Hyogo Prefecture is home to Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest and most famous castle in Japan. The castle was passed from family to family over centuries, it was never attacked when it was in use, and it even survived the bombings of WWII. All of these factors have helped to preserve this amazing structure.
Because Himeji Castle is so amazing, I ended up going there almost every time I had a guest visit me in Japan. This weekend’s visit with Becky was my seventh trip there! This visit was unique because the castle started undergoing a renovation in 2009 that won’t be finished until 2015. The last renovation took place from the 1950s to 1960s, and the goal for this one is to last another 50 or 60 years.
As you can see from the pictures, a temporary structure has been built around much of the castle to facilitate the renovation. This obviously prohibits seeing the castle as it was meant to be seen, and much of the castle is inaccessible, but it also offers the unique experience to see a castle undergoing renovation. They also put some artifacts on display in rooms that haven’t been opened to the public in 400 years. Finally, there were some random people wearing ninja costumes on the castle grounds. I'm not sure if this has been done before either!
Another recently added bonus to Himeji tourism is the free bicycles that are being lent out to tourists. You fill out a form and pick a bicycle up from a nearby garage, and there is a special bike parking area right in front of the castle. If all you plan to do is go to the castle, then it’s not really worth the trouble. But if you want to explore the city a little bit, or do what we did and find an amazing restaurant too far to walk to, then the free bikes are an amazing option. We had a lot of fun pedaling around on the single-speed city cruisers on the very flat Himeji streets (We hate the hills in Miki...).
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