Himeji Castle

I may be biased, but Himeji Castle is probably the most amazing place you could visit in Japan. There are some beautiful temples out there too but the sheer size of the main keep at Himeji Castle and the fact that you can walk around unhindered inside of it cannot be experienced elsewhere. Combined

History

Himeji Castle's early history dates to the 14th century when Akamatsu Norimura built a fortification on this site. Himeyama Castle was then built by his son in 1346. The castle starts to come into prominence during the Sengoku Period when it was renovated by the Kuroda Shigetaka in 1545. In 1580, Nobunaga took control of Harima proving and placed it under the control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who remodeled the castle and built a small keep. You can still see some of the remnants of Hideyoshi's castle in Himeji castle as Ikeda incoporated some of the stone walls and gates into his castle. Ikeda Terumasa, an ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, was awarded this province (Harima) for his alliance during the war. Ikeda Terumasa built the main keep of Himeji-jo and erected the castle as it is known today. Himeji-jo's nickname Shirasagi-jo means "White Heron Castle" because the main keep with its three smaller towers resembles a white heron. Himeji-jo was granted "World Heritage" status by UNESCO in 1993.

Field Notes

I may be biased, but Himeji Castle is probably the most amazing place you could visit in Japan. There are some beautiful temples out there too but the sheer size of the main keep at Himeji Castle and the fact that you can walk around unhindered inside of it cannot be experienced elsewhere. Combined with the various types of gates and walls, it really is like stepping back in time. It can be very crowded however and the website provides some information about wait times to enter the main keep. If possible, try to visit on weekdays and plan to arrive when it opens. Most of the pictures you see in these albums were taken on weekdays in the winter, so it is possible to get good photos if you have some freedom with timing.

Just before the ticket counter, off to your left, is an administration office where you may be able to connect with a volunteer English guide to tour the castle too. They are very knowledgeable and do great tours helping to make sure you don't miss anything important.

I've been to Himeji Castle 15 times in about 20 years, but there are still things I've missed or forgotten to look for in the excitement of this great castle. If you have time, the Koko-en gardens are a worthy visit. You can also walk the outer moats around the castle to see more interesting angles of the castle and the ruins of other gates and fortifications. During certain seasons a boat ride around the moat makes for an interesting way to see the giant castle walls and moat up close too. Himeji is a nice town and hotels are less expensive than Kyoto/Osaka. If you spend a night here you can see more of the sites in and around the castle. The town also has a good bicycle rental system if you want to visit the castle and outlying areas efficiently.

Himeji Castle is too vast with too many great things to show, recently they have been opening up parts of the castle for limited exhibitions a couple times per year too. I've split the photos of the main castle, surrounding castle town and these special exhibits into multiple albums you will see after the map below. The photos below are just a couple key photos of the main keep.

Videos

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Gallery

Map

More Galleries and Feature Pages

Main Compounds

(72 photos)

Main Keep Interior

(44 photos)

Nishinomaru Yagura Interior

(21 photos)

Small Keeps Special Exhibit

(50 photos)

West Small Keep Special Exhibit

(24 photos)

Hishi Gate Limited Exhibition

(26 photos)

To Yagura and Karamete Limited Exhibition

(40 photos)

Oremawari Yagura and Bizen Gate Limited Exhibition

(31 photos)

(63 photos)

(43 photos)

(27 photos)

(18 photos)

(16 photos)

(10 photos)

Kokuin

(13 photos)

Himeji Domain River Barge

(12 photos)

Heisei Restoration

(22 photos)

Castle Profile
English Name	Himeji Castle
Japanese Name	姫路城
Alternate Names	Shirasagi-jo (White Heron castle)
Founder	Ikeda Terumasa
Year Founded	1333
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Original main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, UNESCO World Heritage Site, has Important Cultural Properties, has National Treasures, National Historic Site, Special Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	5 levels, 6 stories
Artifacts	I Watariyagura, Ho Yagura, He Watariyagura, Obi Yagura, Ikaku Yagura, Chi Yagura, Ri Watariyagura; (1st & 2nd sections), Nu Gate, Kesho Yagura, Ka Watariyagura, Nu Yagura, Hishi gate, To Yagura, Orimawari Yagura, Taiko Yagura, Yo Watariyagura, Ru Yagura, Ta Watariyagura, Wo Yagura, Re Watariyagura, Wa Yagura, I Gate, Ha Gate, Ni Gate, He Gate, To no Ichi Gate, To no Ni Gate, Chi Gate, Ri Gate, Mizu no Ichi gate, Bizen Gate, To no Yon Gate East Wall, To no Yon Gate West Wall, To no Ni Gate East Wall, He Gate East Wall, He Gate West Wall, Mizu no Ichi Gate North Tsuiji Wall, Mizu no Ichi Gate West Wall, Ni Yagura South Wall, Mizu no Go Gate South Wall, I Watariyagura South wall, Ni Gate Upper East Wall, Ni Gate Lower East Wall, Ro Yagura East Wall, Ro Yagura West Wall, Ha Gate East Wall, Ha Gate West Wall, Ha Gate South Wall, Ro Gate East Wall, Ro Gate Southwest Wall, Kesho Yagura South Wall, Wa Yagura East Wall, Ka Yagura North Wall, Hishi Gate West Wall, Hishi Gate South Wall, Hishi Gate East Wall, I Gate East Wall, Taiko Yagura South Wall, Taiko Yagura North Wall, Obikuruwa North Wall, Ikaku Yagura South Wall, To Yagura South Wall, Ro Watariyagura, Ha Watariyagura, Ni Watariyagura, Obikuruwa Yagura, Ro Yagura, Ni Yagura, Ka Yagura, Ro Gate, To no Yon Gate, Mizu no Ni Gate, main tenshu, East Kotenshu, I Watariyagura, Ro Watariyagura, Inui Kotenshu, West Kotenshu, Ha Watariyagura, Ni Watariyagura
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Himeji Station (Sanyo Honsen/Shinkansen), walk 15 minutes.
Hours	Open 9am-5pm (6pm in summer), closed Dec 29-30; 1000 yen
Time Required	3 hrs minimum, you could spend all day here
URL	Castle Website
Location	Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates	34.83806, 134.69348
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Admin Visits	Feb 1996; Dec 1997; Aug 1998; Mar 21, 2004; Nov 15, 2009; Mar 3, 2012; Oct 10, 2012; Dec 19, 2018; Feb 28, 2019; Mar 21, 2022; Feb 25, 2023; Aug 18, 2023; Sept 16, 2023; Feb 18, 2024; Sept 23, 2024

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