Himeji is the largest Japanese castle and one of the 12 original castles still left in Japan. Join us on a tour of this majestic castle.
My family loves visiting Japanese Castles. Each time we visit one, learning about the histories and stories behind each castle fascinates us. As we look at these awe-inspiring structures, I can only image what it was like during the feudal times when the lords and shoguns lived there. Today, I will share with you our family’s visit to Himeji Castle.
Unfortunately, many of the castles you see in Japan are replicas. The majority of them have either burned down or damaged during the war or earthquakes. As of today, there are only 12 original castles left in Japan.
- Bitchū Matsuyama Castle
- Hikone Castle
- Himeji Castle
- Hirosaki Castle
- Inuyama Castle
- Kōchi Castle
- Marugame Castle
- Maruoka Castle
- Matsue Castle
- Matsumoto Castle
- Matsuyama Castle (Iyo)
- Uwajima Castle
Of the original castles, the most grand of them all is the Himeji Castle in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. It is considered one of Japan’s three premiere castles today, along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle.
How to get to Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle is located in Himeji City, you can get there either by Shinkansen, or Shinkaisoku 新快速 (Special Rapid Service Train). If you are already in the Kansai area, you can get to Himeji in 40 minutes from Kobe or 1 hour from Osaka by the Shinkaisoku.
When you arrive, you can see the majestic castle just down the road from the train station. You can either walk to the castle in about 15 minutes or take the bus. Buses leave every 5-7 min from the train station that will stop near the castle.
The current castle structure dates back to the early 1600’s, and the site has been used by rulers since 1333. It recently underwent years of renovation for major cleanup and restoration. It reopened to the public in March 2015. Besides being the largest and most visited castle, it is also one of the first Japanese UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
As you cross Sakuramon Bridge (桜門橋) through Otemon Gate (大手門), you can enjoy walking around the castle grounds at no cost.
Himeji Castle is also known as Shirasagijo (白鷺城) “White Heron Castle” due to its white exterior and resemblance to a bird flying.
Tour of Himeji Castle
Prior to entering Himeji Castle, you will need to purchase tickets from the vending machines, it’s ¥1,000 for adults and ¥300 for children (high school or younger).
Himeji Castle is built on a hilltop (Himeyama) so there is quite a bit of climbing, the stairs within the castle are also very steep. A word of caution to those who might have trouble climbing or walking for long periods of time.
The paths and walkways up to the castle are purposely designed like a maze, which is to confuse the enemy during attacks. In addition, these paths are very narrow and steep, making it even harder to attack.
There are plaques throughout the tour explaining the purposes of specific building characteristics. In this example, many of the stones were repurposed to build the foundation and walls. These stones include gravestones, stone laterns, etc.
As you can see, many gates leading to Himeji Castle tower are very small. It would be difficult for more than a few adults (or an army) to enter through quickly.
The oil wall is a mud wall made using rammed-earth construction method, resulting in very strong and solid walls. This particular wall is the only rammed-earth wall remaining at the castle. It is originally covered in white lime plaster.
There are many gates; any potential invader would have to go through prior to getting to the main keep.
The Tenshukkaku (天守閣), meaning the main keep, or the tallest tower of a Japanese castle.
On the first floor, there is a model depicting the Himeji Castle and the surrounding area during the feudal days.
History of the extensive repair done at the Himeji Castle over a 6-year period. Prior to 2009, the previous major restoration was completed in 1964. The recent restoration focused on replacement of roof tiles and walls of the main keep.
A model of the wooden skeleton that supports the castle. The castle withstood many natural disasters including the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
View of the train station from one of the castle windows.
Besides the first floor, there aren’t too many artifacts or castle information on display. Visitors are routed through each of the floors through barriers. As a word of caution, there is no restroom inside the actual castle so remember stop by prior to entering; otherwise it’s a long way down.
Each floor has a lighted display on the floor plan and a brief explanation of the special features on that floor.
The giant eastern pillar supporting the castle.
The giant western pillar supporting the castle.
Each floor gets progressively smaller as you go higher up. Even though the castle looks like it’s 5 stories from exterior, it’s actually 6 stories and has a basement floor.
Hiding place for warriors to surprise any attackers.
This well has been here since 1,500’s, and there’s a story of murder and betrayal connected to it. If you are interested in the story, read more here.
Ongoing restoration still happening at the Himeji Castle.
Detailed model of the Himeji Castle at the train station.
Local Specialty Food at Himeji
What is this sea creature you might ask? Prior to visiting Himeji Castle, we quickly grabbed a bite at the train station. At most large train stations in Japan, you can find all sorts of restaurants and shops nearby. The seafood shop we visited had live sea eel (anago 穴子) and we’ve never tried fresh anago before.
The anago sashimi (I did say fresh!) is thinly sliced into uzusukuri (薄造り) and it’s texture and flavor was similar to hirame (halibut). The thinly sliced anago was enjoyed with ponzu and it was quite delicious; however, there were a lot of small bones we had to pull out.
I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of Himeji Castle. Next, we’re heading over to Nagoya (名古屋), the 4th largest city (after Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka) in Japan! Please make sure to sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
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Lovely post. I did really enjoy my visit to HImeji castle although this was before they completed their big renovation! It looks gorgeous now. I hope your kids enjoyed the adventure, I know when I visited it brought the big kid out of me!
I would highly recommend Matsumoto castle if you can. For someone fascinated in food, it also has excellent soba and a nearby gigantic wasabi farm. So the eyes and stomach can feast at the same time!
Hi Christopher! Yes the kids really loved the castle, especially going up inside the castle. Yes, I’d love to visit Kumamoto castle when we are in that area. We love visiting and taking pics of castles so we’ll go there one day! 😀 Thanks for the tip on wasabi farm. That will be a good content for JOC too. 😉 Thank you for your comment, Christopher!
Oh – Nami : methinks I probably had this wonderful photo experience ere you were born!! Fantastic!! Probably the first castle of this kind I had ever seen . . .OK: this is ‘here and now’ am just, SO glad your son and daughter saw it as now . . . sugar: has he matured!!
Hi Eha! So happy I brought your memory back. 🙂 I’m glad you got to see this castle back then. Now it’s even prettier after the renovation. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words about my kids. This trip was right after the weekend trip to Taiwan, and he got buzz cut due to my lack of communication…. he never had his hair this SUPER short. It’s all my fault. His hair is slowly growing and poor guy, still the shortest haircut ever even now…. sorry Son. >_<
Nice! We went when it was still being restored and it was in this big package so you couldn’t see the main building! We’ll have to go back to see it again now!
Hi Bavo! Yeah I heard about the restoration had just completed and this year we happened to be in the area so we squeezed in Himeji Castle in our trip. 🙂 It’s beautiful. Hope you get to see it again, although there are many more different castles you can visit. 🙂
Himeji Castle is so impressive. Your vivid description made me feel that I was actually there. I am glad I was able to “tour” the castle through your eyes as I would be unable to withstand the lengthy hike. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Karen! Thank you for reading! Yes, it’s quite lengthy and uphill. There are tours for elder people and they seem to have a little difficult time, especially the stairs inside the castle is very steep (not like current stair angle) and pretty dark. 🙂
Thank you Nami for the lovely photos of the Himeji Castle and the anago sashimi. I’ve only tried anago on a bed of rice in a lacquer box eaten three way at Nihonbashi Tamai 日本橋 玉ゐ in Tokyo. during my first ever trip to Japan this May.
The sea creature photos reminded me of the golden tiger-headed carps, called kinshachi (金鯱) I’ve seen at Nagoya Castle.
Hi Christina! Ohhh that sounds very delicious indeed! We visited Nagoya Castle this trip too, so you’ll see them soon. 😀
Great pictures, Nami! I visited the castle 9 years ago – it was an unforgettable experience and your pictures helped bring back memories of my visit.
Hi Phil! Thank you for reading and I’m glad my post brought back your memories! Hope your trip to Japan was great!
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of the Castle. My family and I hope to visit Japan next year and I am going to go through all of your travel entries to read about what we will want to see and eat while we’re there. Wish me luck that the trip actually happens.
Hi Paula! That’s awesome! Hope my travel posts will be helpful. I try to organize the posts so they are easy to see, not in chronological order of the posts. Hopefully I can make the changes soon!
Beautiful photos. Thank you so much for sharing! From a follower from the east coast of the US.
Hi Velkyn! Thank you so much for reading my travel post! 🙂
Thanks for the tour. Very interesting indeed and very educational. Wish I could visit Japan too … A dream of mine which may still come true even if I am already 72
Thank you for reading Froy! I hope you get to visit Japan too! Meanwhile I hope you enjoy my travel posts and authentic foods from Japan. Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
Love this. How long do u think of a trip from Tokyo would it be?
I wish i could live in that castle. Thank you so much for everything you do Nami.
Hi Tania! If you take a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, it’s about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and from Osaka to Himeji is about 1 hour by local train. Haha, my kids and I were saying the same thing about living in the castle. 🙂 Thank you for reading the post, Tania!
Wow!it really is a very beautiful large and impressive castle!
Thanks for this lovely post!
Thanks so much for reading my travel post, Helena! 🙂
I enjoy your trips very much. My son flies to Japan occasionally and I send him your trips. He is amazed that I have found you, and looks forward to one day eating at the beautiful restaurant outside of Tokyo. I told him to take his whole crew!
Your visit to this castle is another real treat. The wooden model of the building’s foundation is fascinating. Makes me want to know more about how it has helped keep the castle safe from earthquakes.
I just watched a program about eels on BBC but they didn’t say anything about how to cook them nor what they taste like. Thank you for that part of your special trip.
Hi Georgia! Thank you so much for sending my tips to your son! Hope he enjoys his visits to Japan. It’s amazing to know about tricks and knowledge people had in old days.
Eels are strange looking sea creature to eat, but when we are growing up, I had no idea the actual shape of the creature as it’s always fillet and grilled. Never knew it was that long! LOL. Unagi is uUsually prepared and grilled before being sold at supermarkets. You won’t get fresh eels or even filets at supermarkets. It is delicious only after charcoal grilled. 🙂
Thank you, Nami! Your photos brought back great memories of seeing the castle in July, 2015. We were visiting my son in Kyoto for the Gion Matsuri and he took us on a day trip to Himeji Castle. As we waited to enter, an older Japanese woman approached and asked if we would like a tour guide, and what a guide she was! She had volunteered at the castle for many years and had honed her English skills by choosing to offer her services to foreign visitors. She had a thorough knowledge of all things related to the castle, and on a day of stifling heat this nearly 80-year-old grandmother took us all the way to the top and back, then posed in the sun for pictures with us, then left to spend the rest of the day with her grandchildren! This beautiful castle is worth the trip. We loved Japan!
Hi Susan! So you visited last year! July must be a hot and humid month to visit We had rain the day we visited, and humidity was pretty high. Wow, what a grandma! I’ve seen volunteer tour guides there, maybe she was there too. I’m happy to hear you had a wonderful experience. Glad to hear you had a great trip to Japan! p.s. I want to go to Gion Matsuri one day too. 🙂
すごい! Thank you so much for sharing this, Nami. Heimeji Castle has now been added to my ‘must see’ list. 😉
Hi Elizabeth! ありがとう！Hope you get to visit this beautiful castle! 🙂
Have been to Matsumoto Castle. Wife’s family there.
Hi Al! I hope I get to visit Matsumoto Castle one day. It looks gorgeous in the pictures. 🙂
Thank you for this great and informative tour!
I visited during the recent restoration (Sept 2013) and it was fascinating to watch the craftsmen working, using traditional methods and tools. And we got to take an elevator to the top because of the construction. Still, I’m looking forward to returning now that it’s fully reopened.
There’s also a beautiful garden next door.
Hi Mimi! Oh really! You could go to the top with an elevator because of the construction? COOL! It was a looooooong way to go up on foot. 😀 It was raining so much by the time we were leaving, so guess what, we had to skip the beautiful garden (hence no pictures). We have to go back one day too… 🙂
P.S. You have a COOL website! I collect chopsticks holder too mostly for fun and props for photo shooting. 😀
What a magnificent castle. Thank you for sharing your photos of your time there. I remember visiting a Japanese castle in Karatsu when I was there as an exchange student many years ago, even thought it was remodeled, it was so beautiful.
Funny story about the live fish….I remember when my Japanese family took me out to eat on my first night and we went to a Sushi restaurant, the Chef asked me to pick a fish from the tank and then just sliced it up, I couldn’t handle the fact that it was still twitching while it was served on my plate.
Hi Samantha! Thank you for reading my post! Wow you went to Karatsu castle! It’s nice you were in Japan as an exchange student!
It happened to us too. The fish actually jumped out of the original location where it was placed… totally freaked out (even though I’ve seen this way of serving many times that never happened).
Himeji Castle is very beautiful. We visited it too in last May when we were in Japan for our first time.
What I would like to add to your articel is a little warning; the stairs inside are very small/narrow it can get hard to step on them. Also at the stairs there often are wood bars on the ceiling which you easily can bump into with your head. So I would not recommend the castle insides for tall people. Or at least be careful 🙂
We did see many elderly japanese woman (some with walking sticks) mastering these stairs but I would not recommend it for elderly people if they have problems with their feets. (If you can not walk anymore there is no elevator or exit, you will have to follow the road completly up to the top and down again.)
And be aware that you have to carry your shoes around inside the castle (You will have to take them off, They provide bags to carry them)
English is not my native language but I hope I still managed to add some useful information 🙂
Hi Melanie! That is very good tip! I remember it was very steep, and yes narrow! Japanese people back then were even smaller… and it made it harder to travel inside the castle. I am only 5 feet but there are places where I had to duck to go up too. I can’t imagine tall foreigners visiting the castle… you’re right!!!! It’s not just the train doors (I think they all have to bend head to enter). And thank you for adding your tip on carrying the shoes around! Your hands won’t be completely free when you go up or down the stairs. Your information was indeed VERY valuable and thank you for noticing. 🙂
Unfortunately I didn’t enter this one. I really wanted but due to my pregnancy I felt so week, that I had to go back home. Nice to see it at least on your pictures 🙂
Hi Marta! Oh yeah, that was pre-Mia time! I loved the pictures you took from Japan… Hopefully your family can visit Japan one day. 🙂 xo
A castle is definitely something I’d love to visit in Japan! (Until now all I visit are shops bars and restaurants 😉 ). Thank you for these complete visit and wonderful photos!
Hi Sissi! LOL! Yes, I remember you said no temples, just shop and eating for you. I miss talking to you… 🙂 One day I’ll meet you in Japan!
Well that was a fun trip through a Japanese castle! Thanks! Looks like the kids had a blast.
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely photos and giving us an educational tour of the castle. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hi June! Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
Also there beautiful pastry shops
Hi Nami, did you go to the garden next to Himeji Castle? It requires a separate ticket but it is so worth it. It is gorgeous.
Jo
Hi Jo! Yep, we missed it because it was raining hard by the time we were leaving. 🙁 Next time…