Himeji-jo

"White Heron Castle" is the poetic name of Himeji-jo. Its white walls and roofs are said to be reminiscent of a bird starting to fly. Well, I couldn't really spot that, either from the map of the castle at the entrance gate or from the top floor of the donjon. But that it is a white beauty cannot be denied, at least since 2015, when the most recent restoration was completed and the dark patina was removed.

I visited Himeji-jo in September 2019 on a half-day trip from Kyoto. It takes less than an hour by train (Hikari Shinkasen, included in JR Rail Pass). The route is signposted from Himeji station: just take the north exit, go straight ahead and 15 minutes later you are in front of the outer castle gate. And a little further, then you arrive at the Hishi-no-mon gate, the entrance to the paid area.
From there you can reach the main keep through several gates. At the beginning the path is straight, but then more and more turns and twists - a labyrinth of alley, gates, ramps and towers. Perfect designed to make a conquest difficult.
The magnificent main keep is certainly the highlight. You have to take off your shoes before you can climb the six floors to the top. The interior is quite empty, there is not much to see apart from the small shrine on the top floor. But there are multilingual information boards on each floor and the staff was …

WHS#77

Castles have never been my favorite kind of site to visit. As inherently military structures, they have a tendency to be squat and visually less appealing than other great monuments, as functionality is rightfully prioritized over artistic expression or cultural manifestation. Their use in military activity also means that they are rarely preserved as they were made, often interfering with their visual impact even worse. There's one place in the world that seems to consistently defy these characteristics of castles, and that's Japan. Japanese castles are famous for their graceful figures and tall keeps, but if you do your research, you'll find that only 12 of them are actually preserved since the preindustrial age. Most are in isolated areas in small cities, especially on the island of Shikoku, but there's one castle easily accessible from the Kansai metropolitan area, and it's the greatest of them all. This is Himeji-jo, the legendary White Heron Castle, and I was lucky enough to visit it en route from Hiroshima to Osaka in December 2019. Arriving on a Shinkansen, the castle is actually visible in the distance if you look in the right direction. There are lockers to store your luggage if you're on a route like mine, but they're pretty expensive, costing 700 yen if you have an especially large suitcase. In hindsight, it would've been cheaper, but also much less convenient, to store the luggage at the castle lockers, which cost half the price. Anyway, the castle is about a …

I visited Himeji-jō on a half-day trip from Kōbe in early 2017. Trains from Kōbe and Ōsaka are fast and frequent, and from Himeji station, one can easily walk towards the castle. The shiny white castle overlooks the uneventful city and is surrounded by a water-filled moat. Kōko-en Garden is just west of the castle and a nice place to spend half an hour. The ticket price for the castle was 1,000 JPY (1,040 JPY with the garden). After removing your shoes, the castle can be entered and the upper floors climbed. In the colder season, visitors should put on the offered slippers as the wooden floorboards turn freezing cold. I have visited a handful of Japanese castles and found Himeji-jō to be the most beautiful.

Visiting in February 2016, we were fortunate in our timing because the castle has recently been through a period of renovation in which the whole main tower (or keep) was covered in scaffolding. Today it looks pristine, and fully deserving of its Heron moniker. It is an impressive structure, though there isn't much of interest besides the view of the city whilst you traipse around the inside of the castle with your shoes off.

I visited this WHS in November 2009. It is a fine example of Japanese wooden castles with multiple roof layers from the Shogun period. A bit out of the way but really worth it!

I have visited Himeji Castle twice, once in winter and once in early May. The castle was more visible in winter but it was magnificent with all of the new spring foliage surrounding it. I would like to visit it again in the fall with the leaves changing colors. Definitely a must see in Japan.

We visited Himeji-jo on a rainy, windy day when a typhoon was carving its way through the middle of Honshu. It is spectacular, set high on a hill easily seen from the train as you pass through Himeji. A 15 minute walk up the hill brings you to what was the middle moat (the outer moat was where the train station now stands!). It is empty of furniture, but contains samurai armour, ancient guns and weapons, writings and paintings of Daimyo.

Actually, it has a very warm feel to it, because of all the timber - a pleasant change to the cold stone castles of europe.

There are spectacular views from the 6th floor - just use your imagination to see all the people living within it's moats and walls.

I made a special trip out of Kyoto, just to see that one castle. I wasn't impressed when I first saw it from the train (approaching Himeiji City), but that feeling was dispelled when I finally got to explore it and climb to the top of the keep/donjon. I went through every bailey possible, and even went out the back entrance, only to backtrack and experience the impressive rear approach as well. What most people miss is the engineering subtleties of the rock foundations and the interior timber framing (especially for the keep). All in all, it lived up to its' reputation. I recommend it for anyone that visits Japan, and who is interested in castle architecture.

Himeji-jo must be the most beautiful castle in Japan. You can view the castle from Himeji Train Station, or by the way of Shinkansan near Himeji. It really like a flying crane. Climbing to the top of the castle was an very exciting. I could watch all over the city around.

Fantastic! A glorious reminder of Japan's history. The workmanship that must have gone into this castle is incredible. Himeji-jo is, without question, one of the premier sites in all Japan. This should be a prime destination for someone visiting Japan.