DAY 8, Apr 19 Fri 2024:
Kyoto day trip to Himeji castle, Kokoen Garden

Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himeji-jō) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in Himeji.

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country The castle is the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. the principal materials used in the structures are stone and wood.

The castle is 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.

LOGISTICS

Himeji is 125 kilometres from Kyoto and can be reached in 45 minutes by Shinkansen. We went to the Kyoto station and bought tickets

Himeji Castle 9:00 to 17:00,1050 yen (castle and nearby Kokoen Garden) stands about one kilometer down the broad Otemae-dori Street from Himeji Station. The castle can be reached from the station's north exit in a 15-20 minute walk or five minute ride by bus (100 yen one way). We took the bus.

At the castle we bought the combo ticket including the castle and the Koko-en gardens

The castle complex comprises of 83 buildings such as storehouses, gates, corridors, and turrets (櫓, yagura). Of these 83 buildings, 74 are designated as Important Cultural Assets: 11 corridors, 16 turrets, 15 gates, and 32 earthen walls.

The highest walls in the castle complex have a height of 26 m (85 ft).

Joining the castle complex is Kōko-en (好古園), a Japanese garden created in 1992 to commemorate Himeji city's 100th anniversary

We enter the main keep through an entrance in the lower floor of the building and climb upwards via a series of steep, narrow staircases. Each level gets progressively smaller . The floors are unfurnished and display signs explaining architectural features such as portholes, rock chutes and concealed spaces as well as renovation efforts made over the years to preserve the structure.

West bailey (Nishinomaru)

The west bailey (Nishinomaru) served as the residence of a princess and provides views of the main keep from a different perspective

Princess Senhime

Pretty sad story of Princess Senhime (千姫) ( 1597 – 1666), she was the eldest daughter of the shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and later the wife of Toyotomi Hideyori.

She was remarried to Honda Tadatoki after the death by suicide of her first husband when she was 19. Following the death of her son and then her second husband when she was 29, she became a Buddhist nun

Kokoen (好古園, Kōkoen)

Kokoen Garden is a series of nine connected Edo era style strolling gardens that were constructed in 1992 on the site of the old samurai residences below Himeji Castle.

Inside the gardens are ponds, waterfalls, and tea houses,