Have you got a favourite Japanese castle?
One of my favourites, is Himeji Castle which was built in 1346. It has a brilliant white exterior, with 83 wooden buildings in total and it is possibly the most visited castle in Japan.
An important characteristic of Himeji Castle is the confusing maze of paths that lead to the main keep. This kept us busy on our visit!
- Incredible castle to visit
Another key feature of Himeji Catle has appeared in a quite a few movies. It also frequently pops up on Japanese television.
We visited Himeji in January 2000. It was freezing. And taking off our shoes to wander around the castle in stockinged feet was a huge effort!!! The stairs were narrow and steep. And there was a lot of walking to be done.
But what a wonderful piece of history. I have often thought I must organise another trip in warmer weather…. perhaps 2010 will be the year to re-visit Himeji – a Castle that has stood for nearly 700 years!
Of course if you cant make it all the way to Himeji the castle museum has organised a virtual tour. Wonder what the residents of Himeji would have made of that hundreds of years ago…. breach of security?
But I was not overly impressed with the virtual tour….. much better to go and feel, see and smell the castle for yourself!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Himeji Castle, Tour http://bit.ly/XpdV3 #JBlogs
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
If you visit in 2010 it may look like a huge box will be sitting on top of the main tower due to renovations that will last until 2014. What they will be doing during this renovation is allow the public to easily observe the process. So, within this “box” will be an observation deck from which to watch them re-plaster & re-tile the old girl.
Here is an official PDF with details of the process http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/var/rev0/0006/7298/Renovation_of_Himeji_Castle_Main_Keep_back.pdf
Reading: Himeji Castle, Tour (from http://bit.ly/4FQYQH) http://bt.io/AJWy
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @shibuya246: Reading: Himeji Castle, Tour (from http://bit.ly/4FQYQH) http://bt.io/AJWy
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
A guess on how many bedrooms ? – http://bit.ly/4qV6sF
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
A guess on how many bedrooms ? – http://bit.ly/4qV6sF
Washing Himeji Roof Tiles
http://bit.ly/49ySbL
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
has anyone made a major piece of work from nanoblock before …. it looks tricky http://bit.ly/10bZFc any advice?
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
Washing Himeji Roof Tiles: http://bit.ly/4jOwqx RS
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
thanks for the stumbles on the roof tile washing http://bit.ly/10bZFc
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
The work isn’t scheduled to begin until the spring of 2011 and will take until 2014 to complete but the company carrying out the work is already on site to investigate how they will make the repairs and also deal with millions of visitors.
They won’t be shutting out the tourist trade. Most clearly it will be done in sections so the castle won’t disappear. But now would be a great time with the red leaf or cherry blossom next spring.
Don’t forget the fab gardens in the western part. That’s worth a visit just in itself.
http://zichi.blogspot.com/2009/10/reforming-himeji-castle.html
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
Hello kimonobox,
We visited recently Himeji castle and it was already obvious that they are preparing it for reconstruction.
Our main goal (of the visit) though were Himeji samurai gardens (just adjacent) to the castle and I do not think they are closing them for renovation anytime soon. So this is may be a good alternative if you really want to re-visit Himej. I took and a small movie from one “island” from the gardens I particularly liked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apxKG1yjCBI&feature=player_embedded
Cheers
PS. I was also with two kids (one akachan and one small and extremely genki and self-opinionated one) but it was OK in the gardens. There is nothing “dangerous” apart from the lake
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
thank you —- just as well you let me know !!! I will re-schedule!!!
Good to hear … thanks for the update
I was hoping to avoid the public request but the other ways I’ve tried to get in contact haven’t seemed to have worked.
Here goes… Would you be able to change my name from “Japanese castles” to “kyushudan”? It’s how I usually sign comments.
If you’d rather not, would you be able to get in contact with me?
Regards,
Thanks I checked my site and see that you have made some comments but you havent signed as a user – so there is no user name I can change
All the best