Kobe Trip Part 11: Himeji Castle, World Heritage Site

[Introduction]

I traveled to Kobe in early March. In Kobe, major tourist spots such as bay area, Kitano Ijinkan-gai and Chinatown were concentrated, which was convenient for tourists. In this article, I will write about Himeji Castle as part of Day 4.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Fly to Kobe with Skymark
* Day 1: Chinatown and Former Foreign Settlement etc.
* Day 1: Meriken Park and Harborland
* Day 1: Meriken Park and Harborland (Light-up)
* Day 2: Kitano Ijinkan-gai
* Day 2: Ikuta Shrine, Nunobiki Herb Gardens etc.
* Day 2: Kobe Great Bridge (Light-up)
* Day 3: Kobe Oji Zoo
* Day 3: Kobe Animal Kingdom
* Day 3: Chinatown and Old Foreign Settlement (Light-up)
* Day 4: Himeji Castle [This article]
* Day 4: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
* Day 4: Sannomiya

[Travel Date]
2018.03.08 – 11

[Main Part]

Breakfast at Kobe Sannomiya Tokyu Rei Hotel

It was the fourth day, the final day, of my Kobe trip. To begin with, I will have breakfast at Kobe Sannomiya Tokyu Rei Hotel where I have been staying since last night.

Breakfast was served as a buffet style with a variety of locally produced dishes.

Another bite.

I checked out Kobe Sannomiya Tokyu Rei Hotel.

To recap Kobe Sannomiya Tokyu Rei Hotel briefly, I thought the hotel was cost-effective overall. To be more specific, it was conveniently located near Sannomiya station, breakfast was good and its price was reasonable. If you are looking for a hotel in Sannomiya, I would recommend Kobe Sannomiya Tokyu Rei Hotel.

Snaps around Himeji Station

On the fourth day, I will go on an excursion to other areas. First, I moved to Himeji (姫路) to visit Himeji Castle (姫路城).

It took about 40 minutes from Sannomiya (三宮) to (姫路) by JR special rapid trains.

Visitors can access from Himeji Station to Himeji Castle by bus, but it takes about 20 minutes even on foot, so I decided to walk to Himeji Castle so that I could enjoy scenery on the way.

Here are some snaps from “Otemae street 大手前通り”, a single road leading from Himeji Station straight to Himeji Castle.

Himeji Castle (姫路城)

Himeji Castle (姫路城) came into sight.

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is often referred to as the Japan’s most spectacular castle for its imposing size and beauty and its well preserved, complex castle grounds. The castle is both a national treasure and a world heritage site.

I passed a bridge and went into the castle.

I am glad that it was sunny today.

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is also famous for cherry blossoms, so I would like to visit it next time during cherry blossom season.

This is “Hishi-no-mon (菱の門)”, the largest gate in Himeji Castle (姫路城).

There was a moat.

Personally, I like this 45 degrees angle from the left side.

I headed for the castle tower.

The castle tower had 6 stories. Here are some snaps.

I reached the top floor. Visitors were able to enjoy scenery beyond a wire fence.

I will go downstairs.

I went out from the castle tower and took its photos outside.

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is also called as White Heron Castle (Shirasagijo) due to its elegant, white appearance.

Other Facilities around Himeji Castle (姫路城)

There were other facilities around Himeji Castle (姫路城) and I dropped by some of them. First, “Himeji City Museum of Art (姫路市立美術館)”.

“Himeji City Museum of Art (姫路市立美術館)” was opened in 1983.

The building of the museum was originally built as an arsenal of the former Japanese Army in 1905. Then, it was used as the Himeji City government office.

Unfortunately, the museum was closed this day (Monday).

This sculpture was created by a French artist.

There was “Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History (兵庫県立歴史博物館)” near “Himeji City Museum of Art (姫路市立美術館)”, but this museum was also closed.

Then, I left Himeji Castle (姫路城).

Anago-meshi (Conger Eel Rice) at Yamayoshi (やま義)

I will return to Himeji Station (姫路駅) through “Miyuki Shopping street”.

Now I will have lunch. Anago (Conger eel) is one of the famous local dishes in Himeji (姫路) and I visited “Yamayoshi (やま義)”.

Visitors were able to see how Anago (Conger eel) was cooked over the window.

I had Anago-meshi (Conger Eel Rice).

When I went out of the restaurant, there was a queue.

Then, I went to “Sanyo Himeji station (山陽姫路駅)” to move to the next destination.

I will move to Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Himeji Castle as part of Day 4.

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is the only castle that is registered as a World Heritage Site in Japan, so I had longed to visit it for many years. This time, my wish came true and I found Himeji Castle (姫路城) was as excellent as I expected.

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is also one of “the existing 12 castle towers”, which means the castles in Japan whose castle towers were built during or before Edo period and still remain now. Among the other existing 12 castle towers, I have been to the following castles. If you are interested in them, please see my past articles.

[Hirosaki Castle (弘前城)] (2015.04)
“Cherry Blossoms at Hirosaki Park (Hirosaki Castle)”
“Cherry Blossoms at Hirosaki Park (Hirosaki Castle) with night illumination”

[Matsumoto Castle (松本城)] (2015.05)
“Matsumoto Castle: a National Treasure known as the “crow castle””

[Matsuyama Castle (松山城)] (2013.12/2016.11)
“Matsuyama Castle and Ninomaru Historical Garden”
“Light-up at Matsuyama Castle and a vegetable restaurant “SOH SOH””

In the next article, I will write about Akashi Kaikyo Bridge as part of Day 4.

[Map]

1 JR Himeji Station
2 Himeji Castle
3 Himeji City Museum of Art
4 Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History
5 Yamayoshi
6 Sanyo Himeji Station

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