Himeji Castle (姫路城), also known as White Heron Castle (白鷺城), it’s one of Japan’s three premier castles (along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle). Unlike many other Japanese castles, Himeji Castle has survived through the wars, earthquakes, and other nature disasters. This over-400-year-old castle remains one of twelve original castles in Japan. It is a designated National Treasures (国宝) as well as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.

I have wanted to visit Himeji Castle for years. The castle recently underwent major restoration to preserve the castle buildings. After 5½ years of restoration work, it has finally re-opened to public in last March. There was no doubt that I would make every effort to include a day trip to Himeji Castle in our itinerary.

Himeji Castle makes for an easy day trip from Kyoto. It takes approximately 50 minutes by Shinkansen from Kyoto Station (or 90 minutes by Shinkaisoku 新快速 JR Express). We decided to spend a half day in Himeji city and considered stopping by Osaka on our way back to Kyoto.

We arrived at Himeji station in the morning. After we walked out of the station, we could see Himeji Castle stands just right at the end of the street.

The castle is about 15~20 minutes walk or 5 minutes ride by bus from Himeji station. We wanted to walk to the castle but worried about the weather might be too cold for my little one. After speaking with the staff at the Himeji Tourist Information Center (located on the west side of JR central entrance gate), we learned that we could walk straight along the inter-connected covered shopping arcades from the station to the castle.

Once we reached the end of the shopping arcades, Otemon Gate of Himeji Castle was just one block away.

It was a weekday morning in January. The castle was quite empty. We could take our time to explore and enjoy the castle.

From Otemon Gate to the main keep, we passed through multiple gates, walled paths and baileys. These gates, walled paths, and baileys were built with an original purpose to slow down and expose approaching forces when they reach the castle walls.

Located on the hill, the main keep (Daitenshu 大天守) appears to be a five layered towers from the outside. However, it actually has 6 floors (where the 2nd and 3rd floors from the top appears to be a single floor) and a basement.

Before entering the main keep, we had to remove our shoes and wear slippers inside the castle. The entrance of the main keep is in the lower floor and visitors climb upward via a series of steep wooden stairs.

As we climbed up, we found that each level gets progressively smaller, the stairs get steeper and narrower. The floors are generally unfurnished and its castle atmosphere still remain.

There was quite some climbing until we reached the very top of the castle. However, it was well worth the climb because the view of Himeji city from the top floor was awesome. We could also take a close-up view of the roof ornaments Shachihoko (鯱, fish-shaped ornaments that are believed to protect the castle from fire).

After our visit to Himeji Castle, we stopped by a few built-in food stands in the shopping arcades before heading back to the Himeji station.