A few posts ago I was considering making a 10 year anniversary visit to Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Try making Himeji out of Nanoblock!
Last time I went, I had 3 small but exicted and fast young kids … who kept me very busy up and down thin and steep stairwells, and crazy mazes ….. anyone done Himeji with kids?
It was also winter and I froze !
So 2010 with a few kids more grown-up and a few more kids still little, I thought I would give the castle another go. However, luckily when I tweeted out my plans, someone warned me that the main keep is being renovated! Thank you twitter and cyber friends … actually I am thankful to @japanesecastles for the update.
Imagine washing all those tiles!! Try building instead? Click through to find out!!
The renovation work is a full-scale project, focusing on the damaged plaster walls and it will replace the roof tiles as well. It is the first project of this kind in 50 years and the renovations will take 5 years!
How much plaster will be needed you might ask to restore Himeji?
The 7,000-square-meter walls of the main donjon, the backs of the eaves and the joints between the roof tiles will be plastered three times during the renovations. The 250 tons of plaster required for the process is nearly 1-1/2 times the weight of a jumbo jet.
Wow!
During this time of course the scaffolding will prevent those fabulous white castle shots that Himeji is known for.
(It sort of reminds me of the huge project centered around York Minister in the 1990’s … did anyone see that restoration process?)
But the best bit of the renovation/restoration process was hearing that the castle’s 80,000 roof tiles, weighing about 160 tons will be removed from the roof, washed with water and then dried and hammered to see if they are in good enough condition to be reused. Now that will be a long and drawn out process of love and dedication!!!
The scaffolding is planned to be removed in 2014 …. however during the renovation process I suppose visitors will be able to get a look at the repairwork.
Still I think I will wait another 4 years to re-visit with my brood!
If you are in to hobbies and love your castles … click on this photo to go through to purchase a Nanoblock Himeji kit on Amazon – I was amazed to find this …. looks great for those who love to create miniature versions of this kind of treasure.
Want to know more about Nano Block …. take a look at this great post by shibuya246.
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I have lived and worked in Japan for the past twenty five years off and on. I have seen many changes and enjoyed the various paradoxes and anomalies of everyday Japanese living.
Washing Himeji Roof Tiles http://bit.ly/3MYjsM #JBlogs
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Himeji is undergoing a 5 year restoration process… and they are washing the roof tiles … wow ! http://bit.ly/10bZFc
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @KimonoBox: Himeji is undergoing a 5 year restoration process… and they are washing the roof tiles … wow ! http://bit.ly/10bZFc
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Washing Himeji Roof Tiles
http://bit.ly/49ySbL
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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 Twitter
Washing Himeji Roof Tiles: http://bit.ly/4jOwqx RS
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
thanks for the stumbles on the roof tile washing http://bit.ly/10bZFc
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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
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