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Published: September 26th 2013
Thursday’s mission was to head to Himeji on the Shinkansen. I was up earlier than Wednesday, but when I got to Kyoto station I had to wait almost an hour for the next train where I could reserve a seat. It was worth the wait though, because the rail pass allows me to reserve a seat in “Green” class, which is much nicer than the regular class, which is what I travelled in from Tokyo on Sunday.
The trip took under an hour and I was in Himeji. Once again I started off with a trip to the tourist information centre. It was a bit more difficult to find than Hikone though, because Himeji station is much bigger. It was also signposted with a big question mark and looked like a fancy shop, so I walked past it a couple of times before heading in. The welcome wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as Hikone, but that’s probably because Himeji is the most visited castle in Japan. Fortunately, the crowds at the castle were not too large – I’m not sure if it was a quiet day or if it’s just because the castle grounds are so big.
The walk to the castle was straight up a main street like Hikone, but was actually nicer because the road was lined with trees and had some nice sculptures along the way. Most were of naked women, but there were some clothed children and a naked man playing a saxophone.
The castle, like Hikone, is on a hill (although the hill is not as big) and dominates the city around it. However, because Himeji’s main keep is undergoing restoration, it is hidden from view by a large scaffolding structure. It’s a bit of a shame that I have timed my trip when the restoration is happening, but as it started in 2009 and won’t finish until 2015 there wasn’t much I could do. May be I’ll just have to come back after 2015!
The grounds of the castle are large though, so there was still plenty to see. It’s a great example of Japanese castle defences because the approaches are very convoluted and it would be very easy for attackers to get lost. Also, it seems that wherever you are, there is a wall above you so you would always be under attack.
I headed along the prescribed path. Because of the restoration, you can’t go into the main keep. However, they do allow you to head up into the scaffold structure (via an elevator) to see the work going on. They also have some very interesting displays about the restoration process and various restorations in the past, and there are great views from there as well.
After the keep, I headed over to the western bailey. This forms the western wall of the castle and is a long corridor with small rooms. Apparently it was built for the granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the final room is known as the Cosmetic Tower because, along with her handmaidens, she applied her makeup there.
After the western bailey, I had an ice-cream before having a bit of a walk along some of the outer walls. There seems to be a pack of cats that live on the grounds. I saw them on the way in, scabbing food and pats from sucker tourists. But when I was walking around the walls, I came across a very ragged and timid kitten that seemed scared of me. On
Another Gate
Himeji Castlecloser inspection, the poor thing had a massive growth on its left eye so I guess nobody looks after the cats.
By this time it was after three and I had a train to catch at 5. As I had bought a ticket for the Koko-En garden next door, I decided to check it out and then head around the castle to a park on the other side. The Koko-En garden wasn’t very large, or quite as nice as some of the others I’ve seen so far, but I still managed to spend enough time there that I didn’t have time to walk around the castle. I spent quite a lot of time trying to photograph the waterfalls in the garden. I didn’t have my tripod with me, so I was a bit limited with the long exposures but I got round that by placing the camera on a railing. The waterfall photos came out okay, the only problem was the wind which caused the surrounding trees to move. Nevermind, at least it has justified me bringing my filters with me because they were needed to allow long exposures in bright sunlight.
After the
garden I walked back to the station, photographing the sculptures on the other side of the road. I was early for the train and both the wait and the trip were fairly uneventful. One thing while waiting for the train was a bunch of kids on a school excursion that all decided to say “Hello” to me as they walked past, seemingly excited to use their English skills.
Tomorrow is back on the temple trail, with a trip to Nara and its many temples.
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Sean
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Pics
You've taken some great pics mate :) awesome castle!