West Japan in a Week Part 5

Day 3
Himeji Castle(姫路城)

Himeji is a city in Hyogo Prefecture accessible along the JR Sanyo Line. It was my first time to use my ICOCA card since I bought it from Kansai last December. We used it in the coin locker. The terrible thing about it was I forgot to insert back the memory card of my camera and I had to pay twice for it. Grrr.. Anyway, we walked about 20 minutes from the Himeji Station to the castle. The area was filled with so many tourists. Flag-bearing tour guides along with a squad of travelers fill the castle and its grounds. It was Hanami Season and the garden was filled with families in picnic mode. Sakura was everywhere. The entrance fee was about 800 yen. The Himeji Castle is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This castle was my third in Japan. Japan is indeed a place of endless temples, shrines and castles. The whole castle was a fortress. The walls were equipped with small holes where probably canons, and/or archers would fire their weapons in case of an attack. Stone walls were high and a bit steep. The slope of the wall was designed carefully so that invaders would find it hard to climb the walls of the castle.Below the fortress.

Upon entering inside the castle, shoes off and we have to wear slippers. The wooden stairs of the castle were very narrow and a bit dark. The old folks who are on tour find it hard to climb and descend the mighty fortress. The castle itself is a museum of old materials that were used by the Samurais and the previous leaders of the castle. Also in the exhibit are materials used in constructing the castle.

Side view of the castle.

The castle was jam-packed with so many tourists. Castle staffs would have to halt for the moment the entry of people in the castle because people were just staying within the area of the castle to take photographs. Of course that includes us. After descending, we went to the garden and took pictures of sakura, again. After touring the area for 3 hours, we left and decided to eat real food for our late lunch. We walked further for 20 minutes to find a decently priced rice-based food. We finally found one Brazilian-Japanese restaurant and it was a relief.

Front view of the castle.