Japanese Funeral & Wedding Gift trivia
Mood:  surprised
Thursday, March 31st
Himeji Castle (Himeji-jo)

We've been at Himeji Castle all day and Sylvia, Didik and i viewed the first tiny cherry blossoms popping out ever so slowly. Warmer weather today helped. Can't wait for the full blown blooming.

Himeji castle also called the ?White Heron Castle? for its white walls and gracefully imposing demeanor overlooks the plain below and is one of only four castles in Japan designated as a National Treasure. The first fort was built here in 1333. Over the years the fort changed possession numerous times and was eventually taken over, rebuilt, and enlarged by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1580. Considered one of the finest examples of Japanese castle architecture, Himeji-jo was enlarged and finally remodeled to its final state by Terumasa Ikeda. European castles dating from approximately this same period include Chenonceau and Chambord in France. All such castles, including Himeji, were actually lived in by lords. But where European castles were built of stone, Japanese castles were predominately wooden structures.

A total of 360 tons of wood and 75,000 tiles weighing 3,000 tons were used in the construction of Himeji-jo making it the largest extent castle in Japan.

The narrow wooden staircase is quite different from Osaka-jo?s modern elevator. There are signs everywhere to ?Mind your head? from low overhead beams. Once you reach the top the six flights of stairs are worth the view of the entire city. I am mostly drawn to the moats around the castle walls. The koi are so colorful and big. If you clap your hands they will all come running ? so to speak.

Just outside the castle is Himeji Koko-en. It actually consists of 9 separate gardens each enclosed by its own stonewall. Different styles are displayed in each. Some have running water, ponds, a teahouse and a dry garden. I think they are well worth seeing.