

From there, it’s all about climbing endless flights of wooden stairs to get to the top. Summer seems to be a rather busy period with the castle just teeming with people. There are a lot of things you are not allowed to bring inside, with the clear exception of drinking water. Recyclable plastic bags are available at the entrance of the castle itself so you could use it to carry your shoes with you. I recommend taking your socks off too to avoid any slippery accidents. The lines going up and down can be long, so patience is definitely a virtue here. You can always look out the windows for the spectacular view while waiting for your turn.

As with most Japanese castles, Himeji’s is minimalistic and all you see inside is mostly brown wood, from the ceiling to the floor boards. Unlike some renovated castles that have been converted to museums, you will be finding no modern architectural barbarities here nor air-conditioning units that look out of place. The castle is said to resemble how it originally looked back in the 1600’s, and open-air ventilation is part of that. Despite sweating in the summer heat, I actually enjoyed Himeji Castle more because it looks and feels authentic, not just from the outside but also from the inside.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do inside the castle unless you are a big fan of Japanese castle architecture or feudal history. The good thing is that there are many areas outside where you can loiter, provided you have an umbrella with you as refuge from the sun because all of those areas are not shaded. On higher ground just right next to the exit is a toilet and a huge open space with the castle right in front of it and around three benches. They also have some sort of elevated platform in the middle specifically made to cushion your smartphone so you can set it on timer and pose for the perfect selfie.

But if a beautiful selfie with the castle as the backdrop is all you need, then you need not venture far away from the main entrance to the castle grounds, on the left side of the field opposite the city zoo is a ramp heading to a small garden. You will find another platform there for your smartphone with the castle, smaller in perspective, visible under the glare of the sun in the background and with bonsai trees in the foreground. I almost missed this spot and only found it before I left.

[HYOGO] Himeji Castle

[KANSAI] Budget and Itinerary (3)