Travel Guide for Himeji - Japan Purple Travel Guide
We show you the best things to see in Himeji and, as always, we provide lots of photos so you can decide where you want to go.
Table of contents
General Information about Himeji 姫路市
Himeji, a city with a population of 535,000, was a castle town and even today, Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Himeji’s biggest attraction.
The city of Himeji was established on April 1, 1889.
The climate that you can expect on your visit of Himeji is shown here:
Himeji Castle 姫路城
If you take the Shinkansen, then you will arrive at the JR Himeji station. Upon exiting the train station you can see Himeji Castle about a half mile away. You can either walk or take the Himeji Castle Loop Bus which departs right in front of the JR station and needs about 5min to arrive at the castle.
The fare was 100 Yen per person at the time of writing.
Himeji Castle is a hilltop castle complex that was built in 1333. It was almost completely remodeled in 1581 when a three-story castle keep was added and from 1601 to 1609 when the castle was completely rebuilt. Additions were later made from 1617 to 1618.
Himeji Castle is regarded as the finest example of Japanese castle architecture. It houses a network of 83 rooms and advanced defensive systems.
Due to its brilliant white exterior color and its supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight, Himeji Castle is also known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō (‘White Egret Castle’ or ‘White Heron Castle’).
For more than 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact throughout the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, several typhoons, and the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II on July 3, 1945 where 107 US Aircraft dropped 767 tons of incendiary bombs on Himeji and 1 on the castle, destroying 63% of the city. As a result, many Himeji residents believe that the castle is divinely protected.
Nowadays, Himeji Castle is the largest and most-visited castle in Japan. It was registered in 1993 as one of the first Japanese UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
We really enjoyed visiting Himeji Castle. It is very impressive on the outside and has some nice exhibits and architectural features on the inside, but is mostly empty on the inside, unless you come at a time when there is a special exhibition.
We consider Himeji Castle to be definitely worth a trip to Himeji.
After your visit, walk back to the train station or take the bus, and then take a train back to Kyoto.
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