Skip to main content

Introducing Himeji Castle, Fully Renovated!


Yeah yeah... I've been to the castle a lot. But this was the first time I was able to see it entirely finished with its renovations. Now all visitors can go inside the castle and climb to the very top (on the super-steep traditional wooden stairs of doom, no less. Watch your head if you're taller than 5')!

Actually though, I had some friends from Phoenix visiting, so it gave me an excuse to properly go inside the grounds, which are fully operational as of the last couple weeks. So I did get to see the castle in ways that I haven't been able to for the last (almost) two years.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and since it was a Tuesday the crowds weren't too terrible. But honestly, since the renovations have finished the sheer number of tour buses and groups descending onto the castle has been downright overwhelming. Himeji has definitely done a good job of advertising the reopening around the world. I guess I'm just not used to so many people being around, since most of my time here the castle was at below-peak visitors while it was under renovation. If you're thinking of visiting, getting to the castle and gardens at 8:00am, or opening time, is the best way to beat the worst of the day-long-tourist-crush.





A view of the city from around the middle of the castle. You can see the spires of Nagoyama Temple in the distance. 


A view of downtown from the top floor of the castle. 





We also visited the Koko-en gardens, and I got to see something there for the first time, so that was cool. I'd never really noticed before the lack of waterfowl in all of the ponds and streams in the garden, especially considering how many herons, egrets, and assorted ducks nest in the outer moat just outside the walls. I've since learned that the groundskeepers are all armed with slingshots to chase out pesky koi-eating herons, like this fellow.

He couldn't care less about all of the visitors photographing him as he attempted to snatch some koi. In fact, he would walk right on top of us crouching photographers as he moved to better vantage points. But whenever a groundskeeper started to approach, he'd fly off to a different part of the garden. So even after we left one area, he'd somehow pop up in another. He was pretty determined, and I had a blast watching his antics. One of the groundskeepers commented to me, in English, that this was a "bad bird." He was definitely photogenic, though; in fact, I think he rather enjoyed all of the attention he was getting.



I first spotted him in these bushes, a couple feet from where I was standing. 


He eventually started posing on this small waterfall. 


After the groundskeeper came, he tried hiding in this thicket. It didn't work too well for him.


Spotted these flowers,  I think they're a variety of hydrangea. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cherry Blossom Season at Nagoyama Temple!

I haven't been to Nagoyama Temple in awhile, but today was a beautiful sunny day, and since it's about 10 minutes away by bicycle, I couldn't resist! Nagoyama is absolutely stunning during cherry blossom season! I know everyone crowds into Himeji Castle for cherry blossom viewing, but I definitely think Nagoyama's cherry trees are of comparable beauty; perhaps some might find the idea of flower viewing in a cemetery depressing, but wow, this is probably the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen! Also, there were cats everywhere. Would they be considered temple cats or graveyard cats? Can you spot Himeji Castle (in its scaffolding)? The cemetery extends for quite a ways around the main temple, and there were cherry trees everywhere!  A small garden nestled between the hills of graves. You can see the city stretching out behind it! I love how, at certain angles, the main temple seems to float above a sea of cherry trees.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shinzaike Honcho Festival, Friendship Festival, and the Countryside!

Lots of photos and a few videos incoming! The Shinzaike Honcho Festival was the local neighborhood festival. The shrine was just down the street from Shirasagi, and all of us ALT's walked to it. It was a lot of fun! Three other neighborhoods were also having their festivals at the same time, which meant that we ran into their portable shrines along the way now and then. Everything culminated at the park on top of the hill next to Shirasagi, with performances by the kids and some portable shrine "dancing." The portable shrine was alternately carried and pushed/pulled along the route we took, which circled through most of the area around the Shinzaike Honcho main street. We marched in lines behind the portable shrine, chanting "Yo Ya Sa" along the way (the equivalent of "heave ho!").  The entrance to the shrine.  (^ Some detailed photos of the portable shrine. ^) (A lion dance performance at the start of the festival.) ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Foggy Day on Yoshino Mountain!

Yoshino Mountain is located in Nara Prefecture, and it is often considered one of the best places in Japan to see cherry blossoms. It takes about three hours and multiple train connections to get there from Himeji, which means that if you leave early enough, it's day-trip doable. I went there last weekend, on the 11th of April. The temperature was warm, but the weather alternated between foggy and cloudy. The trails were quite muddy due to the rainy days all of the week prior, but the views were still stunning! The trees were in various stages of losing their blossoms, so with each gust of wind petals were knocked off and blown about, creating a snowy impression. I wish I could have seen it on a sunny day, with the blossoms at their peak! I did my best to photograph the beautiful cherry-covered slopes during my hike, but the fog mutes the bright colors of the blossoms. New cherry leaves grow in with an orange-red color, which combined with the lingering pink and white blossoms c...
Post a Comment
Read more