Himeji Castle

On Friday I left Hiroshima and went to Kyoto where I am staying for the rest of my time in Japan. Once I arrived, I got something to eat and just went and did some work at my accommodation. Unfortunately I really didn’t like the place that I had booked. sadly this was the first time I hated a place that I had stayed at in all of my travels. On my first night, I decided that maybe I was just being silly and I would get over it. My biggest issue was that there was no natural light. The window that there was faced a wall and an enclosed space so there was no direct light into the place. I had hoped it would be chill with their adjustable light however stupidly it was on the same switch as a super bright light that couldn’t be controlled separately. Sooo annoying. After getting up grumpily, and realising just how much natural daylight is needed for my mood, I got ready to head off to Himeji Castle for the day.

On the way I also looked into alternative accommodation. After messaging and confirming that there was natural daylight in the room I booked into a new place for the next day. So I relaxed myself to enjoy the day I was going to have, and that I only needed to spend one more night in disappointment.

Himeji Castle had been one of those locations i had flagged for a while that I would like to visit and while I still had time left on my Japan Rail Pass, it seemed silly not to take advantage and enjoy a day trip out to visit. Heading out of the station it is just a straight walk down the central city street toward the castle and you can see it in the background as you travel. It’s quite an impressive site. It was quite busy, especially as it was a Saturday. However, Himeji was going to be busier the next day as it looked like there was some event that was going to be happening.

When entering the castle you are provided with a plastic bag to pop your shoes into, as you need to take them off to enter. It is quite orderly run in that you enter and walk around each floor before climbing up small stairs to the next level. The crowds are managed so that those going up and down don’t crash into each other and that traffic is constantly moving. The rooms are impressive and it’s so cool trying to imagine living in a place like this. At the top of the castle there is a shrine and a walk around to see the amazing views. This main castle held soldiers and armoury. There was a separate building that I also walked through which is where the women lived.

After touring the grounds and taking some time exploring other parts I headed back towards the station and stopped for a bite to eat. I headed back to Kyoto and where I was staying, relieved that I only had to make it through one more night in this place.