Himeji - the White Heron Castle

Having thoroughly explored my new home of Kobe, it was time to explore nearby sights and historical wonders. Luckily, nearby to Kobe is the smaller city of Himeji, which houses the UNESCO World Heritage site, Himeji Castle. After a slow 1-hour local train ride to the city, we emerge in downtown Himeji.

Centrally located, the preeminent castle is hard to miss. Perched atop a high stone foundation, the castle looms over the city like an ever-present symbol of prestige and heritage. Slowly walking toward the castle it dawns on you just how large this structure really is. Fortifications on this site date back to 1333 CE, however, the Himeji Castle design we see today dates back to around 1601 CE surviving disasters like Himeji bombings in World War II, and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

Just this year (2015) Himeji Castle reopened its doors after an intensive 5 year restoration and renovation of the beautifully ornate rooftops and pristine white walls. Traditionally known as Hakuro-jō (White Egret Castle) or Shirasagi-jō (White Heron Castle), the castle supposedly represents a bird taking flight.

Keen observers might recognise Himeji Castle from the James Bond classic You Only Live Twice, starring Sean Connery. The castle was used as the location for the character Tanaka’s training grounds for his ninja assassins.

Spotted! This Ninja knew he was caught!

Upon entering the walls of Himeji we are casually greeted by a samurai. It’s good to see he’s still here protecting his Lord…

Inside Himeji Castle it’s rather stark, with few ornaments or historical artefacts. The structure itself is made from thick wooden beams, with all the (empty) sword holders and weapon racks one would expect in a castle. Strewn about the castle however, were QR codes and augmented reality tags, which all the Japanese tourists were able to connect to with their smart phones and tablets. Peaking over the shoulders of a couple, I observed that their smart phone suddenly filled the barren castle with everything that was lacking: art, historical people, furniture – all digitally manifested in ‘3D augmented reality’. It was really rather clever.

View from the top of Himeji Castle

Surrounding the castle is the Kokoen garden, a facsimile of 9 different styles of Edo period Japanese gardens.

I think the rain added to the serenity

Trickling gently, these waterfalls created such a beautiful sound

Water flowing through the gardens fed the many nishikigoi (Koi) ponds

Nishikigoi - Koi fish

Everyone's quickly escaping the rain - Well as fast as they can shuffle

After the lovely, though wet, day in Himeji, we returned to Kobe where we feasted on a Japanese tomato stew, which was cooked at the table. Once around 2/3’s of the dish was eaten, we were given the choice to add rice and parmesan (maybe it was secretly an Italian dish). It was hot, delicious, and filling… Just what we needed after the positively cold 22° C weather.

Hope you enjoyed today’s outing to Himeji! Stay tuned for my next travels to the famous city of Kyoto!