Himeji

Kansai, Japan · City

The white keep is Japan's best-preserved castle, with nine Edo-style gardens pressed up against the moat and hills around it that frame the whole thing for free. On Mount Shosha, at the end of an hour's climb along the old pilgrims' path, stands Engyo-ji, stop twenty-seven on the Saigoku pilgrimage and the village in The Last Samurai. The city has been tanning white leather for a thousand years and dips its oden in ginger soy.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — Direct Shinkansen from Osaka or Kyoto

Frequently asked questions about Himeji

What to do in Himeji: 25 activities

• Himeji Castle 2.5 h must-see

  A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Japan's best-preserved and most photogenic castle.

• Anago from the Harima Sea 1 h

  Grilled conger eel over rice, the speciality of this coast, milder and less fatty than freshwater eel.

• Engyo-ji Mountain Temple 2.5 h

  A complex of temples set among the forests of Mt. Shosha, used as a filming location for 'The Last Samurai'.

• Himeji Central Park 5 h

  The only drive-through safari in all of Kansai, combined with an amusement park and a skating rink.

• Himeji oden with ginger sauce 1 h

  Here oden is not simply eaten out of the broth: each piece is dipped in soy sauce with grated ginger, a custom unique to the city.

• Koko-en Gardens 1 h

  Nine Edo-style gardens right next to the castle.

• Nada no Kenka Matsuri (Nada Fighting Festival) 3 h only 14-15 Oct

  A mid-October festival at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in which teams violently crash several mikoshi portable shrines together as a ritual offering.

• Shiro-nameshi white leather and the tanners' district 1.5 h

  Himeji has been tanning for 1,000 years with a tannin-free method that leaves the leather white, and today concentrates around 70% of Japan's leather production.

• Shojin meal and pilgrim stamp at Engyo-ji 2 h booking

  Engyo-ji is stop number 27 on the Saigoku pilgrimage of the 33 Kannon and serves vegetarian temple food in its main hall, by reservation.

• A sake brewery in the city 1.5 h

  A historic urban brewery with a tasting room and dining room, right in the old town (Nada sake, often confused with it, is actually from Kobe).

• Almond toast and coffee-shop culture 1 h

  Toast with almond paste was invented in the coffee shops of Himeji and is now the default local breakfast, served with the 'morning set'.

• Aquarium, zoo and science museum with planetarium 3 h

  Three municipal facilities a short walk from the castle, planetarium included: the fallback plan if it rains or if you are travelling with children.

• Himeji Yukata Matsuri 3 h only the weekend around 22 June

  In June the whole city comes out in yukata for a festival with 300 years of history and hundreds of stalls around Osakabe shrine.

• Ieshima Islands 6 h

  Half an hour by ferry from the port: alleys full of cats, a thousand-year-old shrine, canoeing in the coves and fish stews at an island pace nobody associates with Himeji.

• Izakaya alleys in the centre 2.5 h

  Between the station and the castle there are several lanes of small taverns where oden and anago are eaten with no tourism at all.

• Museum of Literature by Tadao Ando 1.5 h

  Exposed concrete, ramps and geometry by Tadao Ando a short distance from the castle, a radical contrast with the wooden architecture of the grounds.

• Nagoyama Tenmangu Shrine 1 h

  A shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane atop a wooded hill, traditionally visited by students before exams.

• Old Town and Shopping Street 1 h

  A covered shopping street connecting the station to the castle.

• Otokoyama Haisui-ike Park Viewpoint 1 h

  A small hilltop park with one of the best free, less-crowded viewpoints over Himeji Castle.

• The castle lit up at night 1 h

  The illuminated white keep is visible all the way down the avenue from the station, and on certain dates light shows are projected onto its walls.

• The Last Samurai locations 1.5 h

  The wooden halls of Engyo-ji (Maniden, Jikido, Daikodo) played Katsumoto's village in the film, and you walk through them exactly as they appear on screen.

• Walking up Mount Shosha 2.5 h

  The old pilgrims' path up to Engyo-ji, an hour's climb through the forest as an alternative to the ropeway.

• Himeji Castle Marathon 4 h booking

  A February marathon that starts and finishes at the foot of the castle.

• Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Himeji 1.5 h

  A museum designed by architect Kenzo Tange beside the castle moat, housing modern art collections and temporary exhibitions.

• Tegarayama Park 1 h

  A hill with a garden and a viewpoint over the city and the castle.

What only happens on specific dates

• Himeji Yukata Matsuri the weekend around 22 June
• Nada no Kenka Matsuri (Nada Fighting Festival) 14-15 Oct

Chains well with

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