We arrived at the Castle it would appear before the major crowds arrived and paid our entrance fees of a 1000 yen each, around £ 7.00 and went inside. We did know that there was a lot of walking involved and thought it would mostly be steps but how little we knew. Most of the paths were gradients which Noel can going uphill but steep downhill ones are extremely difficult and so it was not possible for him to continue and Jennifer went on "alone. The castle grounds are huge and quite frankly you would need to have a complete day there to see it all. The information about the castle is below.
“Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period.[7] The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.[6][8]Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex.[3] Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618.[5] For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.[3][2][9]
Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.[2] The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures.[5][10] Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan's three premier castles.[11] In order to preserve the castle buildings, it underwent restoration work for several years and reopened to the public on March 27, 2015.[12] The works also removed decades of dirt and grime, restoring the formerly grey roof to its original brilliant white color”
Onward to Kobe with a technical stop at Costco to pick up some wine and also some Sushi for tonight, and we also bought a large box of strawberries from the same USA supplier that Costco UK uses but they are packed completely differently for the Japanese market place.
We arrived at the Kobe Portopia Hotel around 16.00 and checked in and it looked very busy but Jennifer discovered that there had been a wedding fare on that day as it wedding planning time it would appear.
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| Night view from our Hotel Room |
