Kansai, Japan · City
Japan's best-preserved original castle, nicknamed the 'White Heron'.
Train — Direct Shinkansen from Osaka or Kyoto
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Japan's best-preserved and most photogenic castle.
Grilled conger eel over rice, the speciality of this coast, milder and less fatty than freshwater eel.
A complex of temples set among the forests of Mt. Shosha, used as a filming location for 'The Last Samurai'.
The only drive-through safari in all of Kansai, combined with an amusement park and a skating rink.
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.
Nine Edo-style gardens right next to the castle.
A mid-October festival at Matsubara Hachiman Shrine in which teams violently crash several mikoshi portable shrines together as a ritual offering.
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.
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 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).
Toast with almond paste was invented in the coffee shops of Himeji and is now the default local breakfast, served with the 'morning set'.
Three municipal facilities a short walk from the castle, planetarium included: the fallback plan if it rains or if you are travelling with children.
In June the whole city comes out in yukata for a festival with 300 years of history and hundreds of stalls around Osakabe shrine.
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.
Between the station and the castle there are several lanes of small taverns where oden and anago are eaten with no tourism at all.
Exposed concrete, ramps and geometry by Tadao Ando a short distance from the castle, a radical contrast with the wooden architecture of the grounds.
A shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane atop a wooded hill, traditionally visited by students before exams.
A covered shopping street connecting the station to the castle.
A small hilltop park with one of the best free, less-crowded viewpoints over Himeji Castle.
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 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.
The old pilgrims' path up to Engyo-ji, an hour's climb through the forest as an alternative to the ropeway.
A February marathon that starts and finishes at the foot of the castle.
A museum designed by architect Kenzo Tange beside the castle moat, housing modern art collections and temporary exhibitions.
A hill with a garden and a viewpoint over the city and the castle.
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