Himeji Castle.
Castle’s major renovations ended in 2015. Pure white and beautiful castle was thereby revived.
From that white form, Himeji Castle is also called “Shirasagi(Egret) Castle”.
Himeji Castle was designated as national treasures, World Heritage Site, and Michelin Green Guide★★★.
It is the sightseeing spot which can go in a day from Osaka and Kyoto. Therefore, please try to visit when you travel in Kansai.
- How to get to Himeji Castle.
- Recommended parking lot around Himeji Castle.
- Recommended walk course & photography spot.
- Photo according to the photography point.
- Introduction and Congestion forecast of the Himeji Castle castle tower.
- Tourist attraction around Himeji Castle : “Koko-en Garden”
- Free break spot around Himeji Castle : “Egret-Himeji”
1.How to get to Himeji Castle.
Himeji Castle
Open 9:00~16:00(Summer (April 27-August 31):9:00~17:00)
Admission fee Adult (18 years old-):1,000 yen Children (schoolchild, junior high school student and high school student):300 yen
Closed December 29 and the 30th
Adress 68 Honmachi Himeji city the north side of Sannomaru Square in Himeji Castle
Phone number +81-79-285-1146
When you go from Osaka to Himeji-jo Castle by a train, there is the way of 3 patterns (Shinkansen, JR (Local train), the Hanshin train).
So, I summarized each fare and required time.
If you want to go fast, let’s use JR. If you want to go cheaply and take a seat, let’s use Hanshin(Sanyo) Railway.
If you want to buy a coupon tickets, please refer to the following article.
Please refer to the following article If you want to know how to buy tickets.
■In Japanese : How to buy JR coupon ticket from osaka to Himeji.
2.Recommended parking lot around Himeji Castle.
I think that parking lot around Himeji Castle is crowded very much when you go to Himeji-jo Castle by car.
I recommend “Shironokita parking lot” or “Honmachi temporary parking lot” when a parking lot near Himeji Castle is full. These parking lot are relatively not crowded. (“Honmachi temporary parking lot” is open only during busy periods.)
3.Recommended walk course & photography spot.
Most tourists see the sights of only the front of Himeji Castle and castle tower. But it is very wasteful…
When you see the sights of Himeji Castle, please walk one lap around the castle. The backside of the castle has a lot of photography spots.
4.Photo according to the photography point.
The tourist information staff of Himeji Station has taught me recommendations of photography spot of Himeji Castle.( *´艸｀)
The photo of each spot is as follows. Please refer to it.
Point A : 大手前通り(Otemae Street)
Point B : 大手門前(In front of the Otemon)
Point C : 姫路城石(Himeji Castle stone)
Point D : 三の丸広場正面(Sannomaru square front)
Point E : 三の丸広場西(Sannomaru Square West)
Point F : 菱の門(Hishi no Mon (Gate))
Point G : 三国堀(Sangoku-bori)
Point H : 西の丸入口(Nishinomaru entrance)
Point I : 西の丸入口(Nishinomaru entrance)
Point J : ワの櫓(Wano Yagura(Turret))
Point K : 西の丸長局（百間廊下）Nishinomaru Nagatsubone (long-hallway) (Hyakken-roka)
Point L : 化粧櫓内側(Inside of Kesho Yagura(Turret))
Point M : ヌの櫓(Nuno Yagura(Turret))
Point N : 西の丸(Nisinomaru)
Point O : 動物園-城見橋(Zoo-Shiromi Bridge) *姫路市立動物園内です。
Point P : 動物園-授乳室裏(The back side of Nursing room) *姫路市立動物園内です。
Point Q : 三の丸広場東(Sannomaru Square East)
Point R : 城見台公園(Shiromidai park)
Point S : 動物園北入口(Zoo north entrance)
Point T : 姫路城東(Himeji Castle east)
Point U : 姫路市立美術館(Himeji City Museum of Art)
Point V : シロトピア記念公園(Shirotopia Memorial Park)
Point W : シロトピア記念公園(Shirotopia Memorial Park)
Point X : 千姫の小径(Alley of Senhime)
Point Y : 千姫の小径(Alley of Senhime)
Point Z : 好古園東(Koko-en(Garden) east)
Point a : 好古園東(Koko-en(Garden) east)
Point b : イーグレ姫路屋上(Egret-himeji rooftop)
5.Introduction and Congestion forecast of the Himeji Castle castle tower.
Because it is very popular, Himeji-jo Castle is full of many tourists early in the morning on weekdays.
The congestion expectation is shown in the following sites.
I visited Himeji Castle in April 5, 2016 (Tuesday). The congestion expectation of the day was “overcrowded”.
The congestion degree of the real castle tower of the day was as follows.
AM8:30（Castle tower OPEN）：No waiting time (Inside of castle tower was not crowded.)
AM9:00：No waiting time (Inside of castle tower was crowded.)
AM9:30：Restricted admission is started.：30 minute wait
AM10:00：30 minute wait
AM11:00：60 minute wait
The tourists of the group will increase after 10 o’clock.
Rearranging ticket is distributed for a busy season.（First arrival 15, 000 person.）
Because it will be collected later, this rearranging ticket will keep it without throwing it away after entrance.
There is a locker room to the castle tower entrance gate.
Because there are a slope and steep stairs, let’s leave the big baggage with a locker room.
There are a lot of photograph spots along the way of castle tower. d(*ﾟーﾟ*)
Inside of the castle tower, there are a lot of steep stairs. The top floor of the castle tower is 6F.
Osakabe-shrine is on the top floor.
You can watch a fabulous dolphinlike fish (a pair of which were traditionally used to decorate the roof‐ridge of a Japanese castle) close from the top floor. d(*ﾟーﾟ*)
At the end of the tour passage there is the spot that can photograph Himeji Castle from the front. ( *´艸｀)
6.Tourist attraction around Himeji Castle : “Koko-en Garden”
Koko-en
Open 9:00~17:00(Summer (April 27-August 31):9:00~18:00)
Admission fee Adult (18 years old-) : 300 yen, Children : 150 yen
Closed December 29 and the 30th
Adress 68, Hommachi, Himeji-shi, Hyogo, 670-0012, Japan
Phone number +81-79-289-4120
You can enter a Koko-en for 40 yen when you purchase Himeji Castle/Koko-en Common pass.
There are nine kinds of Japanese gardens in Koko-en.
The Garden of the Lord’s residence.
Flatly landscaped garden.
The garden of pine trees.
The garden of bamboo.
The garden with a hill and pond.
7.Free break spot around Himeji Castle : “Egret-Himeji”
Egret-Himeji
Open 9:00~20:00
Admission fee –
Closed irregular holidays
Adress 68-290, Hommachi, Himeji-shi, Hyogo, 670-0012, Japan
Phone number +81-79-289-3443
1F of Egret-Himeji is free break space, and the rooftop is free prospects space.
Egret-Himeji is about 5-minute walk from Himeji Castle.
1F of Egret-Himeji is free break space.（9:00~20:00）
The rooftop of Egret-Himeji is free prospects space. You can overlook Himeji Castle! ( *´艸｀)
How did you like it?
Have a nice trip! XD
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